Romans 5 | Therefore

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1-2).

Are you living on the correct side of the "therefore?" On this side of the therefore there is peace, hope, grace, and rejoicing. Yet many Christians live without experiencing this side of the therefore. They live with an understanding of the gospel that leaves them unaffected. They know the truths, but for some reason it isn't affecting them yet. Tim Keller has a great example of a Coke machine at in his building that you put coins but the machine fails to produce Coke. What he realized is that you must hit the side of the machine to get the coins to drop. When the coins actually drop then you can push the button and a Coke will come out. He makes an excellent point saying that many Christians have had the gospel deposited in them. They have attended church, heard about Christ, even believed in Him for salvation, yet there are no gospel behaviors coming out.

This is true of us isn't it? We know the gospel but we don't always produce the gospel behaviors that we should. So we must hit the side of our heads and hearts until "the gospel drops." We do this by constantly reminding ourselves of what Christ has accomplished for us... eventually--with enough gospel clobberings--we act inline with the gospel.

So once again, let Paul hit you with this truth. "Since you have been justified through faith." Because you have laid hold of what Christ accomplished on the cross, His obedience for your rebellion, His incarceration and punishment for you liberation, cast away and forsaken for you to be brought near, "...we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." You now have access to this grace by faith in which you now stand(vs. 2). Now your life should reflect that hope and peace in a tangible act of rejoicing.

So, has the gospel dropped in your life? Are you standing in grace? Are you living on this side of the "therefore?" Are you living in peace, hope, expectation, and rejoicing?

Or do you know these truths, yet are unaffected by them?

Let the gospel hit you once again... Pray for the coin to drop. Pray for gospel transformation.

Things I Love | C.H. Spurgeon

Somewhere along the journey, I heard that C.S. Lewis avoids chronological snobery. Meaning, he isn't always enamoured by the newest books and ideas.... That concept got a hold of me. In fact, I remember walking into a Family Life book store in Florida and purchasing Autobiography of George Muller, Sermons of Jonathan Edwards published by Hendrickson, and Lectures To My Students by C.H. Spurgeon.

What I didn't know was how influential those books would be on me. Particularly LTMS by Spurgeon. No other book has had a greater influence over the way that I think about ministry than LTMS. I read it over the course of a year and have since returned to it over and over.

I am constantly stunned by how well Spurgeon can put plainly the things of God. I am often helped by his ability to colorfully describe things.

Recently I purchased a copy of All of Grace. I had never heard of it before, but it is a wonderful book. It is a tiny little book where Spurgeon explains salvation, atonement, faith, and more... Within reading the first few pages I had to stand up and fist pump... mainly because I am dork, but also because these things were explained in a way that made my heart race. I learn so much from Spurgeon because he understood that these truths should never simply be explained. As if we are teaching a textbook on literature or something... no, the truths of God need to be compelling put forth... And they demand a response. Spurgeon never writes or speaks without having in mind an appeal to the people hearing him. "Please, turn to Christ. Trust in Christ."

It may seem weird that I love an old dead guy... but because of his influence over me, I am indebted to him.

Things I Love | Missions

As I write about "Things I Love" I am becoming aware that there was a particular experience that brought about my loves... At the end of 2006 I blew out my knee... During the same time, my wife now--girlfriend at the time--moved in to Chicago. We made it work for about a short time, then we split. Frankly, I was angry at God. I was depressed and upset. I was hurting.

God used that time to refine me. He was teaching me new things and recommissioning me for His service. In January of 2007 I went to the Passion Conference in Atlanta Georgia with some friends from Heartland Church. Two of the keynotes there were John Piper and Francis Chan. They brought the Word.

I left that experience with more questions than answers. It just so happened that I was about to depart for a month long adventure to Nairobi Kenya. So I loaded up my ipod with Chan and Piper sermons and boarded a plane. For a month I served with the children of the Kibera slum with First Love Kenya. Many of the kids were orphans.

That experience, or I should say, that season of life had a huge influence over me. God was doing something to me... in me.

Out of that came a passion for world missions. Specifically, frontier missions. If what people need most is the gospel--and it is, and if God uses missions to spread the gospel--and He does, then we need to be about missions.

I pray that God will raise up a new generation of workers to do His work. I pray that there will be people that give their lives to make sure that all nations have heard of Him.

Things I Love | Preaching

Matt Chandler of The Village Church, bringing the word.

It is interesting for me to reflect on this. My personality is very introverted and very timid. I can recall--and often tell others about this too--that during my first speech in my freshmen English class, I froze up. I made it through the first line on my note card with my voice shaking. Then I stared blankly at the class... I was sweating, trembling, and unable to make my mind recall what I planned to say. I looked at the teacher and shrugged my shoulders. Then I sat down. I got an "F" on the speech.

