Tag: Christianity
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Scandalous Freedom
I have been listening to Steve Brown‘s Scandalous Freedom podcasts over the past couple weeks. For those not familiar with Steve, let me issue a warning: Don’t listen to him if you take yourself too seriously or think Christianity is about putting a stamp of approval on your goodness. I guarantee that if you think that…
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Moralism Trap
To reach people in our day, the gospel will have to be distinguished from moralism, because moralism is what most people outside the church think Christianity is all about – rules and standards and behavior and cleaning yourself up. Millions of people, both inside and outside the church, believe that the essential message of Christianity…
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Fundamentalists, Liberals, and Gospel-Centered Christianity
If you think about it, Fundamentalist and Liberal Christians have more on common with one another than either does with Gospel-centered Christianity. While Fundamentalists and Liberals would seem to be very different from the other, almost even polar opposites, I am convinced this is true. For both of those traditions tend to view the purpose of Christianity to…
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Portrait of a Recovering Pharisee
by Nancy Scott When Sally first heard the gospel at age eleven, she understood immediately that God’s grace is what saves us. She already knew her heart was full of evil and that she had nothing to bring to God. It made perfect sense that God would have to do the saving, if any saving…
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Deconstructing the Twin Enemies of the Gospel
Perhaps the two of the most effective enemies of the gospel within the Church in North America are the twins: Moralism and Legalism. While there are other enemies at work, such as Relativism and Licentiousness, these are far more obvious in their opposition to the gospel. Moralism and Legalism, however, are so potent, especially among…
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Call to Discipleship: Same for All
At the most basic level, the Bible says that Jesus does not have two classes of disciples: Those who abandon their lives to his service. Those who do not. The call to discipleship is the same for all. ~ Colin Marshall & Tony Payne, from The Trellis and the Vine
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This Present Communion
“We are justified if we have accepted Christ as Savior. But present communion with God requires continual bowing in both the intellect and the will. Without bowing in the intellect, in thinking after God; without acting upon the finished work of Christ in my present life; and without bowing in the will in practice, as…
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Gospel-Centered Lives
From time to time I am asked by some in our church what I mean when I repeatedly declare that we are – and we must be – a Gospel-Centered Church. I think it may be the hyphen that confuses people. To be “something”-centered is simply to focus on the relation an individual or a church…
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Can We Get Along Together?
One of my ecclesiastical/theological heroes, John Piper, came under a slew of criticism earlier this year for inviting “Purpose Diven” Rick Warren to be one of the speakers for the Desiring God 2010 Conference. I like the way Collin Hansen introduces the controversy, in his article, Piper, Warren, and the Perils of Movement Building: You…
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10 Dumbest Things Christians Do
There is a book out there with the title: The 10 Dumbest Things Christians Do. I feel compelled to pick up a book with a title like that. I want to see how many of these 10 dumb things I am guilty of doing. I don’t know if the list the author, Mark Atteberry, compiled is right…
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3 Ways
There is a difference between the Gospel and being good. But I am not sure the average person understands this – neither in the church nor outside the doors. In this short video Tim Keller explains the difference between: Gospel Moralism Irreligion
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What’s Glenn Beck Doing at Liberty University?
It was with some bemusement that I took note of the speaker for Liberty University’s 2010 Commencement: Glenn Beck. I am not sure what message was conveyed by this choice. One possibility seems commendable. Another possibility, I fear, may be a sad reflection of attitudes within and around contemporary American Evangelicalism. Liberty University, long steeped in Baptistic Fundamentalism, maintained its commitment to the conservative…
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Hume Offers Tiger Way Out of the Woods
I’ve been a fan of Brit Hume ever since, during my college years, I saw him as a panelist of a debate for the 1984 Presidential Election. The panelist preceding Hume asked a question to one of the candidates, who then essentially filabustered – he talked in non-sensical circles until his time had elapsed. In his turn Brit…
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Ecstasy & Delight
Ecstasy and delight are essential to the believer’s soul and they promote sanctification. We were not meant to live without spiritual exhilaration, and the Christian who goes for a long time without the experience of heart-warming will soon find himself tempted to have his emotions satisfied from earthly things and not, as he ought, from…
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Pretentious Piety
The more things have changed, some things have remained the same. Such is the case for Christians in a typical church. When Samuel Blair assumed the pulpit of Faggs Manor Presbyteran Church in 1740 he found a congregation in a spiritual condition not uncommon even in our day. Blair wrote that when he came…
