Is There Anything Really More Important?

Just saying . . .

HT: MD

Triune Praise | Shai Linne

When it comes to the doctrine of salvation, central to what I understand in Scripture is that “salvation is of the Lord.” God is the author of salvation, and He has determined the answer to all questions of who, what, when, where, and why. The salvation God brings is essentially and necessarily Trinitarian, and anyone who undermines or deviates from the biblical explanation of how God the Father purposes, God the Son purchases, and God the Spirit pursues sinners is misrepresenting the gospel and misleading sinners in the process.

In light of that, I would like to commend the following hip hop song by Shai Linne called “Triune Praise” wherein he eloquently explains the trinitarian nature of salvation with poetic clarity.

Triune Praise

Verse 1
Praise God the Father, the Immortal Creator
For Your glory you made us, You’re the Sovereign Orchestrator
All that You decree will most surely come to happen
You’re awesome as can be and Your glory none can fathom
Nothing could ever stain You, the heavens can’t contain You
We thank You for sending Your Son to explain You
Otherwise we would have remained in the dark
but You sent Your Holy Spirit to spark a change in our hearts
According to Your eternal purpose and will
You determined to reveal Yourself to those who deserve to be killed
Those of us whom You foreknew adore You
We praise You that You predestined us to be conformed to
The image of Your Son who’s the radiance of Your glory
When I meditate on it, the weightiness of it floors me
So Father, we’ll praise you over and over again
Because You sent Your only Son to atone for our sins

Chorus
Glory to the Father, Glory to the Son,
Glory to The Spirit- Three and Yet One
One in Your essence, Three in Your Person
The same in Your nature, distinct in Your working
Oh my soul- behold the wonder of the Trinity
Blessed be the Trinity, Oh, what a mystery!
I’ll stand amazed for the rest of my days
Pouring out my heart in Triune praise

Verse 2
Praise God the Son, Second Person of the Trinity
You’re distinct from the Father, yet you share in His divinity
Fulfilling an eternal covenant- You came through
To planet earth to save who? All the Father gave You
You became a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief
For the glory of Your Father You extinguished the beef
That stood between us at the cross- the Father’s anger released
The Shepherd slain for the sheep, the situation is deep
I can’t find the right language to speak, in fact it’s making me weep-
Just the thought of You saving this creep
You’re risen from the dead, I still can’t get this in my head,
How the Judge could leave the bench and go to prison instead
Lord Jesus, you’re amazing, Your bleeding is what saved men
It’s the reason why we’re praising, can’t wait to see Your face
In the meantime, please help us to see You as colossal
And by the Spirit live lives worthy of the gospel

Verse 3
Praise God the Holy Spirit, 3rd person of the Trinity
Distinct from Father and Son, yet share in Their divinity
Holy Spirit we praise You, You don’t like the spotlight
You’d rather point away from yourself and give props to Christ
But yet because You’re God, You deserve veneration
And You’re the One responsible for our regeneration
You apply the finished work of Christ to all the elect
Your call is effectual- You haven’t lost one yet
You comfort us when sin, Satan and the world got us bothered
And it’s only by You that we cry out “Abba Father”
You’re the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of Truth,
You graciously provide Your people with the gifts and the fruit
You help us kill sin and dis-attach us from our idols
If it wasn’t for You, we’d never understand the Bible
Because You wrote it- For our life it will surely suffice
Amazingly, You do it all for the glory of Christ!

Cultivating Gospel Mission :: PLNTD + New England Conference

PLNTD announced today its second regional conference of the year – Cultivating Gospel Mission, scheduled to take place on September 20-22, 2012 in Portland, Maine. Main session speakers will be Scotty Smith and Caesar Kalinowski, with breakout sessions with Jared Wilson. This week only, you can register for 50% off regular ticket price for just $29 (discount ends Friday night). If you live in the New England or Canada area, be sure to check this training event out.

Here’s a blurb from the conference website:

We live in a day where it is commonplace to hear the words “gospel-centered” and “missionally-driven”. The danger, however, is to use those phrases in ways that diminish their meaning to that of a cliché. At the 2012 New England Training Event, PLNTD partners with the Gospel Alliance to focus on why those phrases are grounded in God and His purposes for the church.

Every church planter and pastor should lead their people to live gospel-centered lives on mission as those who have been sent by God. What does that kind of life look like? How does articulate this kind of vision to people in their community? These are the kinds of questions we hope to address as we gather together on September 20-22.

This training event is open to anyone who would like to be instructed and encouraged to cultivate gospel mission, including pastors, church planters, aspiring ministry leaders, leadership teams, and the like.

