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Showing posts from May, 2014

WHY I LIKE TULLIAN

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Reflections on My “Break Up” with The Gospel Coalition POSTED ON  MAY 30, 2014  BY  TULLIAN TCHIVIDJIAN What we’re talking about here is not just our tendency to lurch and stumble and screw up by accident, our passive role as agents of entropy. It’s our active inclination to break stuff, “stuff” here including moods, promises, relationships we care about, and our own well-being and other people’s… Francis Spufford Dear Friends, It’s been a much quieter week for me. Last week was loud and exhausting. And (other than Miami Heat games, Dallas Cowboy games, Ultra Music Festival, and the music in my car) I’m not a fan of either loud or exhausting. Not many are. So, I’m grateful that God has granted me a quieter week. Still, the very public “break-up” between The Gospel Coalition and me weighs heavy on my heart. And I want to say just a few things about it now that I’ve had some time to reflect. First, I want to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for saying things in my own d

THE GOSPEL 101

William Twisse (1578–1646), the first prolucutor (moderator) of the Westminster Assembly (1640s), which gave us the Westminster Confession and Catechisms, wrote in 1633: How many ways does the Word of God teach us to come to the Kingdom of heaven? Two. Which are they? The Law and the Gospel. What says the Law? Do this and live. What says the Gospel? Believe in Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Can we come to the Kingdom of God by the way of God’s Law? No. Why so? Because we cannot do it. Why can we not do it? Because we are all born in sin. What is it to be born in sin? To be naturally prone to evil and …that that which is good. How did it come to pass that we are all borne in sin? By reason of our first father Adam. Which way then do you hope to come tot he Kingdom of Heaven? By the Gospel What is the Gospel? The glad tidings of salvation by Jesus Christ. To whom is the glad tidings brought: To the righteous? No. Why so? For two reasons. W

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Max Lucado points out: No other world religion offers such a message. All others demand a rigid performance, the right sacrifice, the right chant, the right ritual, the right séance or experience. Theirs is a kingdom of trade-offs and barterdom. You do this and God will give you that. The result? Either arrogance or fear. Arrogance if you think you have achieved it; fear if you think you haven't. Christ's kingdom is just the opposite. It is a kingdom for the poor. A kingdom where membership is GRANTED, not PURCHASED.  You are placed into God’s kingdom. You are adopted. And this occurs not when you do enough, but when you admit you can't do enough. You don't earn it; you simply accept it. As a result you serve, not out of arrogance or fear, but out of gratitude .