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Got Guilt?

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If you’re like me, you occasionally feel guilt in living some part of the Christian life. Whether its being more passionate in sharing the Gospel or honoring God in my body, I feel weighed down with guilt far to often. Maybe yours comes in one of these areas:

* We could pray more.
* We aren’t bold enough in evangelism.
* We like sports too much.
* We watch movies and television too often.
* Our quiet times are too short or too sporadic.
* We don’t give enough.
* We bought a new couch.
* We don’t read to our kids enough.
* Our kids eat Cheetos and french fries.
* We don’t recycle enough.
* We need to lost 20 pounds.
* We could use our time better.
* We could live some place harder or in something smaller.

Kevin DeYoung had some great thoughts on this recently in a post entitled, Are Christians Meant to Feel Guilty All the Time? His reasons we feel guilt:

1. We don’t fully embrace the good news of the gospel.
2. Christians tend to motivate each other by guilt rather than grace.
3. Most of our low-level guilt falls under the ambiguous category of “not doing enough.”
4. When we are truly guilty of sin it is imperative we repent and receive God’s mercy.

Take some time and work through this post for your soul’s sake.

On Eschatology

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If thed lead eitorial from the latest Southern Baptist Journal of Theology is any indication of the issue itself, there is much help to be gained by its consumption. In this editorial, Thinking Biblically and Theologically about Eschatology, Stephen Wellum writes how we shouldn’t run from eschatology, as we often do for the wrong reasons. We should pursue it because:

In truth, eschatology, properly understood, is nothing more than a thorough study of God’s great act of redemption in Jesus the Christ. Eschatology, then, not only presents us with the Bible’s meta-narrative, it also unpacks how that grand story is centered in Jesus. How our Lord was not only anticipated and predicted in the OT, but how, in our Lord’s coming he has literally ushered in and inaugurated the “last days.” By his incarnation and life, supremely his death, resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost, God’s promised plan of salvation has been accomplished, and now we await and anticipate the consummation of that plan in the glorious appearing of the King of kings and the Lord of lords (see Eph 1:9-10; Phil 2:6-11; Rev 4-5; 19:1-21). When eschatology is presented in this way, not only is it true to the Scripture, it is also able to move us to action, obedience, worship, and service. Such eschatology will never leave us merely satisfied with this world, but it will orient us towards the future where the church will rightly learn to cry afresh with the church of all ages, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20).

A Table of Contents is also available for a peak, but Wellum’s editorial is fantastic (and only 2 pages). Enjoy.

Recap of Gospel Suffering

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Today’s sermon, Gospel Suffering from Colossians 1:24 is now online. Thought we had a good morning. I was really stirred by the passage and the call to join Christ in suffering. Like I confessed this AM, I have a hard time embracing suffering for the Gospel because I don’t want the negative. This running after convenience is missing what the NT says is the norm for believers. Any applications stick out to you?

Adopted as a Son…

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Holiday break is fast approaching and as we think about Jesus coming to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), I am going to take Justin Buzzard’s challenge. He recommends we work through this chart this holiday to remind ourselves of the truth that in Christ, we are sons and daughters of God:

He links to a longer version of this chart and while you’re on that page, download Gospel Encouragement to Cheer Up (2nd from the top). (We will be using World Harvest Misson’s Gospel Centered Life curriculum in small groups this Winter.)

I’ll close with an amazing quote from the Gospel Encouragement to Cheer Up article and see if your heart isn’t better stirred to praise Jesus:

The gospel is the best news we could ever hear. The gospel is about Jesus Christ and his power to transform our lives and relationships, communities, and ultimately, the nations. Through this gospel, we are freely given a new identity—an identity not based on race, social class, gender, a theological system, or a system of rules and regulations. Rather it is a new and perfect identity based solely on faith in Christ, an identity that defines every aspect of our lives. We are now forgiven, righteous, adopted, accepted, free, and heirs to everything that belongs to Christ. So even our sin, weakness, and failures do not define who we are. Because of this good news, we no longer have to hide from our sin and imagine that we have it all together, for God knows and loves us as we are, not as we pretend to be.

May you spend this Christmas season honoring the Savior who accomplished these very things for you in His life, death and resurrection.

Who is Jesus?

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C.S. Lewis famously remarked that He’s either a liar, a lunatic or the Lord. Today at Crestview, we looked at Colossians 1:15-16 to see a clear revelation of Jesus in a sermon entitled Who Is Jesus? The main points were pretty simple:

Jesus is God (15)
Jesus is Creator (16)

The big implication is that we weren’t made to spend our days serving ourselves. We were made for something greater…we were made by Him, through Him and for Him.

I hope you were encouraged as we looked at Jesus today.

Carson on Gospel Centered in Christian Life…

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Justin Buzzard recently asked D.A. Carson 4 questions “about the gospel, the upcoming generation, and doing ministry in unchurched regions like the San Francisco Bay Area.” The first question is, “In a paragraph, what does it mean to be gospel-centered in one’s Christian life?” Carson’s answer:

Some think of the gospel as so slender it does nothing more than get us into the kingdom. After that the real work of transformation begins. But a biblically-faithful understanding of the gospel shows that gospel to be rich, powerful, the wisdom of God and the power of God, all we need in Christ. It is the gospel that saves us, transforms us, conforms us to Christ, prepares us for the new heaven and the new earth, establishes our relations with fellow-believers, teaches us how to work and serve so as to bring glory to God, calls forth and edifies the church, and so forth. This gospel saves — and “salvation” means more than just “getting in,” but transformed wholeness. It would be easy to write many pages on how a gospel-centered ness affects all of life, but one must begin with a full-orbed understanding of what the gospel is and does.

Check out his post for the answers to other questions.

Transferred…

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Yesterday’s sermon, Transfer Orders, from Colossians 1:13-14 is now online. The text is simple review for those of us who have tasted and seen the Lord’s goodness in the Gospel — we are delivered from darkness to the kingdom of Jesus, receiving redemption and forgiveness. My charge to believers was, using the context, to increase in knowledge of these truths more and more and, in so doing, live a life pleasing to the Lord characterized by gratitude.

What emotions does the Father’s saving work in your produce?