Impressive but dead

In his sermon on Sunday evening, Glen argued that if you mess with the heart of the gospel you risk killing the church and being left with a corpse. It might still be a big, impressive, sprawling body with much to admire, but it might still be dead.

The Nationalist faith changed my life

Chanel 4's Young, Angry and White tonight had very interesting momemts. The 19 year old featured, Kieren, thinks the world is badly wrong and that Nationalism has good news. In a way he came across as quite intelligent, articulate and unagressive. He is unashamed of his views, which he thinks of as moral and does not want to compromise. The creed is inspiring to him and he is encouraged by the history of the movement and that some have been believers for 40 years. He is keen to live in accordance with his faith. He spoke explicitly about going to some BNP weekend as if it were like going to a Christian camp and finding an intense new faith. He spoke of Nationalists as a family that gave him purpose, optimism and hope. He spoke of comfort and belonging and the warm welcome that he received. The BNP does seem to have changed his life and made him take responsibility. He is studying for his A-levels, wants to go to university, succeed, have a good career and be the bread-winner of his future family.

Of course, his views are stupid and poisonous. They amount to a different gospel which is really no gospel at all.

Guard the Gospel

We guard the gospel (2 Tim 1:14) not by maximum security, locking it up in a box and restricting access to it etc., but by passing it on faithfully (2 Tim 2:2), reliably to reliable people who will pass it on reliably to reliable people who will pass it on ...

HT: DS @ SGP (again!)

The GREAT commission

When we consider the greatness of the great commission we need not worry about overdoing the depth and extent of gospel mission.

What is the gospel? (updated)

That old chestnut!

But what question is more important?

I want to always stay interested and excited above all by God and the gospel so its worth thinking about again.

The gospel is best summarised in one word as JESUS.

In 4 words, the gospel is JESUS CHRIST IS LORD.

JESUS is the second person of the Triune Godhead, the living and true God who is and was and is to come. He is eternally begotten of the Father and was incarnate, made man in Palestine 2000 years ago. He lives for ever as the God-Man. Jesus is uniquely and infinitely worthy and wonderful. He is the Saviour from sin. He offers you rescue from the penalty, power and ultimately even the presence of all sin, rebellion and wrong. He rescues us from the holy anger of God, the wrath which is to come.

He is the CHRIST, the Messiah, God's annointed Son in whom he is well pleased, the chosen, marked out, long expected, special rescuer king who fulfills all God's plans and purposes. He is the crucifed and risen one. He puts our sin to death and raises us to wonderful new life. He is our prophet (who tells us truth about God), priest (who makes us right with God) and king (who rules us for and as God). He is the Proper Man, the Second and Last Adam. He is the fulfillment of all we are and long to be in our better moments. He is right where we are wrong. He is able to rule and subdue and fill and glorify, beautify and mature us and our world, which is his world.

He is the LORD, the creator, master, ruler, king, judge, decider. He chooses rightly, rules wisely, governs kindly. He is the kind of king we want and need. He is Yahweh, the covenantal God of Israel, personal and faithful.

The Gospel can be understood by considering the eternal nature and relations, incarnation, life, teaching, death, resurrection, exaltation, reign and return of Jesus the Messiah.

The GOSPEL is good news, an announcement, proclamation. It is God's offer of peace to rebels. It is our comission in his army. It is his installation of a new king. It launches a wonderful new epoch and age. It is a reality demanding a response, a command, a promise, a call. We must get on board with what God has done, is doing and will do or we will be left behind.

Penal substitutionary atonement is at the heart of the gospel since without it I face condemnation. Justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, on the basis supremely of Scripture is the delicious abundant fruit of the gospel.

The gospel includes personal salvation, but it is also much more. The Gospel includes the glory of God and the transformation of the world by the Word of God in the power of the Spirit. Jesus is Lord of my heart and church and home and government and the whole universe.

Can you do better? Any changes?

Weaknessed of 2WTL

Two Ways To Live has been my gospel tract / gospel outline of choice for years. I regularly give it out, we have it available at church and we'll be using it prominently on camp.

Yet, recently I've heard some criticisms of it:

(1) It can seem rather complicated and a bit much for non-Christians

(2) It emphasises head-knowledge of the fact of sin without being affecting and giving much sense of the great horror of sin etc.

(3) It seems Arminian by presenting us with a choice without speaking of the work of the Spirit and the need for God to have mercy on us and regenerate us if we are to make the right choice

(4) It implies that we become Christians by praying a prayer rather than repenting, believing and being baptised

What do you think? Are any of these criticisms fair? Have you heard any others?

Is there a better reasonably complete brief gospel outline available?

For myself, I'm not inclined to criticise such a brief tract for its omissions unless they are really essential and I reckon we could argue about emphasis untill the cows come home.

If I were asked to sum up the gospel in 4 words (conveninetly) I'd go for "Jesus Christ is Lord". But if were allowed 6 pictures, I think I'd still go for Two Ways To Live.

Spurgeon's evangelistic stratergy

Apparently CHS said:

To try to win a soul for Christ by keeping that soul in ignorance of any truth, is contrary to the mind of the Spirit; and to endeavor to save men by mere claptrap, or excitement, or oratorical display, is as foolish as to hope to hold an angel with bird-lime, or lure a star with music. The best attraction is the gospel in its purity. The weapon with which the Lord conquers men is the truth as it is in Jesus. The gospel will be found equal to every emergency; an arrow which can pierce the hardest heart, a balm which will heal the deadliest wound. Preach it, and preach nothing else.

Jesus Changes Lives!

Yesterday Mrs Lloyd and I went to the SAMS (South American Mission Society) meeting at Holy Trinity, Eastbourne, where Rev'd Ronnie and his wife from Bolivia were speaking.

Mrs Ronnie is the daughter of Archbishop Greg Venables (of the Southern Cone).

There was lots of interesting stuff, but the thing that struck me was how Jesus changes lives. Ronnie had never known his father and had got mixed up in drugs and alcohol abuse, but Jesus transformed everything for him. Of course, the most important thing is the rescue from hell that Jesus offers, but it is amazing to compare the life-chances of Ronnie's three children with how he might well have ended up, but for the grace of God.