Unlike the typical conference format, the goal of this training event is interaction, integration and application of teaching and instruction. Our desire is that you leave equipped with practical instruction, edified through meaningful fellowship, and encouraged by Christ-centered passion for greater kingdom advance.

Join us as we press into the call to be oriented around the mission of church and saturated in the message of the gospel!

Six Ways of Minimizing Sin

I found these six ways of minimizing sin to be very instructive regarding gospel-centered sanctification/mortification of sin. Take a moment and examine your fight against sin, the ways you are prone to minimize sin, and develop an intentional strategy to renounce them.

Defending

I find it difficult to receive feedback about weaknesses or sin. When confronted, my tendency is to explain things away, talk about my successes, or to justify my decisions. As a result, I rarely have conversations about difficult things in my life.

Pretending

I strive to keep up appearances, maintain a respectable image. My behavior, to some degree, is driven by what I think others think of me. I also do not like to think reflectively about my life. As a result, not very many people know the real me (I may not even know the real me).

Hiding

I tend to conceal as much as I can about my life, especially the “bad stuff”. This is different than pretending in that pretending is about impressing. Hiding is more about shame. I don’t think people will accept the real me.

Blaming

I am quick to blame others for sin or circumstances. I have a difficult time “owning” my contributions to sin or conflict. There is an element of pride that assumes it’s not my fault AND/OR an element of fear of rejection if it is my fault.

Minimizing

I tend to downplay sin or circumstances in my life, as if they are “normal” or “not that bad. As a result, things often don’t get the attention they deserve, and have a way of mounting up to the point of being overwhelming.

Exaggerating

I tend to think (and talk) more highly of myself than I ought to. I make things (good and bad) out to be much bigger than they are (usually to get attention). As a result, things often get more attention than they deserve, and have a way of making me stressed or anxious.

This excerpt is taken from the excellent study called The Gospel-Centered Life. Week one, in which this excerpt is derived, can be downloaded for free.

The Trellis and the Vine on Gospel Centrality

A couple of excerpts from the excellent book The Trellis and the Vine on the centrality of the gospel:

“Throughout the world, the gospel is spreading, propagating, budding, flowering, bearing fruit. People hear it and by God’s mercy respond and are saved. But it does not stop there. Once the gospel is planted in someone’s life and takes root, it keeps growing in them. Their lives bear fruit. They grow in love and godliness and knowledge and spiritual wisdom, so that they walk in a manner worthy of their calling, fully pleasing to the Father, bearing fruit in every good work (Col. 1:9-10; 2:6-7)” (36-37). [emphasis mine]

“The New Testament envisages that all Christian disciples will be prayerful speakers of God’s word, in a multitude of different ways and contexts. In each context, the message is essentially the same. It’s not as if we come to know Christ through the gospel word but then use a fundamentally different message to encourage each other as Christians. The ‘word of God’, the message that he has revealed in and through Christ by his Spirit–this is what converts us, and it is also what causes us to grow, bearing the fruit of godliness. The vine grows, both in number and in leaves and in their quality and maturity, through the word and Spirit–through God’s truth being heard, and the Spirit making it effective in people’s hearts” (53-54).

Boom.

Life in Gospel Communities

Fromt the Crowded House Network (Steve Timmis/Tim Chester), here is a great video of what life looks like in a gospel community.

HT: Z

Annotations of Gospel Centrality: Colossians (Summary)

I’m not finished with my blog series on annotations of gospel centrality, but I am finished with the book of Colossians. 🙂 Here’s the blogposts from this book:

» Colossians 1:6
» Colossians 1:21-23
» Colossians 1:28-29
» Colossians 2:6-7
» Colossians 2:17
» Colossians 3:1-4
» Colossians 3:5-15
» Colossians 3:16-17

I have attempted to make the case for the centrality of the gospel from an exegetical standpoint at a micro level, but I also see that it could be made from a macro level as well.

1:3-8      Praise for the work of the Gospel
1:9-14    Prayer for greater wisdom, walking, and working according to the Gospel
1:15-20 Person of the Gospel (Jesus)
1:21-23 Perseverance according to the Gospel
1:24-27 Purpose of God in revealing the Gospel
1:28-29 Passion for the Gospel’s sanctifying work
2:1-23   Polemic of the Gospel against all other shadows
3:1-4     Perspective-driven life according to the Gospel
3:5-4:1 Practical outworking of the Gospel horizontally
4:2-6    Presentation of the Gospel to the world
4:7-18  Partners in the work of the Gospel

Annotations of Gospel Centrality: Colossians 3:16-17

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:16-17

The gospel is both the catalyst and content for all teaching, admonishing, and singing.  We are called to dwell deep in the word of Christ and have its riches lavishly poured out on others.  What is “the word of Christ”?  Certainly all of God’s Word is the word of Christ and about Christ. But most commentators agree that Paul is speaking more specifically about the gospel – the message of who Jesus is and what He has done for sinners.

