The Center of the Christian Religion

Twentieth century Presbyterian J. Gresham Machen writes the following on the center of Christianity, and is a great launching-pad for Thanksgiving weekend:

"Christ, according to Paul, will do everything or nothing; if righteousness is in slightest measure obtained by our obedience to the law, then Christ died in vain; if we trust in slightest measure in our own good works, then we have turned away from grace and Christ profiteth us nothing.

"To the world, that may seem to be a hard saying; but it is not a hard saying to the man who has ever been at the foot of the Cross; it is not a hard saying to the man who has first known the bondage of the law, the weary effort at establishment of his own righteousnes in the presence of God, and then has come to understand, as in a wonderous flash of light, that Christ has done all, and that the weary bondage was vain....--that man knows in his heart of hearts that the Apostle is right, that to trust Christ only for part is not to trust Him at all, that our own righteousness is insufficient even to bridge the smallest gap which might be left open between us and God, that there is no hope unless we can safely say to the Lord Jesus, without shadow of reservation, without shadow of self-trust: 'Thou must save, and Thou alone.'

That is the centre of the Christian religion--the absolutely underserved and sovereign grace of God, saving sinful men by the gift of Christ upon the cross. Condemnation comes by merit; salvation comes only by grace: condemnation is earned by man; salvation is given by God....

The reception of that gift is faith: faith means not doing something but receiving something; it means not the earning of a reward but the acceptance of a gift....Faith, in other words, is not active but passive; and to say that we are saved by faith is to say that we do not save ourselves but are saved only by the one in whom our faith is reposed; the faith of man presupposes the sovereign grace of God....

Thus the beginning of the Christian life is not an achievement but an experience; the soul of the man who is saved is not, at the moment of salvation, active, but passive; salvation is the work of God and God alone."

What is Faith?, 193-197. (Emphasis mine).

I am not only thankful for the gracious gift of of Jesus' death and resurrection on my behalf, but the gracious gift of faith that God has given me. Thanks be to God for the Good News of Jesus.

Are You a Son of Zebedee or a Son of Timaeus?

Are you a son of Zebedee or a son of Timaeus?

Notice the contrast of response to Jesus' question, in Mark 10, "What do you want me to do for you?" James and John, the sons of Zebedee, respond, "Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory." Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, replies, "Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!"

The sons of Zebedee desire position, power, authority, and glory, Bartimaeus just wants to see. James and John are jostling for authority causing dissension among the disciples. Bartimaeus, in spite of the annoyed crowd, is persistently crying out for Jesus, jumping up to get close to Him, and, simply, wanting to see. James and John are looking for what Jesus can give them. Bartimaeus wants mercy.

The Gospel is not about getting something from Jesus that resembles the kingdom of man--power, glory, authority, you fill-in-the-blank. The Gospel of the kingdom is about trusting Jesus and pursuing Him radically for mercy. Far too often the Gospel is framed in a what's-in-it-for-me principle. This is not the Jesus way, which is one of servanthood and self-giving, nor is it the way to Jesus. The way to Jesus is as a blind man throwing aside what he has and coming to Jesus for mercy.

Are you the blind man of faith looking for the mercy of Jesus doing whatever you can just be near Him or the one who thinks he can already see simply looking for what Jesus can give you?

A Colossal Problem with Christianity

Watchman Nee:

"A colossal problem exists among God's children today. The Christianity which they know is quite fragmentary. You obtain a little grace, I receive a little gift, and he speaks a little tongue. This man experiences some change in his conduct, that man possesses some measure of love; this one has patience, that one has humility. This is what is commonly known as Christianity. But is this Christianity? It is not, for Christianity is Christ. Christianity is not reward, neither is it what Christ gives to me. Christianity is none other than Christ himself.

Do you perceive the difference? These are two totally divergent ways. Christianity is not any one thing which Christ gives to me; Christianity is Christ giving himself to me." Christ the Sum of All Spiritual Things, 62-63.

Amen: kind of reminds me of the point of this guy's book.

Substitution Essential to God's Work at the Cross

Christopher Wright:

"...the Bible uses different metaphors as ways of conveying the multifaceted truth about what God accomplished through the cross of Christ and what that accomplishment can mean for us when we put our faith in him. This basic affirmation, however, at the heart of the Bible's interpretation of the cross, namely, that it was an act of God in which God in Christ put himself in our place is an act of substitution for our benefit, is not really a metaphor...

the act of substitution seems not to be a 'something else' that we can use as one way of talking about a different reality--namely, what God did at the cross. Rather, there is something inescapably essential about this. Substitution is not a metaphor for what God did; it is what he actually did. God actually did choose to put himself in a place where we should be, to do for us what we could not do for ourselves...[this] is not one metaphor among others, but the core reality that then presents itself to our understanding through the variety of metaphors and analogies that the Bible uses to appreciate the vast rich reality of all that God achieved by that self-giving, self-substituting act." The God I Don't Understand, 125.

A Gospel Beating

Tim Keller:

"The gospel is therefore not just the ABCs of the Christian life, but the A to Z of the Christian life.  Our problems arise largely because we don't continually return to the gospel to work it in and live it out.  That is why Martin Luther wrote, 'The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all the Christian doctrine....Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually."  The Prodigal God, p. 119

I would add to Luther: "Beat the gospel into your own head continuously and persistently."

Repent of Your Righteousness

Tim Keller:

"Pharisees only repent of their sins, but Christians repent for the very roots of their righteousness too." The Prodigal God, 78.

The "Gift" of Cerebral Palsy and the Horror of Abortion

(HT: Ray Ortlund Jr.)

The Gospel Exposes the Cancer of Idolatry

"False gods destroy and devour lives, health and resources; they distort and diminish our humanity; they preside over injustice, greed, perversion, cruelty, lust and violence. It is possibly the most satanic dimension of their deceptive power that, in spite of all this, they still persuade people that they are the beneficent protectors of their worshipers' identity, dignity and prosperity, and must therefore by defended at all costs. Only the gospel can unmask these claims. Only the gospel exposes the cancer of idolatry. Only the gospel is good for the people."

Christopher Wright, The Mission of God, 178-179

I Will Melt You

God's wrath is a frightening thing. Ezekiel is full of God's anger toward Israel for their idolatry. The wrath of God is like a furnace that melts precious metal.

"Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you.” Ezekiel 22:18-22

It is good to know that Jesus has absorbed the wrath of God for sinners. Those who trust Jesus are saved from God's wrath. Those who do not have the hot furnace of the wrath of God on their heads.

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." Jn. 3:36

"Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God." Ro. 5:9

The blood of Jesus not only washes away sin, but removes the wrath of God.