Dwelling in the Gospel

We talked on Sunday at Second Mile about how the word “gospel” means “good news.” We discussed how Mark’s account is good news about Jesus as the rescuer of humanity and the Son of God. The gospel is the central message of Christianity. But the question is, “What is the gospel?” Now, maybe you’re not really asking that question because you think you have a good grasp on what the gospel is. But, you should know, there’s a lot of discussion among theologians these days about what the gospel is.

Part of this is because it seems that the way biblical writers describe the gospel are so different. Consider

• Matthew, Mark, and Luke (the synoptic gospels) describe the gospel as the “kingdom of God.”
• John describes the gospel as “eternal life.”
• Paul describes the gospel as “justification” or being made right before God.

So which is it? Is there just one gospel or are there three?

These are the questions that are tackled in this excellent lecture by Tim Keller, “Dwelling in the Gospel.” It is a fascinating message that will expand your understanding of the Scripture and will probably highlight some aspects of the gospel that you might sometimes overlook.

Click here for the audio.

For more on the gospel and its implications, click here.

What is Your Life Centered On?

Each of us is living for something. We each have something that motivates us and drives us. This could also be described as your identity. What makes you who you are? What defines you?

In his excellent book, The Reason for God, Tim Keller makes the point that the essence of sin is basing your identity on anything but God. In the “Notes” section of the book he gives some great examples of how centering your life on other things will destroy you (pp. 275-276). I’d encourage you to read the list, look for these idolatrous identities in your own life, and repent if necessary.

• If you center your life and identity on your spouse or partner, you will be emotionally dependent, jealous, and controlling. The other person’s problems will be overwhelming to you.
• If you center your life and identity on your family and children, you will try to live your life through your children until they resent you or have no self of their own. At worst, you may abuse them when they displease you.
• If you center your life and identity on your work and career, you will be a driven workaholic and a boring, shallow person. At worst you will lose family and friends and, if your career goes poorly, develop deep depression.
• If you center your life and identity on money and possessions, you’ll be eaten up by worry or jealousy about money. You’ll be willing to do unethical things to maintain your lifestyle, which will eventually blow up your life.
• If you center your life and identity on pleasure, gratification, and comfort, you will find yourself getting addicted to something. You will become chained to the “escape strategies” by which you avoid the hardness of life.
• If you center your life and identity on relationships and approval, you will be constantly overly hurt by criticism and thus always losing friends. You will fear confronting others and therefore will be a useless friend.
• If you center your life and identity on a “noble cause,” you will divide the world into “good” and “bad” and demonize your opponents. Ironically, you will be controlled by your enemies. Without them, you have no purpose.
• If you center your life and identity on religion and morality, you will, if you are living up to your moral standards, be proud, self-righteous, and cruel. If you don’t live up to your standards your guilt will be utterly devastating.

May we be people who center our lives on the love and grace of Jesus Christ for us!

Free Online Seminary Courses

One of the great blessings of technology is the access that we now have to top-flight resources. For those who desire to learn biblical truth at a deeper level without the cost or time of seminary, you can now access tremendous content for free online. Here are two great examples:

1. Covenant Seminary Worldwide Classroom
Covenant, based in St. Louis, is an excellent reformed seminary and is the official seminary of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA). This website has 20 courses, all of which have downloadable lectures, notes, and study guides.

2. Reformed Theological Seminary on iTunes U
RTS, where I am currently studying, has a few dozen classes, chapel messages, and conferences. Of particular interest to you Tim Keller fans is his “Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World” seminar. All of it is free as long as you have iTunes (which is also a free download here).

Enjoy!

All of Life is Repentance

If you hang around here for any period of time, you’ll bump into a number of great resources from Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. He’s been very influential on me and a number of Second Mile’s leaders, particularly in his understanding of how to apply the gospel and understand its implications. One great example of this is in his brief article, “All of Life is Repentance.” This is one you don’t want to miss.

Click here for the article.

Click here for more Tim Keller resources.

The Gospel and Yourself

One sermon that I go back to repeatedly is Tim Keller’s “The Gospel and Yourself,” which is a terrific message on Isaiah 6. The big concept is that there’s a difference between experiencing God as a concept and as a reality. I think you’ll be encouraged.

Click here to listen.

For more Tim Keller resources, click here.

The Prodigal God

I had the privilege of preaching yesterday at Southgate Church in Toledo, Ohio where my father in law is one of the elders. I preached a sermon that I’ve done a few times in some other venues, “The Prodigal God.” It’s the story of Luke 15 that’s usually called the “Prodigal Son.”

People often do a double take when they hear me call God prodigal, but this is because they don’t know what the word means. They think, like I did, that prodigal means “lost or wayward.” But, in actuality, the word prodigal means “recklessly extravagant.” It’s usually associated with the younger son because of how he squanders his wealth in reckless living (KJV, “prodigal living”). But, as the story demonstrates, the father in the story is the one who is truly extravagant. He is the one who runs to his son and embraces him in the midst of his mess, which is exactly what God does for us in Jesus. He’s also the one who pursues the proud, self-righteous older brother who won’t come in the party. It’s a great reminder that he loves both the irreligious and the religious.

There were some sermons from John MacArthur and Tim Keller that were helpful in helping me more deeply understand this parable and I thought I’d pass on some of their resources. Interestingly, MacArthur just came out with a book on the parable and Keller is releasing one this fall (I think he stole my title…well, maybe not).

I would highly recommend Keller’s free audio message on this parable. Click here to get the audio.

Exercising Kingdom-Mindedness

I had breakfast today with a fellow church planter who is beginning to work in the same general vicinity as Second Mile. I have to confess that the natural (i.e. not Spirit-led) part of me begins to think somewhat competitively rather than cooperatively. I was reminded through meeting with him that there are people that his church will reach through their network of relationships that Second Mile would never reach and vice versa. Instead of feeling insecure and threatened, I began to feel strengthened as I prayed for his new church to be as strong and healthy as I hope for Second Mile.

In Tim Keller’s wonderful article, “Why Plant Churches,” he makes the point that one of the reasons to engage in vigorous, consistent church planting is that it is an exercise in Kingdom-mindedness. He writes, “Our attitude to new church development is a test of whether our mindset is geared to our own institutional turf, or to the overall health and prosperity of the kingdom of God in the city.”

I pray that Second Mile Church would be committed to the overall good of the whole city–and this definitely includes the health and vitality of the city’s Bible-believing churches.

Praying for the Spirit

Our leaders have been working through some brief studies on prayer from Tim Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church and then spending extended time in prayer. This week’s study talks about the difference between praying for just “temporal” blessings (food and clothing, adequate housing, health, etc.) and “Spirit” blessings (growth in holiness, experiencing God’s love, fellowship with God, etc.). Here’s a quote that is particularly insightful:

The fact that we pray so much more instinctively, consistently, and fervently for money, health, reputation, approval, and social status than we do for the glory of God and the work of his Spirit shows what our hearts are really after and really trusting in…To begin praying for the operations of the Spirit is not simply a matter of scheduling more time for it! We have to repent for the reasons we haven’t been praying for them.

Our prayer is that the people of Second Mile Church, individually and together, will be people marked by praying for the glory of God and the work of the Spirit in their lives.

The Cost of Mission

One of the most encouraging things so far about starting to work on this church is that people are really counting the cost and seeking God about whether they should be involved. I was just re-listening to Tim Keller’s brief sermon, “The Cost of Mission,” and I think it would be a great resource for anyone who’s really praying about whether to invest in Second Mile, EVBC, or any other sacrificial mission.

Click here to listen.

For more Tim Keller resources, click here.