The consequence of dwelling in the gospel is greater usefulness in the service of others.  From the overflow of the riches of the gospel, others are blessed by instruction, encouragement, and celebration–all of which is centered on Jesus Christ.  What greater teaching is there than the truths about Jesus Christ? What greater exhortation do we have than to remember, repent, and return continually to Jesus Christ? What greater song do we have to sing than the glories of Calvary? What produces greater thankfulness than the profound sense of once being lost, now found, one blind but now see, once an enemy but now a son? What channels our thoughts and affections with greatest intensity so that we “do everything in the name of Lord Jesus” than that very message that has captivated our lives?

We are called to live gospel-centered lives because the riches of the gospel demand that be immersed in them. To be rich in the “word of Christ” is to be utterly soaked in it.  God delights in believers who are excessive and lavish about the excellencies of His Son so that the commentary of our lives declare the abundance of the inheritance we have as children of God.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  So if we have little to say about Christ, what does it say about the state of our dwelling richly in word of Christ? It is said that you and I speak a minimum of 6,000 words a day (over 2 million words each year!). Paul says whatever we do in “word and deed” should be done in the name of Jesus Christ.  How else can we interpret that other than to have a conscious awareness and commitment to the dominating reality of King Jesus?  The prescriptive means to make our 6,000+ words count, whether aimed at instruction, encouragement, or celebration, is to have our hearts immersed deeply in the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we never lose the wonder of sheer grace, we guard our hearts from the wandering tendency to do everything in our name.  May God grant to us an understanding of the value of dwelling richly in the gospel, and from its overflow, cause others to be refreshed by the life-giving words of our Risen Savior.

Annotations of Gospel Centrality: Colossians 3:1-4

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4

God intends for the gospel to be the mental dial that tunes us into the frequency of heaven and the fuel which empowers us to get there.  The two imperatives in Colossians 3:1-4 are sandwiched with gospel realities.  As a Christian, you have died with Christ (v.3a), you have been raised with Christ (v. 1), you are hidden with Christ (v.3b), and you will appear with Christ (v.4).  All of this speaks to how our union with Christ directs our lives in perspective and pursuits.

There is no more glorious pursuit than seeking to know Christ. We are to “press on toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:12) because God has sought us out in the gospel. Or to use the language here, we are seek the things above because we have been raised from death to life with Christ. Fittingly so, the power of the resurrection in our lives should set the trajectory of our lives that will ultimately end in glory when we appear with Christ.

Living a gospel-centered life safeguards the Christian from trivial pursuits. We are not to seek “the things that are on the earth” and yet, when our hearts and minds are not fixed on Christ, covetousness sets in, and the idol factory of our hearts kicks in high gear. Where covetousness or trivial pursuits are characteristic of our lives, it is a clear indication that we have failed to realize that our lives are hidden with Christ in God.  When our mind is on earthly things, it is a clear indication of besetting preoccupations in opposition to the proper fixation on Jesus (Heb. 12:2).

Christ is your life.

Christ IS your life. Now, currently, perpetually.  And Christ is your LIFE. Not a footnote to the story, not a slice of the cake, not a door the house, not a time slot in your schedule.  He is your LIFE. Comprehensively. Essentially. Indivisibly. Should our lives be pressed under the crucible of adversity, what should be revealed in that moment is Christ is us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:26). And the only way we get there is by knowing (objectively and subjectively) we have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God.

Set your minds on things about because God has set His affection on you through the gospel.  Seek the things that are above because through the gospel you have an upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We who are hidden with Christ in God will appear with Christ in glory. And that glory is what we are to experience in greater degrees as we behold Jesus, becoming like him from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18).

Gospel-Centered Spiritual Formation: Spiritual Disciplines

So far in this series, I have provided a little background, the triperspectival framework, and the role of gospel forms in the development of the diagram I created to illustrate what I’m calling gospel-centered spiritual formation.

Role of Spiritual Disciplines in Gospel-Centered Formation

Now we have come to the role of spiritual disciplines in gospel-centered spiritual formation. What I’ve done with this approach is create subsets of disciplines that correspond both to the triperspectival framework and particular “form” of the gospel.  The reason spiritual disciplines are intrinsically connected this way is to correct the bifurcation of gospel centrality and formative spiritual disciplines. The former tends to focus on delight (gospel), and the later tends to focus on duty (disciplines). But duty can been an overflow of delight when we discover how spiritual disciplines are cultivated in light of the person and work of Jesus Christ.  In other words, they are not exercises of spiritual growth as much as they are exercises in gospel application (leading to spiritual growth).

