http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97sgcQo4GRw

(Via: Michael Kelley)

In my pastorate I have offended more than a few people. Most of my offenses have been innocent acts or were committed out of ignorance. I trust only a few were because I was acting in the flesh.

I do not like it when I offend others. My stomach tightens every time I hear someone say, “Pastor, I’m offended.” I do not want to hurt anyone. I never want to cause another person undue grief. Yet pastoring a church will sometimes put you in an offensive position.

I met someone once who was offended solely because of my position as a pastor. I later learned from a mutual friend this person despises pastors because he was offended by one many years ago.

I offended a business man once because I did not purchase my homeowners insurance from him. Never mind that his rates were higher than everyone else.

I offended a deacon because I would not let his daughter sing a solo on a special day.

I offended an organist simply by changing the order of worship.

I offended a member for not visiting them in the hospital. Mind you, no one knew they were in the hospital until the day after they checked out.

You name it I have just about offended every kind of person in every kind of situation in the church.

Yet today I want us to consider that it may not necessarily be a bad thing when you are offended by your pastor or by his preaching. In fact, I am willing to go out on a limb to say there should be times we are offended by what our pastor preaches or teaches.

Don’t misunderstand me we pastors can make a royal mess things. We can forget, overlook, ignore and just flat out blow it. We can say some stupid things. We can do some silly things. And you will agree with me that the aforementioned offenses I listed were minimal offenses.

Perhaps I should clarify what I mean when I say it is not necessarily a bad thing when your pastor offends you.

I have been in the church all my life. I have seen the good side of church, and I have witnessed the evil side of church. And if you are in church long enough, you will be offended.

Perhaps what I mean about being offended is that there are times in worship when you SHOULD be offended. There are times when I study God’s word I am offended. Which means there are times when I preach God’s word it can be offensive.

For example, are any of you offended by the following statement?

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

I find Isaiah 53:5 disgusting. Every time I read the verse, it injures me deeply. Wounded. Crushed. Chastised. Beaten. That’s offensive!

If you are not offended by the verse, then you are missing the primary point of the Gospel. I find it offensive that MY sin caused Jesus to be slandered, beaten, crucified and killed. I find all of Isaiah 53 disgusting just to be honest with you.

So, is there a time when it is good to be offended in church? In my opinion yes, there is a good time to be offended in church. In my opinion, if you are not periodically offended in church – by the preaching of God’s Word – you might want to check your heart. For I find a large part of the Gospel to be offensive.

Then a friend sends me the following article by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. Cornelius nails it for me. I would be curious to read your remarks.

“When television-saturated worshipers attend their local churches or wonder how to draw secular seekers there, it’s not the songs of Zion they want but the songs of Babylon and Hollywood– or something like them. People attend worship with expectations shaped by television, and evangelical preachers try to meet them.

In such cases worship may degenerate into a religious variety show hosted by some gleaming evangelist in a sequined dinner jacket and patent leather dancing slippers who chats with celebrities and introduces for special music a trio of middle-aged women in pastel evening gowns with matching muffs for their microphones.

He may also include, or even perform, certain eye-popping acrobatics or karate moves. Each act in the show is pre-timed, including estimates of the length of audience applause. Imagine a High Five for Jesus replacing the Apostles’ Creed; imagine praise time beginning when the evangelist shouts, ‘Gimme a G! Gimme an O!…’

Naturally, services of this kind give an impression of a religion somewhat different from historic Christianity. One could imagine a visitor walking away from such a service and saying to himself:

‘I had it all wrong. I had thought Christianity included a shadow side– confession, self-denial, rebuke of sin, concern with heresy, a willingness to lose one’s life for the sake of Jesus Christ. Not so, apparently. The Christian religion isn’t about lament or repentance or humbling oneself before God to receive God’s favor.

It’s got nothing to do with doctrines and the struggle to preserve truth. It’s not about the hard, disciplined work of mortifying our sinful self and learning to make God’s purposes our own. It’s not about the inevitable failures in this project and the persistent grace of Jesus Christ that comes so that we may begin again.

