Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Gospel Fix
Milt Stanley links and quotes a post about the difference between the gospel and fixing your life.
I look at this very differently - it's true, coming to Christ may not cure my poverty, but it will make me content in it. Which means, that in a very real sense the gospel will fix my life. And that is my essential point. The gospel will always fix your life becasue it will always fix us.
Which brings me to my second point - if the gospel does not fix us, and therefore fix our lives, then I have significant doubt if we have actually accessed the gospel, at least all of it. Christ said:
Further, if the affect it has cannot be considered "a fix" then it is less than good and therefore definitionally not the gospel.
The essential point trying to be made here is that becoming a Christian does not change our circumstance, it changes us - who we are.
There is always a danger of making the gospel out to be something that does not touch your every day life. A good portion of Christians live as if the gospel has no effect upon every square inch of their life. That is sad. But it is equally dangerous to present the gospel as the effects of the gospel.Look, I get the point here, even agree with it to a pretty large extent, but we have got to find a better way to talk about it. Just a couple of points.
You know what…you may love Jesus, seek to follow him in all things, be obedient to him for all the days of your life and your marriage be in shambles. You may be faithful at tithing, a sacrificial giver, love Jesus deeply and be broke living from home to home without a place to lay your head at night (for an example of this see Jesus).
Let me say this loud and clear: THE GOSPEL IS NOT ABOUT FIXING YOUR LIFE! The gospel might fix your life. John Piper is absolutely correct, the greatest gift of the Gospel is God Himself. Anything else is an overflow of that.
I look at this very differently - it's true, coming to Christ may not cure my poverty, but it will make me content in it. Which means, that in a very real sense the gospel will fix my life. And that is my essential point. The gospel will always fix your life becasue it will always fix us.
Which brings me to my second point - if the gospel does not fix us, and therefore fix our lives, then I have significant doubt if we have actually accessed the gospel, at least all of it. Christ said:
John 3:8 - "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."The gospel cannot be separated from its affect on our lives - which is why I have a problem with saying things the way this post says them. While it is true the gospel may not affect our lives in the ways we anticipate, or even desire, it simply must affect our lives or it is something less or other than the true gospel.
Further, if the affect it has cannot be considered "a fix" then it is less than good and therefore definitionally not the gospel.
The essential point trying to be made here is that becoming a Christian does not change our circumstance, it changes us - who we are.
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