If You’re God’s Child, Part 1

Last year, I compiled a series of 36 blogposts based on tweets from Scotty Smith on “Signs You’re Growing in Grace.” I, and I know countless others, were greatly encouraged in the gospel by those daily tweets.  Another person who brings the gospel to bear regularly on twitter is Paul Tripp.  He has recently begun a series of tweets called “If You’re God’s Child . . . ” and I have compiled them for you as well.  Depending on how many tweets he does, I may make this into another blogpost category/series. But for now, here’s the initial installment of “If You’re God’s Child . . .”

If you’re God’s child, God has written you into his story, your future is secure and so is his grace along the way.

If you’re God’s child, you are never alone because Emmanuel has moved in and he’s not leaving.

If you’re God’s child, you don’t have to search for identity, your identity is eternally secure in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you’re God’s child, you have strength greater than your own because the Lord Almighty lives inside you by his Spirit.

If you’re God’s child you have greater wisdom than your intellect or experience since you’re now in relationship with the One who is Wisdom.

If you’re God’s child you don’t have to have control because your Savior rules over all things for your sake and his glory.

If you’re God’s child the promise of the future grace of eternity guarantees you all the grace you need along the way.

If you’re God’s child you don’t fight sin on your own since you been blessed with the convicting, protecting, rescuing grace of the Spirit.

If you’re God’s child you’re free to admit you don’t measure up since your acceptance doesn’t rest on your obedience but on Christ’s.

If you’re God’s child, you’ve been freed from seeking horizontally what you have already been given in Christ.

Annotations of Gospel Centrality: Colossians 2:17

“These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
Colossians 2:17

The interpretive grid through which we properly understand the world is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Everything was created by Jesus and for Jesus, and in Jesus is everything sustained (Col. 1:16-17). The world has always sought for a way to understand reality apart from the person and work of Jesus Christ. These lens or worldviews are mere shadows, and Paul mentions several of them in Colossians 2.

Rationalism – plausible arguments (2:4)
Traditionalism – philosophy according to human tradition (2:8)
Ceremonialism – festivals, new moon, and Sabbath (2:16)
Sensationalism – worship of angels, detailed accounts of visions (2:18)
Empiricism – do not handle, do not taste, do not touch (2:21)

All of these are “human precepts” (2:22) and “not according to Christ” (2:8). They give the appearance of plausibility on the surface but in reality they are only shadows. Nevertheless, we are tempted to make much of shadows. If it is not logic (rationalism), it is experience (empiricism). If it is not traditional, it is sensational.  There are ditches on either side we are prone to fall into, unless there is something more substantive, more true, more corresponding to reality.

Paul says the substance is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (2:3). And when we look at the heart of Colossians 2, we discover the way we reject the shadowlands of “isms” is to dwell deep in the substance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Only through the gospel can we be “rooted and built up and established in the faith” (Col. 2:7).  Paul says the fullness of God dwelt in Jesus, and we have been filled with Jesus (which means the fullness of God fills our lives!). The substance belongs to Christ, and Christ belongs to us.

In the gospel, you have been buried with Christ in baptism (2:12)
In the gospel, you have been raised with Christ through the powerful working of God (2:12)
In the gospel, you have been made alive together with Christ (2:13)
In the gospel, your life is hidden with Christ in God (3:3)

That’s the substance.

Everything else is shadows. The gospel is an invitation out of the shadowlands and into the eternal realities purposed by God who works all things according to the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11). We are called to live gospel-centered lives because any other kind of living would be explorations into the various dimensions of shadows. When the gospel is our hermeneutic for life, we are embodying the divine critique of all elemental principles of the world, calling people out of the dominion of darkness and into the kingdom of His beloved Son (1:13). And the more we center our lives in our union with Christ in his life, death, and resurrection, the more substantive and satisfying our lives will become.

May God give us grace to make much of the substance that is found in Jesus Christ!

Annotations of Gospel Centrality: Colossians 2:6-7

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6-7

Growing up, I was trained to think the way Christians grow is from experience to experience.  Church services were the weekly “experiences” intended to give you the fuel you need to “make it through the week.”  Youth camps where the “mountain top” experience where you “rededicated” your life to live more wholeheartedly for God.  In just about every aspect experience was presented as the next step for spiritual growth.

