Luther and the Gospel

A few days ago I posted some links to a series of talks delivered by Dr. Derek Thomas on understanding the Gospel.

Today, I ran across a few quotes from Martin Luther on the subject.

Here's how Luther described the difference between law and gospel:

• "We must now learn to distinguish between the two parts which are called the law and the gospel...The law brings us before the judgment seat, for it demands that you settle accounts and pay what it requires, there it cancels itself. For even if you have performed what it requires, this still will not stand before God, since before him there will still be much which is lacking and failing....The law keeps harrying you and accusing you through your own conscience, which testifies against you, and absolutely demanding he judgment upon you." (Luther's Works 51.279)

According to Luther, the law points out sin,

• the "law is a word of destruction, a word of wrath, a word of sadness, a word of grief, a voice of the judge and the defendant, a word of restlessness, a word of curse....Through the law we have nothing except an evil conscience, a restless heart, a troubled breast because of our sins, which the law points out but does not take away. And we ourselves cannot take it away." (Luther's Works 31.231)

The Gospel, however, is truly Good News. According to Luther,

• the "gospel is a preaching of the incarnate Son of God, given to us without any merit on our part for salvation and peace. It is a word of salvation, a word of grace, a word of comfort, a word of joy, a voice of the bridegroom and the bride, a good word, a word of peace."

Because of the work of Christ  a "joyous exchange" (Luther's Works 7.1) has occurred, where

• "the rich, noble, pious bridegroom Christ takes this poor, despised wicked little whore in marriage, redeems her of all evil, and adorns her with all his goods." (Luther's Works 31.51)

In light of this work of Christ,

• "Therefore for those of us who are held captive, who are overwhelmed by sadness and in dire despair, the light of the gospel comes and says, 'Fear not,' and 'comfort, comfort my people...' Behold that one who alone fulfills the law for you, whom God has made to your righteousness, sanctification, wisdom, and redemption, for all those who believe in him....Therefore those who are still afraid of punishments have not yet heard Christ or the voice of the gospel, but only the voice of Moses." (Luther's Works 31.231)

I hope you find this comparison helpful. I'll post more about the resource that summed up these quotes in a future post.

-d.

Understanding the Gospel

The word Gospel is the word that the Bible uses to describe the Good News of the work of Jesus Christ.
At the start of His ministry Jesus proclaimed:

• “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

Later, the Apostle Paul explained that he was,

• "not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16)

Thus, this concept of Gospel is important for Christians to understand.

Getting the Gospel Right is the title of a very good book by Rev. R.C. Sproul that was published in 2003.

The same title Getting the Gospel Right is also the title of a summer sermon series that Dr. Derek Thomas recently completed at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina.

Here is the link to all of the church's sermons:
http://www.firstprescolumbia.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=43244&PID=582047


Here are the links to each sermon in the series on understanding the Gospel:

What is the Gospel
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=6812142333


Gospel Basics: A Need
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=614121356487


Gospel Basics - A Holy God
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=624121457293


It's All About Jesus
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=73121318282


Grace
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=713121138170


Gospel and Law: Friends or Enemies?
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=7231299176


The Gospel-Centered Life
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=81312827495


The Gospel-Centered Life: Mission Focused
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=81212169115



I pray that this sermon series helps you grow in your understanding of the Gospel - the good news about Jesus Christ.

-Dave

Two Ways to Live

Here's a great resource about the Gospel called "Two Ways to Live":

http://twowaystolive.com/

The author, Dean Phillip Jensen, explains the concepts in more detail in a video at:

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/media/video/two_ways_to_live/

(Note: You'll have to scroll down to the middle of the page to see the video).

Enjoy,

-d.

More on...What is the Gospel?

John Piper on "What is the Gospel":

What is the Gospel?

A brief and helpful video from "The Gospel Coalition" on "What is the Gospel?"

