Personal Testimony

Ben & Kristin Duell on LIFE Group Growth &

Multiplication

The Light of the Gospel

“The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine. . . . Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.”

-Martin Luther in Commentary on Galatians

Are we in Danger of Losing the Gospel?

“Imagine the evangelical church without the gospel. I know this makes no sense, for evangelicals are defined by the evangel. But try to imagine it for just a moment. What might our evangelicalism, without the evangel, look like? We would have to replace the centrality of the gospel with something else, naturally. So what might take the place of the gospel in our sermons and books and cassette tapes and Sunday school classes and home Bible studies and, above all, in our hearts? A number of things, conceivably. An introspective absorption with recovery from past emotional traumas, for example. Or a passionate devotion to the pro-life cause. Or a confident manipulation of modern managerial techniques. Or a drive toward church growth and ‘success.’ . . .

Are we in Danger of Losing the Gospel?

Or a deep concern for the institution of the family. Or a fascination with the more unusual gifts of the Spirit. Or a clever appeal to consumerism by offering a sort of cost-free Christianity Lite. Or a sympathetic, empathetic, thickly-honeyed cultivation of interpersonal relationships. Or a determination to take America back to its Christian roots through political power. Or a warm affirmation of self-esteem. The evangelical movement, stripped of the gospel, might fix upon any or several of such concerns to define itself and derive energy for its mission. In other words, evangelicals could marginalize or even lose the gospel and still potter on their way, perhaps even oblivious to their loss.”

-Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr.

The Content of the Gospel

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Universal despair

The Depths of Sin

Thoughts

Motives

Identity

Behavior

The Content of the Gospel

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death… Irredeemable debt

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Unique & satisfactory substitute

The Content of the Gospel

Romans 10:9-10 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Undeserved offer of salvation to those who believe

The Punch-line

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Full righteousness of Christ is ours!!!

The Nature of the Gospel

It is grace, not earning The Gospel is simply, “I am

accepted by God because of what Christ has done for me…therefore I submit & obey out of joyful gratitude.”

The Nature of the Gospel

It is grace, not earning The Gospel is simply, “I am

accepted by God because of what Christ has done for me…therefore I submit & obey out of joyful gratitude.”

“Disbelief in the gospel of grace, of course, keeps the unconverted from God. But a lack of deep belief in the gospel is also the main cause of spiritual deadness, fear, and pride in Christians, because our hearts continue to act on the basis of ‘I obey, therefore I am accepted.’”

-Tim Keller

The Centrality of the Gospel

“To a shameful degree, we Christians are morally indistinct from the world. Why? One reason is that we think piecemeal, and our lives show it. We do not perceive reality from God’s perspective. We perceive reality from the perspective of our ungodly culture, and then we try to slap a biblical principle onto the surface of our deep confusion. Consequently, very little actually changes. What we really need is not to be pandered to but to be reeducated in reality, as it is interpreted for us by the gospel…

The Centrality of the Gospel

We need to know who God really is. We need to find out who we really are. We need to understand what our root problem really is and what God’s merciful answer really is. And we need that new perception of reality to percolate deep down into our affections and desires, reorienting us radically and joyfully to a whole new way of life. But if we frankly feel that the plain old gospel offers very little for people’s real needs, then we have never really known it at all.”

-Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr.

The Centrality of the Gospel

The Gospel

Gospel Connections

Gospel Conduct

The Typical Journey

Opposed to God

Seeking

God via own

works

COME TO CHRIST

Gospel conduct

feels good, but no deep

connections

Gospel

shrinks &

growth

again about own good works

Deeper repentan

ce & rediscov

ery of Gospel

connections that

root Gospel conduct

Personal Testimony

Tony Classen on Cultivating a Gospel-

Centered Identity

Please RAISE YOUR HAND

and wait for a MIC