I've been thinking lately about what we're all about at The Source. What are we passionate about? What do we want to do with excellence? What will produce intensive and extensive growth in college age people here on the central coast? The Gospel. The Gospel changes everything.
Through the Gospel we are confronted with the brutal reality about ourselves that we are much worse off than we ever could have possibly imagined. We fail to do the things we should. We succeed at doing things we shouldn't! In our hearts we seek to prove ourselves and to justify ourselves. In so many ways we cast God aside in our lives and live life our own way without Him. The Gospel forces us to see the worst in ourselves. It makes us reckon with how our rejection of God alienates us from God, others and even ourselves.
Yet, the Gospel simultaneously turns us from despair to hope and eager expectation! The Gospel shows us that God loves us more than we can dare to imagine! It shows us that God sent Jesus to live life in obedience and submission to God because we can't! The Gospel reveals that Jesus took the penalty for our rejection of God to reconcile us in our relationship with our Creator. Because of this Jesus welcomes all who come to him with open and loving arms. He restores our relationship with God, others and ourselves!
Jesus is The Source of the Gospel! He is the way, the truth and the life! That is why our college ministry's focus is on the Gospel. More specifically, what we are about is celebrating, proclaiming and living out the Gospel among the college age community on the central coast and beyond. If you want to learn more and be challenged in what it looks like for the Gospel to transform every area of life check out Tim Keller's article The Centrality of the Gospel on his website. Our teachers are reading this article together and I'd love to get the rest of you in on the dialogue. How does this article challenge you? What do you resonate with in it? What excites you about what Keller says?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
All in all, that was a great article. I'm pretty sure that Pastor Tim has brought this article up before, but I had never sat down and read it. It was definitely worth taking the time to read the entire 12 pages. I love the way he uses the trichotomy of moralism, relativism, and the gospel. At the same time, it seems rather clear that there is also a dichotomy going on between the gospel and “everything else”. I never thought about it enough to consider that as Christians, we are not to walk a fine line between morality and relativism. We are to be something completely different. I guess that gives new meaning to the idea of being “a new creation”—at least to me.
The section on the commonalities between “religious people and irreligious people” shows how truly lost we can become—even as Christians. Though we may think we are better off due to our belief in Christ, we can certainly fall into the same traps of avoiding Christ as our savior, having a distorted view of the real God, and denying our sin, and losing the joy and power of grace. Without an understanding of the impact the gospel should have on our lives, we become no different from the person who denies Christ outright.
Part II is a great section on the application of the gospel to our lives. Once again, the trichotomy shows up, and it seems rather clear that the gospel provides a superior solution and response to the various issues discussed.
I must admit that he loses me with points 4 through 8 on page 11. What does he mean by the use of the terms “already” and “not yet”? Is this a distinction of our salvation versus our sanctification?
What a great article! I’m glad you shared that with us. It definitely leaves a lot to contemplate and digest. I guess that’s what they call food for thought.
Post a Comment