Wednesday, October 12, 2011

"The preeminence of Christ our Redeemer and the truth of the gospel with the glorious promise of the resurrection must be...... clearly articulated."

Sir Peter Paul Rubens (28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640)

"When we assert that the TGC is passionate about the gospel, we are saying something more than that we are passionate to evangelize (though I hope all of us mean at least that): we are passionate about the gospel as it is presented in Scripture. The gospel is not the little bit of the Bible that tips us into the kingdom so that we can get on with our discipleship and doctrine courses, but the big category, the heart of the Bible's storyline, that joyously announces what God has done through his Son for his own glory and for the good of his blood-bought people, the church of the living God. That is why we worry about questions like this: "What is the least that a person must believe so as to be saved?"---implying, perhaps, that that is the gospel. God help us! That sort of approach will guarantee thin gruel. We should be asking, rather, "How can we preach the whole counsel of God, demonstrating in countless ways the matchless richness of the gospel of God, to the end that men and women might be saved and that all should honor the Son even as the Father?"-DA Carson & Tim Keller http://thegospelcoalition.org/

*the opening quote is from Dr. Harry Reeder III, pastor Briarwood PCA church in Alabama.

6 comments:

Craver Vii said...

I have heard (and asked) that queston, or a form of that question before. It is not a bad question, but as Dr. Robert Godfrey says, "The gospel is not reductionistic."

When I ask the question, I try to lead the discussion so that students wrestle with the ugliness of reducing the glorious calling of following Christ into a formula that accommodates easy-believism... and that can lead to a false hope.

I also like to point out that in the Great Commission, Jesus says, "teaching them to obey all I have commanded you." We must distinguish between stopping short at winning converts and pressing on to make disciples.

Craver Vii said...

Don, I think that one of the reasons we oversimplify the gospel is so that we might create a path for unity among other Christians. I found an interesting response to that line of thinking:

“We believe that the cause of unity in the church is best served, not be finding the lowest common denominator of doctrine, around which all can gather, but be elevating the value of truth … seeking unity that comes from the truth, and then demonstrating to the world how Christians can love each other across boundaries rather than by removing boundaries.”

~ The Bethlehem Baptist Church Elder Affirmation of Faith 15.2

donsands said...

Excellent thoughts Craver. Thanks. And excellent quote.
Good to hear from you my friend.

"For by grace are we saved through faith."

Amazing grace that still saves wrethches like me. And this grace is as vast and as deep as the Pacific Ocean, and yet is free and sovereignly given to all of God's children who have faith as a child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoygy-8PTtU

mark pierson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mark pierson said...

Don, what Carson said here... "How can we preach the whole counsel of God, demonstrating in countless ways the matchless richness of the gospel of God, to the end that men and women might be saved and that all should honor the Son even as the Father?"-DA Carson " really stood out. Paul never shrank back from declaring the whole counsel of God in his evangelism.

donsands said...

Amen Mark. Thanks for stopping by brother.
Have a great Lord's day!