Live the Real Gospel

Tim Lane and Paul Tripp have written a book called How People Change that I’ll need to read soon.  In the meantime, here are seven counterfeit gospels that Lane and Tripp outline in the book.  Let us pray we pursue the true gospel of Jesus so we may have a transformed life.

• Formalism. “I participate in the regular meetings and ministries of the church, so I feel like my life is under control. I’m always in church, but it really has little impact on my heart or on how I live. I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not have the same commitment as I do.”
• Legalism. “I live by the rules-rules I create for myself and rules I create for others. I feel good if I can keep my own rules, and I become arrogant and full of contempt when others don’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.”
• Mysticism. “I am engaged in the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him, and I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may change churches often, too, looking for one that will give me what I’m looking for.”
• Activism. “I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.”
• Biblicism. “I know my Bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. I have reduced the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology, so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.”
• Therapism. “I talk a lot about the hurting people in our congregation, and how Christ is the only answer for their hurt. Yet even without realizing it, I have made Christ more Therapist than Savior. I view hurt as a greater problem than sin-and I subtly shift my greatest need from my moral failure to my unmet needs.”
• “Social-ism.” “The deep fellowship and friendships I find at church have become their own idol. The body of Christ has replaced Christ himself, and the gospel is reduced to a network of fulfilling Christian relationships.”

Vintage Jesus

I just finished reading Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions. It was truly a great read, filled with overwhelming evidence (biblical and secular) for the person and work of Jesus. Driscoll, as always, had a steady dose of wonderful humor, and at the same time, showed literary brilliance in his handling of these great truths of Jesus Christ. The book flowed incredibly well and was riveting the whole way through. Also, I found it helpful that at the end of each chapter, Mark listed related questions that non-Christians usually ask accompanied by thoughtful answers. Hopefully sometime before too long, I’ll have a fuller review of this book. (I’ll try to get in the habit of writing reviews most books I read as well!) In the meantime, here’s a quote that should cause you to roll over laughing, but also to seriously consider how our culture sees Jesus.

Jesus was a dude. Like my drywaller dad, he was a construction worker who swung a hammer for a living. Because Jesus worked in a day when there were no power tools, he likely had calluses on his hands and muscles on his frame, and did not look like so many of the drag-queen Jesus images that portray him with long, flowing, feathered hair, perfect teeth, and soft skin, draped in a comfortable dress accessorized by matching open-toed sandals and handbag. Jesus did not have Elton John or the Spice Girls on his iPod, *The View* on his TiVo, or a lemon-yellow Volkswagen Beetle in his garage. No, Jesus was not the kind of person who, if walking by you on the street, would require you to look for an Adam’s apple to determine the gender.

In the meantime, you might want to check it out. Great resource to have and most likely, if you are anything like me (meaning you comprehend and remember about 40% or less of what you read), you’ll have to read it two or three times.