The Profound Simplicity of the Gospel

In his first sermon titled “Sovereignty and Salvation,” the Prince of Preachers makes a very contemporary point regarding our understanding of the gospel and theology. 

I have heard numerous times from many people that we have not yet understood the gospel.  As they share this it is with a glint in their eye, as if the wide and vast unknown is comforting to them.  Could it be that they are that dissatisfied with the way that they have been raised with questions that have answers?  Do they see the church as insufficient to its message?

Frankly, I find the idea that we do not understand the gospel to be frightening!  What assurance do any of us have that we are loved of God, that we are accepted by God, or that anything he has said in his word is reliable? 

Book Review: Slave

Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ by John MacArthur
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes one word makes all the difference.  The final word in the idyllic American phrase “Liberty and justice for all” has been interpreted so many ways throughout the short history of our country.  Not to mention all the ways that it is still interpreted in the pages of the Bible.

In his book Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ, John MacArthur takes us on a journey through the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, through the perspective of one Greek word: doulos.  While nearly every English translation renders the word “servant,” the concept of what this word really means and its compelling implications are really founded in the word “slave.” 

MacArthur starts with the Fall (Genesis 3) and moves from our slavery to sin and the glory of Christ’s intervention to make us slaves of himself, then adopting us as sons, and finally setting us free, free indeed.  For me it was as if MacArthur took the jigsaw pieces that I already had and showed me how to put them together so that suddenly the image appeared more glorious than I had previously understood.

Highly recommended for any Christian seeking deeper understanding of the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Buy the book at amazon.com
Audio version available at christianaudio.com

Review: Hard to Believe

 
Hard to Believe: The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following Jesus by John F. MacArthur Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Do yourself a favor: get a red-letter Bible and read through just the words of Christ.  Notice what he says about his own message.  He talks about those who rejected him when he ministered and predicted that we would also be persecuted for sharing the same message.  Christ said that he came to cause division, and that those who would follow him would have to give up everything. 

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.“
(Matthew 10:34-39 ESV)

In his book Hard to Believe: The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following Jesus, John MacArthur comments not only on passages where Jesus gives these warnings, but makes solid points about how if we are sharing the message that Christ proclaimed and the truth that he died to make reality, then we are guaranteed to experience rejection.  If this is true, then the gospel of Jesus Christ must stand in sharp contract to the message of American churches that bring in people by the thousands in an upbeat, relevant, and relaxed atmosphere where what is taught is an “Oprah-esque” message of how to make the most of life. 

Review: The Hole in Our Gospel

The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of Us? The Answer that Changed my Life and Might Just Change the World by Richard Stearns
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

What does it look like to live as a Christian?  Being a Christian means that we are assured of our salvation through nothing more than the atoning work of Christ on the cross, yet in the Bible we are challenged to live for Christ who died in our place.

The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? is a book by Richard Stearns who serves a the president of World Vision in which he tells his own story of being a Christian, but living a life that did not reflect his faith in terms of his acts of charity to others.  He points out passages in Scripture that show that the life of the Christian is different and that we should be producing fruits that are in line with that change.  Admittedly, in telling the story of his life as a Christian, Stearns acknowledges that he is not a theologian.  As I critique his book, keep in mind that while I appreciate his challenge I am not especially thrilled with how he comes to his conclusion.  Is there a hole in the gospel or is there a worm in our fruit?

Review: Surprised by Grace

Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels by Tullian Tchividjian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When you hear the name Jonah, what usually goes through your head?  It is the big fish (or whale for you non-biology majors)?  That is what I usually think about (that and the Veggie Tales song).  Oddly enough, the story is much more than that.  Surprise!

Seriously, though in his book Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels, Tullian Tchividjian [chuh-vi-gin] brings out the beauty of the gospel through the life and message of Jonah to the evil city of Nineveh.  In very accessible prose, Pastor Tullian talks about how Jonah himself is the message about what the gospel means, and how offensive it can be to see God’s mercy at work in the lives of people who seem to deserve far less.

Ironically, seen through the lens of the gospel, Jonah finds himself in just as much need of God’s grace and salvation as the people in Nineveh and those who manned the boat to take him in the other direction.  And as we take this journey with the prophet, we find ourselves peering through those same eyes of cellphone and find our deep need staring back at us.

Surprised by Grace is a challenging reminder that we are all in the same boat and in the same city, both in desparate need of a loving, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving God.  All the glory to him because he saw our need, showed up in the flesh, and did what we could not do on our behalf.