Gospel vs. Religion

Religion is a slippery slope that is easy to slip into...much easier than you think. The reason why is because your external actions are probably the same. If you are living out the gospel, you are probably attending church faithfully, giving, serving, seeking to share your faith, etc. If you have slipped into religion, you probably are doing all those things...perhaps begrudgingly and without joy, but you're doing them.

So on the surface, living out the gospel and being religious look very similar. However, underneath the surface, there is HUGE difference.

There is no one better that I now of that explains better the internal difference between the gospel and religion than Tim Keller and he shows us in his new publication, Gospel in Life Study Guide (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), p. 16.

Acceptance

• Religion: “I obey; therefore, I’m accepted.”
• Gospel: “I’m accepted; therefore, I obey.”

Motivation

• Religion: Motivation is based on fear and insecurity.
• Gospel: Motivation is based on grateful joy.

Obedience

• Religion: I obey God in order to get things from God.
• Gospel: I obey God to get God – to delight in an resemble him.

Circumstances

• Religion: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or myself, since I believe that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life.
• Gospel: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle, but I know my punishment fell on Jesus and that while God may allow this for my training, he will exercise his Fatherly love within my trial.

Criticism

• Religion: When I am criticized, I am furious or devastated because it is critical that I think of myself as a “good person.” Threats to self-image must be destroyed at all costs.
• Gospel: When I am criticized, I struggle, but it is not essential for me to think of myself as a “good person.” My identity is not built on my record or my performance but on God’s love for me in Christ.

Prayer

• Religion: My prayer life consists largely of petition, and it only heats up when I am in a time of need. My main purpose in prayer is control of the environment.
• Gospel: My prayer life consists of generous stretches of praise and adoration. My main purpose is fellowship with God.

Confidence

• Religion: My self-view swings things between to poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel humble but not confident – I feel like a failure.
• Gospel: My self-view is not based on my moral achievement. In Christ I am simul lustus et peccator – simultaneously sinful and lost, yet accepted in Christ. I am so bad that he had to die for me, and I am so loved that he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deep humility and confidence at the same time.

Identity

• Religion: My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work, or how moral I am – and so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral.
• Gospel: My identity and self worth are centered on the one who died for me. I am saved by sheer grace and I can’t look down on those who believe or practices something different from me. Only by grace am I what I am.

Sharing the Gospel

Every Sunday, it's my aim as a communicator/preacher to shed light on the gospel. It may not be as direct as the "Roman Road" (Romans 3:23; 5:8; 6:23; 10:9-10; 10:13), but my hope is that everyone (Christian or non-Christian) walks away with a better understanding of the gospel.

However, this Sunday my hope is to be direct and take dead aim at explaining how God makes knowing Him possible. The friends you bring along with you (you are bringing a friend right?) will receive about a 35-40 minute explanation of the gospel of grace, and in doing so, my hope is also to provide you with a model of how you can also explain the gospel. Here's rough outline of my message that you can use:

1. "...(God) took on flesh and dwelt among us..." (John 1:14)

a. God became one of us to identify with our lives

b. He dwells among us to so we can really know Him

2. The invitation of salvation is for everyone (John 3:16)

a. People no one else wants to relate to

i. Samaritan woman (John 4)

ii. Woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11)

iii. Mary of Bethany (John 12:1-8)

b. People who are low on the totem poll (Peter, James and John - Luke 5)

3. Jesus came to show us truth and grace (John 1:14)

a. He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life (John 14:6)

b. We don't earn anything it's grace

i. unmerited favor

ii. through the death of Jesus

4. Sin deserves death (Rom 6:23), but by trusting in Jesus we get life

a. Why did Jesus die if he didn't sin?

b. He took our sin and we get his perfection! (2 Cor 5:21)

5. Now what?

a. We don't walk with a swagger as if we did anything (humility - Eph 2:8)

b. We don't loathe life as if we are still under condemnation (Rom 8:1)

c. We worship with our whole lives (Eph 2:10; Rom 12:1)

I'll see you and your friends on Sunday!

Sharing the Gospel with Our Kids

At Jubilee, we make a big deal of sharing the gospel to the next generation. That would of course, include our children. I found this post by Jen Whitmer (one of our members) helpful and inspiring. I would encourage you to read it.

Sharing the Gospel

Today I went to "bring you pastor to school" day at Webster University to pray and talk to students about Jesus. And although it seemed a little strange, I jumped at the opportunity - I love students and I love sharing the gospel.

First of all, it was a bit nostalgic driving into old Webster. Many of you will remember this was Jubilee's former base of operations until just a couple of years ago. It had been even longer since I've walked on that campus. As a side note, they have done a lot to that campus and seems like a great place to go to school.

I showed up there at 10 am and we prayed for an hour or so and then went out and engaged students with spiritual questions. My new friend Nathan and I got into a great conversation with a freshman who is majoring in graphic art, but it appeared to us that her real desire was to connect with the divine. She struggles tremendously with God (at least the one I love and serve), as issues of right and wrong and judgment and other religions clouded her views. As I walked away from that conversation, my heart broke for this next generation. I was reminded of Paul's writings in Ephesians 3 where he wrote that it was his job (and our job) to make plain the mystery of Christ. And I began to think how God was a mystery to her. She was confused about God like many others are in her peer group. Yet, I was also struck by her desire to talk with us (for about an hour). My attention then floated to Matthew 9 where Jesus surveys a lost generation and says (I imagine with tears in His eyes), "The harvest plentiful but the workers are few". There are truly thousands upon thousands in this city like this girl I talked to today. Hungry for God, but confused about who He is. There truly is a plentiful harvest and there appeared to me today (at least at Webster's campus), not enough workers.

Let us never, never, never forget why we are alive on earth. We are alive on earth to share the glorious message of the gospel. To make plain the mystery of Christ to a lost and dying generation. We do that with both word and deed.

Is Everyone Sick?

Sickness is spreading through St. Louis like a....well, like a disease. Just about everyone I know is sick or has been sick in the past few weeks. It's such a big deal, I heard the announcers talk about it on the Blues broadcast the other night. My wife told me the doctor's office was as crowded as she has ever seen it.

There are a lot of practical things we should all be doing like washing our hands, getting plenty of rest, and drinking plenty of water. But I also want to remind us to pray for one another. A bright spot in my family's sickness was when I put to bed my feverish, ear-infected daughter (she's so lovely) and she asked me "will Jesus make me feel better?" Not only was I able to pray for my sick daughter, but it gave me an opportunity to share the gospel with her. I was so thrilled!

Pray for your kids. Pray for your co-workers, relatives and neighbors. And when you do, share the gospel. God just may do an inside-out healing!