A Double Shot Of Gospel, Please

coffee beans

It’s what I need. I wake up in the morning and my dry soul must have it. “A double shot of Gospel, please”! Because, I am dull and I forget the glories of what Christ has done for me. Today is a new day in which I am inclined to drift towards my works and efforts. I want to trust in myself. And so…. I need to be reminded of Christ’s work on that cross! The gospel is a double shot for my soul. I need it daily, regular, and often. “Why”, you ask? Because it seems that while I slept last night gospel truths began to lose its grip on me. Like the sand I hold in my hand at the beach, it slips through my fingers.

So, join with me and refresh your soul with the truths of the gospel.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

Stuart Townend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2001 Thankyou Music

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

1 Timothy 1:15

“If the Lord’s bearing our sin for us is not the gospel, I have no gospel to preach.”

C.H. Spurgeon

“The man who does not glory in the gospel can surely know little of the plague of sin that is within him.

J.C. Ryle

Outside of the cross of Jesus Christ, there is no hope in this world. That cross and resurrection at the core of the Gospel is the only hope for humanity. Wherever you go, ask God for wisdom on how to get that Gospel in, even in the toughest situations of life.  

Ravi Zacharias 

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…

Romans 1:16 ESV

The best news of the Christian gospel is that the supremely glorious Creator of the universe has acted in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection to remove every obstacle between us and himself so that we may find everlasting joy in seeing and savoring his infinite beauty.

John Piper

“If we think the main mission of the church is to improve life in Adam and add a little moral strength to this fading evil age, we have not yet understood the radical condition for which Christ is such a radical solution.” 

Michael Horton, Christless Christianity

The Righteousness of God Through Faith But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Romans 3:21-25 ESV

“If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.”

Augustine

 

“The reason that marriage is so painful and yet wonderful is because it is a reflection of the gospel, which is painful and wonderful at once. The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” 

Timothy Keller

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Ephesians 5:25-28 ESV

“My work with teenagers has convinced me that one of the main reasons teenagers are not excited by the gospel is that they do not think they need it. Many parents have successfully raised self-righteous little Pharisees. When they look at themselves, they do not see a sinner in desperate need, so they are not grateful for a Savior. Sadly, the same is true of many of their parents.” 

Timothy D. Lane, How People Change

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…

I Corinthians 15:3-4 ESV

“The marker of those who understand the gospel of Jesus Christ is that, when they stumble and fall, when they screw up, they run to God and not from him, because they clearly understand that their acceptance before God is not predicated upon their behavior but on the righteous life of Jesus Christ and his sacrificial death.”

Matt Chandler, The Explicit Gospel

Rat Race Theology

StateLibQld_1_115548_Large_crowds_of_people_in_Albert_Square,_Brisbane,_watch_the_men_of_the_Seventh_Division,_1944k

Have you noticed our culture idolizes the Rat Race?

When was the last time you asked someone how they are doing and they did not answer with: “I’ve been busy”

Isn’t that the standard American answer? We are all… busy. The Rat Race is defined by busyness and achievement. We must multitask. Buy more technology to get more things done, faster. Do more with less time. Go to bed later and get up earlier.

For, achievement is our god.

The Rat Race is what we love. Because in the Rat Race we find importance, identity, and even value. Think about it.  Don’t we think more highly of those who are leading the pack in the Rat Race?

Average is weakness in the Rat Race.

Ordinary is not good enough.

Rat Race theology says: You must take this ordinary, average life and make it better. Average? Nope! That won’t do.

“In a culture that rhapsodizes over every achievement and idolizes many of those who stand out, it is easy for the church to drink from the same intoxicating elixir and swoon over gifted expectations.”  D.A. Carson

This drives people to find a new city, get a new job, or land a new spouse. Because, the old one…. well, it’s not that it’s bad it’s just… average.

Reinvent yourself

Make a splash

Work more hours

Gotta get ahead

Are you buying into the Rat Race Theology?

our-greatest-fear

Last year I was on vacation with my family. (By the way, have you noticed we can bring the Rat Race on vacation with us? What is wrong with us!?) We had some in between down time. The idiot box, I mean the TV, was in front of us and my youngest popped it on. The Lego Movie had just begun. I had not heard of the Lego Movie and when it came on I assumed it was going to be dumb.

Have you seen it?

It is incredible! Instantly we were all laughing.

Favorite part?

The driving song of the movie. “Everything is Awesome!” If you have seen the movie than you know what I amLego Movie talking about. When you read the title, you probably smiled a little. In the world of Lego, Everything is Awesome, which means… nothing is.

It is also the theme song of the Rat Race. Everything is awesome. God forbid, we or something we are engaged in, is not….awesome. What if our careers and dreams are just… average. How incredibly terrible would that be!

What if at the end of our lives, all we have done is served the Lord with the mundane tasks He has put before us? How awful?

“Everyone wants a revolution, no one wants to do the dishes.”  Michael Horton

At the end of the movie Emmet says to Lord Business:

lego-movie“You don’t have to be the bad guy. You are the most talented, most interesting, most extraordinary person in the universe….”  (Pause – and then Emmet adds) “And so is EVERYBODY.”

Because everybody is awesome – that is the only rule in the Rat Race.

The Rat Race gets better.

How crazy are we?  We mock the Rat Race. We talk down about it. We know the Rat Race is not good. We counsel others to get out of the Rat Race and yet…. we lust for it, pursue it, and we are incredibly jealous of those who are out in front of the race!

Is that not insane? We mock the Rat Race and then strive with all that is in us, to get in the lead of that very race!

Friends, the Rat Race can be the death of relationship, family, pursuit of God, sitting on the couch with your spouse and children, having a meal without the cell phone close enough so you can reply to the text that just came in…. because it’s soooo important.  The Rat Race is the death of real relationships and communication.

God save us from the Rat Race

Further Study:  Read Ordinary By Michael Horton

Or

Listen to this sermon about average, Simeon:  iPlod