I am terrified of public speaking. It has always been my enemy. Which is ironic because God has called me to speak His Word... I often have to remind myself of Moses' and God's dialogue where Moses says to God, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (Exodus 4:10-12). I feel like Moses arguing with God of my incapability's. But God continues to remind me that He is able to speak through me.

That makes me realize that preaching for me is a spiritual gift. I work hard to get better at preaching, but at the end of the day it is a supernatural experience that I can stand before a group of people and not pass out. And even more amazing, it is supernatural that people hear the voice of God when I preach. Incredible.

So that is the personal and selfish side of it... The other thing that I have come to see about preaching is that it is critical to the purposes of God. For some strange reason God has chosen the instrument of preaching to accomplish His mission. A frail man standing before a group of people and, in a sense, saying "thus saith the Lord" is the way God designed gospel-proclamation. Weird.

But it is powerful and effective. Preaching is life changing. Preaching transforms culture and brings dead men to life. Preaching is miraculous.

So I have given my life to preaching.

I want to rightly handle the word of truth. I want to be found a workman that need not be ashamed. I want to speak as one speaking the very words of God. There is a fire in my bones. His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. (2 Tim 2:15, 1 Peter 4:11, Jeremiah 20:9)

Things I Love | The Church

There was a time in my life when I questioned the institution called the church. I think it was popular at the time and I was young enough and arrogant enough to swallow that pill... but, God in His goodness, helped me to see the beauty of the church.

In Ephesians we are told that Jesus is making His Bride ready by the washing of the Word. In February of 2007, God put that verse on my heart and life. I saw the importance of the church and the necessity of the washing of the Word. People need the church because it is God's agent of change in the world. God has chosen to change the world through communities of His people. Those people when gathered are called the Church. Historically, churches have been the primary means by which disciples make disciples. The Church is the implication of the gospel. When you understand the gospel aright, it is natural that you see a church planting movement. That is the story of Acts in the New Testament. Leaders that plant churches, that plant churches, that plant churches, until Jesus returns.

So, I am a church guy. I love the church and I will give my life to her. But to be fair to those that are a little skeptical of the institution... I do not see the church with rose colored lenses. I see the potential and also the misgivings. I know that there is no perfect church this side of eternity. Even the famed Acts 2 church became an Acts 5 church. What I mean is that the church we boast about in Acts 2 had a short lived glory day before it became a place where deception occurred (Acts 5), and a place where strife and division brewed (Acts 6). The early churches all had issues. That's how we got our New Testament. Paul, Peter, James, and John were all writing churches that they planted, to address problems facing the church and within the church. That being said, yes the church has problems, but it is God's Bride. It is the hope of the World. And it is worth your life. What else could you give yourself to that so perfectly aligns the heart of God?

Gospel Statesman Jerry Bridges

Tyler Kennedy has posted some videos of Jerry Bridges at the Desiring God blog. Here are a couple of the short vid's from Jerry Bridges regarding the Gospel that I so love... And you can find more here.

Things I Love | The Gospel

I am starting a new blog series... It's called "Things I Love..." I want to highlight some of the things that are dear to me.

The first installment is on the Gospel. Go ahead, say it. I am a one trick pony. I love the gospel. It is the one drum that I bang on. You want to know why? Its because it is dear to me. The gospel has crashed over me afresh over and over again. I don't think I could ever get tired of it... and I'm pretty sure that Scripture affirms that too. One million years from now I will still be wrecked by the gospel... I will still be worshiping Jesus. Incredible.

Also, it is important to me that I wear primary belief's on my sleeve. The Gospel is a primary... It isn't assumed. It's the main event. So many people assume the Gospel, but get excited about something else... Please God never let anything overtake my passion for the Gospel.

D.A. Carson comments on the importance of gospel primacy:

If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again. That had better be the gospel.

If the gospel—even when you are orthodox—becomes something which you primarily assume, but what you are excited about is what you are doing in some sort of social reconstruction, you will be teaching the people that you influence that the gospel really isn’t all that important. You won’t be saying that—you won’t even mean that—but that’s what you will be teaching. And then you are only half a generation away from losing the gospel.

Make sure that in your own practice and excitement, what you talk about, what you think about, what you pray over, what you exude confidence over, joy over, what you are enthusiastic about is Jesus, the gospel, the cross. And out of that framework, by all means, let the transformed life flow.

So I make sure that the Gospel is always on my lips. I read about it. I write about it. I let my life be consumed by it.


HT: Justin Taylor