Here's Mark Dever's description:

Wall Street and other bailouts

New Orleans - I've spent the past several weeks in New Orleans, Louisiana...where the people are friendly and the weather sometimes is not. I was originally scheduled to arrive here three weeks ago, but was delayed by Hurricane Gustav. When I finally did arrive, people were just returning from their "hurri-cation" and fixing up the damage brought by the heavy winds of Gustav and awaiting more bad weather from Hurricane Ike. (Ike eventually went south causing flooding in southern Louisiana and Texas and then brought high winds through the Midwest causing Sue and the boys to be without power in West Chester for a few days).

In addition to the news about the bad weather, it was also hard not to miss the news last week about the government "bail out" of our nation's leading financial institutions. At the end of the week the price tag was estimated at $700 billion dollars for this "once in a lifetime" catastrophe.

For an overview of the crisis, I've found Robert J. Samuelson's writing In the Washington Post helpful. His articles: "Wall Street's Unraveling" and "The Confidence Game" raise some important questions about how the financial firms found themselves in this crisis and the recovery plan that is being proposed.

For me, I wonder how long the increase in government spending can continue. The U.S. already has a $10 trillion dollar national debt.

I wonder too about the assistance that will likely be provided. It is in our nature to subvert rules and look out only for ourselves. I wonder how people will use this latest bailout for their own gain. I was reminded of this in last Friday's "USA Today" that noted that the federal government has provided over $20 billion dollars to coastal areas after Hurricane Katrina, with the provision that new homes be elevated to avoid future disasters. The newspaper noted, however, that local officials have told residents that they do not need to follow the federal government's rules (so that they can keep rebuilding costs low and rebuild at a quicker pace). And so houses are being build at the same pre-Hurricane Katrina levels.

As I thought about the current "bail out", and feeling more and more depressed, I was reminded of the biggest "bail out" of all....one given to sinners by a loving and just God. God provided this "bail out" (called a "condescending love" by scholars) to the world by providing forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ.

St. Paul wrote in Romans 5:8: "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

In Galatians 2:20 Paul added that the Son of God: "...loved me and gave his life for me."

John Bunyan summarized these ideas in "The Pilgrim's Progress":

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save everyone that believes. He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. He loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. He is mediator between God and us. He ever liveth to make intercession for us.”
(I Tim. 1:15, Rom. 10:4, 4:25, Rev. 1:5, I Tim. 2:5, Heb. 7:25).

A good bailout to focus on.

-D.

More on the Good News

As a follow-up to my last post, I recently learned that the folks from the Gospel Coalition have also made Don Carson's lecture from last year's conference available. His talk is called "What is the Gospel" and is a great theological explanation of the Good News.

Here is the link: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/video/what-is-the-gospel

The Good News

The "Good News" or "the Gospel" is how Bible translators have translated the Greek word euangelion into English. This Gospel or Good News, as I've heard a teacher recently explain it is simply that God is both holy and loving. Because He is holy He must punish sin. But because He is loving he sent His Son Jesus Christ to live, then die on a cross and rise again. On the cross Christ satisfied the holiness of God (by taking the punishment for sin) and He also satisfied the love of God (by providing a way for people to be saved).

When we believe in Christ (trusting Him for the forgiveness for our sins) we will be saved and accepted by God. This faith, or belief, is a belief that Christ "lived the life we should have lived and died the death that we should have died."

Quite simply, the message of the Gospel "is that you are more wicked and sinful than you ever dared believe but you are more loved and accepted than you ever dared hope."

So, "though we are wicked, we are absolutely loved and completely accepted through Jesus Christ."

These words that I've quoted on the Gospel were explained by Tim Keller, Pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

I heard some additional comments on the Gospel by Rev. Keller this week in a video called "What is Gospel-Centered Ministry?" In his lecture he explains what ministry shaped by the Gospel looks like.

Here is the link: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/video/what-is-gospel-centered-ministry

I really enjoyed his comments, I hope you will too.

Blessings,
-Dave