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We are wrapping up a six week Bible study on Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler.  It has been a rich study and I would highly recommend it.  Here are a few thoughts to think about today: Sealed in my heart that day was the truth that unless the gospel is made explicit, unless we clearly articulate that our righteousness is imputed to us by Jesus Christ, that on the cross he absorbed the wrath of God aimed at us and washed us clean--even if we preach biblical words on obeying God--people will believe that Jesus' message is that he has come to condemn the world, not to save it. We must abandon the idea that there is condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! We must abandon the idea that our sins pile up on some scale that will earn God's punishment when tipped, as if Christ didn't take this wrath from us already on the cross.  We must also abandon the idea that our good behavior somehow rubs the spiritual lamp that inclines God, like a genie, to ...

Today, I finished reading The Explicit Gospel by Chandler & Wilson. I will be recommending this book to others. It helps answer and define many questions I have been struggling with regarding our understanding of the gospel. You need to read this book! Here are some quotes from the last chapter of the book: "Over and over again he (Paul) preaches the gospel to people who know the gospel." "We must abandon the idea that there is condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! We must abandon the idea that our sins pile up on some scale that will earn God's punishment when tipped, as if Christ didn't take this wrath from us already on the cross. We must also abandon the idea that our good behavior somehow rubs the spiritual lamp that inclines God, like a genie, to emerge and give us the things we wish for." "We fight sin with the weapons grace gives us: the blood of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and the promise of the new covena...

I was having a conversation recently with someone talking about how in our beliefs, we tend to move to the extremes like a pendulum swinging.  For example, because someone was raised in a legalistic environment, then tend to go to the other extreme of "anything goes."  And vice versa. Or the King James Bible is the only Bible that is right and should be read to the extreme of reading a variety of "spiritual books" from other faiths. It seems that many times the best place to land is the middle ground rather than the extremes.  After this conversation, Pastor Brad and I were talking about this same phenomenon.  Today I was reading The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler and he talks about "dangers in a Gospel on the Ground Too Long and dangers in a Gospel in the Air Too Long."  This in my opinion is similar to these other two conversations.  Here are some quotes from the chapters in Chandler's book: "because it is dangerously easy to take one truth ...

On Friday, I was reading Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler. The chapter was focused on creation. Chandler does a great job explaining his view on creation. Here are some quotes to think about: "Science has severe limitations that the God who created all observational data does not." "The place to begin is . . . not in Genesis; rather, it is the opening of the Gospel of John." "God is more interested in declaring than in explaining. . . the Bible is more interested in telling us what happened and why than it is how." "there is no way to turn the worship switch in our hearts off." "All of creation has been given to us so that we behold the awesome God who made it all and made it all good." "because God's design is for us to be responsible for each other, to live not for ourselves but for God and others." "The miracles of healing, deliverance, provision and resurrection all reveal that God, through Jesus,...

Chapter 4 of Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler discusses our response to Jesus. Here are a few quotes to encourage you to pick up the book. "Christ's work demands the response of faith, but we want to make donations."  "What I learned in those early days is that the proclamation of the glory of God, the might of God, and the majesty of God brought to bear on the sinfulness of man in the atoning work of Jesus Christ actually stirs the hearts of men. And men respond to that stirring. Some are stirred to belief; some are not." "When we dilute or ditch the gospel, we end up with an evangelicalism featuring special appearances  by Jesus but the denial of his power (2 Timothy 3:5)." "A hearer's response is not our responsibility; our responsibility is to be faithful to God's call and the message of the gospel." "We are never, ever, ever going to make Christianity so cool that everybody wants it.  . . It doesn't need our he...

Yesterday I was reading The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler.  In Chapter 1, his focus is on God & in Chapter 2, he focuses on humans.  Here are some quotes to make you think: "This means that truth is never our enemy, ever." "We think to question God when bridges fall but not to wonder at his grace that every bridge does not." "We want to live as though the Christian life is a 50/50 project we undertake with God, like faith is some kind of cosmic vending machine." "We can read it as a reference book about us. Or we can see that the Bible is a book about God." "The root of Christian worship, then, is acknowledging, submitting to, and enjoying the supremacy of God's glory. In all things." "It is still idolatry to want God for his benefits but not for himself." "You can scare people into coming to your church, you can scare people into trying to be good, you can scare people into giving money, you ca...

I began reading Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler last week.  And even though I only got through the introduction, I am excited about the content of this book.  You might notice a theme in the books I am currently reading.  All of them are focused on the gospel.  You might say, "All Christian books are, right?"  I would encourage you to look to the Scriptures and see how you would personally define the "gospel." Here are just a few quotes from the introduction: Dave Harvey writes, "The Gospel is the heart of the Bible. Everything in Scripture is either preparation for the Gospel, presentation of the Gospel, or participation in the Gospel." "we have a tendency to think that the cross saves us from past sin, but after we are saved, we have to take over and clean ourselves up. This sort of thinking is devastating to the soul." "If you add to or subtract from the cross, even if it is to factor in biblically mandated religious practices l...