A gospel-centered church in Austin, Tx
The last post in this series. Thanks Grayson for your work in summarizing these sermons! For the last five weeks we’ve gathered on Sundays to look at specifically at the nature of our corporate worship. We’ve preached on each “element” of our gathering individually in an effort to answer two questions: What is the worship [...]
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In college I measured my progress in faith by what I didn’t do. In ministry, I measured my progress by what I did do (my performance). In both cases, I was trying to establish a righteousness of my own, before God and others. That kind of Christianity is not only exhausting; it’s actually not Christianity at all. It’s legalism – an approach to God that treats Him as a system to be worked rather than a person to be known and loved and served.
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We articulate the message of the gospel in this way: It is the good news that God saves sinners through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus. It’s worth meditating a bit on each part. That’s what I do in this audio clip:
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The Lenten season is a time of preparation and repentance in which we make our hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ passion and celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. The forty day period is symbolic of “repentance seasons” in the Bible (Genesis 7:4, Exodus 24:18, Jonah 3:4, Matthew 4:2). The purpose is not merely an extended meditation on Christ’s suffering and death, but is rather a season to explore and deepen our sense of union with Christ.
The common question among those observing Lent is, “What are you giving up for Lent?” Before you answer that, please know that giving up caffeine or TV- while probably good for you – is not the main point.
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To guard the gospel means to uphold it as true and defend it against whatever is contrary. The very thought confronts one of our deepest cultural values: individualism.
This value makes us feel that “I” am the final authority on what I believe and do. It passes as inclusivism, but it is really just individualism. Far from promoting community, it promotes autonomy and surface relationships.
This value has shaped our view of church as well. Christians love concepts like “organic church,” and we say things like: “When I am with my friends serving people, that is church.” I continue to hear church leaders say that we need to stop talking about what we believe and start focusing on doing what we believe. Such sentiments reflect our individualistic desire to define church and spirituality on our own terms. When someone is confronted by a pastor with regard to his doctrine or conduct, he is likely to hear it as good advice from a respected friend, but not as admonishment from godly authority. His “right” is to proceed however he wants because the individual is the final authority.
So this is an important question for our day. What does it mean that the church guards the gospel?
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For the most part, people in our culture have written off the church as a necessary or even a helpful institution. The result is a movement, even among Christians, toward decentralization and individualism. That which has historically been central to the church is now being pushed out to the individual so that “I” am the authority when it comes to what I believe and what I do. I see why we are like this, but honestly, it is just another swing of the pendulum from our experience of ineffective or abusive churches to a definition of church that really isn’t church at all, historically speaking. The answer, of course, is not to do away with the church, but to be the church, truly.
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Bob Thune and I are working on a follow-up study to The Gospel Centered Life. One of the lessons has this chart, which I am unable to sit on until it is published. So here’s a sneak peek:
Community is about God. Community exists to declare his praises and to exalt his goodness and to display his excellencies. True community – the community we were made for – is God-centered and God-focused and God-exalting.
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The word “repentance” has picked up a negative connotation in our culture, but it is actually good news. One Bible commentator said, “repentance from the beginning of time to this present hour has been, and remains, the most positive word from the heart of God.” The call to repent is an invitation to give up the futility and frustration of doing life on our terms and turn to God who restore us to the life for which we were made. Often, we do not respond to this invitation because we simply do not think deeply enough about what true repentance would look like for us. So here are eight questions to ask yourself and others. May they help us experience the good news of the gospel!
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If you are looking for something to guide you through the Advent season, you can download Come Lord Jesus Come for free.
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Here’s a question that snuck up on me this week: Is there anything compelling about your life? That is, does your way of life inspire or challenge or shape those around you? For me, this question surfaces a constant tension between the person I want to be and the person I am.
I will assume that there are times when you feel deep down in your gut that you are not what you want to be. Not as healthy as you want to be. Not as proactive or productive as you want to be. Not as joyful, thoughtful, thankful, faithful, gentle, or peaceful as you want to be. I will assume this is true of you because it makes me feel better about it being true of me.
So how do we deal with this tension?
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