Archive for the ‘The Gospel’ Category

In April 2009, John Piper, Philip Ryken, Mark Driscoll, K. Edward Copeland, Bryan Chapell, and J. Ligon Duncan gathered in Chicago at The Gospel Coalition National Conference to preach through the book of 2 Timothy and encourage the faithful proclamation of the gospel.

Based on the six messages given at the 2009 national conference, Entrusted with the Gospel serves as a strong reminder to the church of the glorious weight of Scripture. And to it’s leaders, the great responsibility of being entrusted with the gospel. These pastors discuss unashamed courage in gospel preaching, rightly dividing the word of truth, pitfalls and parodies of ministry, and finishing well.

Preview of the six chapters:

• John Piper: Feed the Flame- Expounding on 2 Timothy 1:1-12, Piper speaks of the necessity of feeding the “white-hot flame of God’s gift—of unashamed courage to speak openly of Christ and to suffer for the gospel. Feeding the flame is a continuous, on-going action. Continuous feeding of this flame requires courage, found only in God.
• Philip Ryken: The Pattern of Sound Words- Examining 2 Timothy 1:13-2:13, Ryken unpacks the apostle Paul’s advice to Timothy to follow the call to faithful ministry, following the pattern of “sound words” that he had heard from Paul, words grounded in the gospel. A faithful minister keeps the faith, living a life shaped by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Mark Driscoll: The Marks of a Positive Ministry- Driscoll bases his message on 2 Timothy 2:14-26, emphasizing the need for church leaders to be positive. “The are trusting, supportive, and encouraging. They build bridges and mediate conflict.” Driscoll lays out 20 marks of a positive ministry, including positively emphasizing what you are for, not against, and positively practicing repentance before preaching it.
• K. Edward Copeland: Shadowlands: Pitfalls and Parodies of Gospel-Centered Ministry- Using 2 Timothy 3:1-9, Copeland stresses the pitfalls that pastors should avoid, which include  wasting valuable time on recreational preaching, misdirected self-love, performance without belief, and impersonation of true gospel-ministry.
• Bryan Chapell: Preach the Word!- Chapell looks to 2 Timothy 3:10-4:5 to emphasize the importance of adhering to orthodoxy. Paul is stressing to Timothy the point that the Bible must be believed, and false teachers kept from creeping into the church. Chapell reminds us that God speaks to us through his Word, and when we believe the Bible, we hear God’s voice, see him work, and know his heart.
• J. Ligon Duncan: Finishing Well- Finishing up the study with 2 Timothy 4:6-22, Duncan warns of the danger of seeking to change the gospel message to fit a particular time or culture.

Entrusted with the Gospel is now available. Learn more or preview the intro and sample chapter.

In an effort to make the gospel bigger or more relevant, Greg Gilbert (author of What is the Gospel?) suggests that these substitute gospels are really less than the gospel, or no gospel at all. “Whatever the specifics, the result is that over and over again, the death of Jesus in the place of sinners is assumed, marginalized, or even (sometimes deliberately) ignored,” explains Gilbert.

3 Substitute Gospels
Adapted from What is the Gospel? (Download the full chapter)

1. “Jesus is Lord” is not the Gospel
   One of the most popular of these “bigger” gospels is the claim that the good news is simply the proclamation that “Jesus is Lord.” Of course, the declaration that “Jesus is Lord” is absolutely, magnificently true! And that declaration of Jesus’ lordship is essential to the gospel message. But surely it’s not correct to say that the declaration “Jesus is Lord” is the whole sum and substance of the Christian good news.
2. Gospel-Fall-Redemption-Consummation is not the Gospel
   Actually that outline is a really good way to summarize the Bible’s main story line. God creates the world, man sins, God acts in the Messiah Jesus to redeem a people for himself, and history comes to an end with the final consummation of his glorious kingdom. In fact, when you understand and articulate it rightly, the creation-fall-redemption-consummation outline provides a good framework for a faithful presentation of the biblical gospel. The problem, though, is that creation-fall-redemptionconsummation has been used wrongly by some as a way to place the emphasis of the gospel on God’s promise to renew the world, rather than on the cross. Just like the proclamation that “Jesus is Lord” is not good news unless there is a way to be forgiven of your rebellion against him, so the fact that God is remaking the world is not good news unless you can be included in that.
3. Cultural Transformation is not the Gospel
   I think that is a noble goal, and I also think that the effort to resist evil in society, whether personal or systemic, is a biblical one. I actually think it’s possible to be a committed transformationalist and at the same time be committed to keeping the cross of Jesus at the very center of the biblical story and of the good news. My main concern is that cultural redemption subtly becomes the great promise and point of the gospel—which of course means that the cross, deliberately or not, is pushed out of that position. The highest excitement and joy are ignited by the promise of a reformed culture rather than by the work of Christ on the cross. The most fervent appeals are for people to join God in his work of changing the world, rather than to repent and believe in Jesus. The Bible’s story line is said to pivot on the remaking of the world rather than on the substitutionary death of Jesus. And in the process, Christianity becomes less about grace and faith, and more a banal religion of “Live like this, and we’ll change the world.” That’s not Christianity; it’s moralism.

“There is an incredible amount of confusion even among people who would call themselves Evangelicals—about what the content of the Christian gospel is,” explains Greg Gilbert, author of What is the Gospel. “If you ask 100 Evangelicals, ‘What is the Gospel?,’ you’re going to get 60-70 different answers.”

So how do we define it? Gilbert turns to the Bible and starts by considering Paul’s argument in Romans 1-4 to identify four essential questions at the heart of the proclamation of the gospel:

1. Who made us, and to whom are we accountable?

2. What is our problem? In other words, are we in trouble and why?

3. What is God’s solution to that problem? How has he acted to save us from it?

4. How do I—myself, right here, right now—how do I come to be included in that salvation? What makes this good news for me and not just for someone else?

We might summarize these four major points like this: God, man, Christ, and response. Of course Paul goes on to unfold a universe of other promises God has made to those who are saved in Christ, and many of those promises may very appropriately be identified as part of the good news of Christianity, the gospel of Jesus Christ. But it’s crucial that we understand, right from the outset, that all those grand promises depend on and flow from this, the heart and fountainhead of the Christian good news. Those promises come only to those who are forgiven of sin through faith in the crucified and risen Christ. That is why Paul, when he presents the heart of the gospel, starts here—with these four critical truths.

(Modified from pp 34-35 of What is the Gospel?)