Another approach to Christian growth, opposite of experience (or mysticism), is the increase of knowledge.  The idea is that those who know the most are the most mature and most godly people around.  When someone displays their ability to answer deep questions, we assume they must know God.  They must really far in their walk with Christ.  The outcome of this approach is that advancement in the Christian life is measured by the amount that one knows intellectually.

These camps of rationalism and mysticism are both right and wrong at the same time.  They are right in that it is necessary that we know God, both intellectually and experientially.  They are wrong in that they equate spiritual growth by experience and knowledge.  The Bible critiques both views with the gospel. We grow in the Christian faith the same way we entered into the Christian faith–by repentance and faith.

How did you receive Christ Jesus the Lord? By turning from sin (repentance) and turning to Christ (faith). So then, how are we to live after we have received Christ? Answer: the same way–repentance and faith.  The outworking of the gospel in the Christian life is going to generate a repenting faith and a believing repentance, and when the gospel is central, repentance and faith will be ordinary, ongoing, and regular. Where there is no repentance and faith, there is no effect of the gospel and consequently no growth in the Christian life.

In God’s wisdom, the Christian life is called a walk.  It is not a leap from experience to experience (mysticism).  It is not acknowledgement of intellectual assent in greater degrees (rationalism). It is a walk–an ongoing, dependent effort to live in light of the gospel–the same gospel you were taught–so that each step in the journey of knowing God can traced by greater repentance of sin and renewed faith in Jesus. Only then, do we really experience God and can say that we truly know God. Only then can your life abound in thanksgiving, because you never cease to remember the great work of rescue and redemption God accomplished on your behalf that you might know and enjoy Him in the journey.

Gospel-Centered Spiritual Formation: The Gospel Forms

At the conclusion of my last post about the triperspectival framework, I mentioned the role of gospel “forms” in the diagram I created to explain gospel-centered spiritual formation. Before I jump into the perspectives individually, I want to explain what I mean by gospel forms and how those forms overlap to give greater gospel focus to spiritual disciplines through the triperspectival framework.

Tim Keller and Gospel “Forms”

One of the most significant articles Tim Keller has written on the gospel can be found at Christianity Today, entitled “The Gospel in All Its Forms“.  In this article, Keller borrows from Simon Gathercole’s chapter in God’s Power to Save to explain the various “forms” of the gospel. Contrary to liberal theologians, Keller says there is not multiple gospels, but one gospel expressed in different forms.

For instance, when Jesus speaks of the gospel in the Synoptic Gospels, kingdom language is employed (“gospel of the kingdom”). In this case, the gospel speaks to the inauguration of Christ’s reign as King, and the focus is more communal and social.  When the Apostle John writes about the Gospel, there is no mention of kingdom language but rather “receiving eternal life,” and the focus is more individual and personal. When you get the writings of Paul, you hear little emphasis on “kingdom” or “eternal life” but instead the focus is on “justification by faith“. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul are all talking about one message, but that message is expressed in different forms. Through an analysis of these forms, what you find is that the gospel can be expressed as story-arc focused (creation, fall, redemption, restoration) as well as content-driven (God, man, sin, Christ). Not to be left out, Keller stresses the eschatological implications of the gospel with the in breaking of God’s kingdom and renewal of all things.

Annotations of Gospel Centrality: Colossians 1:28-29

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Colossians 1:28-29

God never intended for us to move beyond the gospel. This is clear in numerous places in Scripture, including these verses. The goal of the Christian life is to be brought into complete conformity to Jesus Christ, or, as this passage puts it, that we may be mature (or complete) in Christ. Every Christian should be employing the biblically prescribed means of accomplishing the goal of completeness in Christ.

What, then, is that means? Paul says, “Him we proclaim.”  The sum and substance of everything needed to accomplish the goal is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Not five tips, three ways, or four principles. One thing: the gospel. It should be preached publicly and privately, in the presence of hundreds and in the conversation of just one.

One might think that the gospel being preached over and over again might get boring. It might run dry. It might become ritualistic and lose its meaning. I think that is why Paul added the phrase “with all wisdom.”  It takes wisdom and skill to preach the gospel in compelling, fresh ways so that the more people hear it, the more of it they discover and experience renewal in their hearts. Christians who proclaim other things beside the gospel are blind, and Christians who proclaim the gospel without wisdom and “his energy” at work in you are barren.

Proclaim Jesus. Morning, noon, and night. Don’t change the subject. Don’t believe the lie that something else is going to grow your church beside the retelling of the story of our crucified, risen Savior. Such a gospel warrants a lifelong toiling and struggling with the power of the Spirit so that every person in our lives is warned, taught, and ultimately presented as one mature in Christ. God never intends for us to move beyond the gospel, for through it, we are being prepared for perfection in glory.