Not at all! I had it wrong! The Christian faith is mainly about celebration and fun and personal growth and five ways to boost my self-esteem. And, especially, it’s about entertainment.’”

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.,
Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 192-193.

Again, I welcome your thoughts.

I love this video. It is theologically rich, candid and precise. Enjoy.

I have three thoughts.

First, this is what happens when you believe the Gospel is no longer relevant. But someone might say, “But they had 5,000 people show up for Easter.” Be careful with that metric. Even a circus can attract a crowd.

Second, you KEEP people the way you REACH people. If you reach them with gimmicks you must keep them with gimmicks. But if you reach them with the Gospel you will keep them with the Gospel.

Third, according to Pastor Dykstra, CrossPoint must be a weird church because we invite people all the time without offering door prizes.

I would be curious to read your responses.

We need the Gospel because…

…it saves us

…it sanctifies us

…it sets us apart

…it is the truth about God

…it is the whole truth about God

…it is nothing but the truth about God

…it is foolishness to those who are perishing

…it is the power of God to those who are being saved

…it releases the power of God in our lives

…it strengthens our marriages

…it protects our families

…it enables us to raise our children

…it guides our stewardship

…it corrects us, rebukes and reproves us

…it reminds us of God’s great love

…it reconciles us to God

…it reconciles us to one another

…it comforts us in our sorrows

…it assures us in our trials

…it protects us in temptation

…it emboldens us in our witness

…it blesses us in this life and in the life to come

We do not need more THAN the Gospel; we need more OF the Gospel

We do not need to go deeper BEYOND the Gospel; we need to go deeper IN the Gospel.

Romans 10:17 says,

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Salvation is more than just believe facts. Salvation is responding to the personal invitation extended to you from Jesus Christ. Jesus said,

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

One must respond personally to Christ in order to personally experience the Gospel. That personal response comes as a result of personal conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit.

And how are men and women convicted of their sin? Men and women are convicted of their sin when the Spirit of truth comes. Jesus said:

7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

John 16:7-11

There must be a personal beginning to your personal salvation. There must be a place where you began your relationship with Christ. There must be a personal beginning where the Gospel began its work in your heart.

Until you personally respond to the Gospel you may believe, but you have never received the Gospel.

So as we conclude our study of the Gospel this week, allow me to pose a few personal questions you should ask yourself:

• Have you been born again?
• When were you born again?
• Where did your salvation begin in Christ?
• Have you repented of your sin and confessed your belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
• Have you ever been brought under conviction of sin by the power of the Holy Spirit?
• Have you ever seen in God’s Word that you are sinner in desperate need of His salvation?
• Has God ever destroyed your self-righteousness?
• Has God every shattered your self-centeredness?
• Has God ever brought you to your knees over your pride?
• Have you ever trembled at the thought of spending eternity in Hell?
• Has the Holy Spirit of God revealed to you that it is only by the blood of Christ you are forgiven?
• Have you ever honestly, personally and purely asked God to save you, to save you from yourself, to save you from Hell, to save you from your sin, to save you through the blood of Christ?
• The blood of Jesus Christ will either justify you or condemn you. Have you been justified by the blood of Jesus?
• The sacrifice of Jesus Christ will either save you to heaven or damn you to hell. Will you be saved to heaven or damned to hell by the sacrifice of Christ?
• Have you repented of your sin and confessed your belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

It does not matter how spiritual you are or how sincere you are or how intellectual you are, there must be a personal application of the Gospel through the Holy Spirit in your life for you to be saved.

For those who could not answer these questions affirmatively, I ask you to wait fearfully and quietly upon the Lord. Wait on Him for your salvation. Call out to Him. Confess your depravity. Repent and believe in Jesus Christ. And He will save you.

If you answered the aforementioned questions affirmatively, then give thanks to the Lord for your salvation. And then take time to work through these questions:

• Are you a product of the Gospel?
• Is the Gospel at work in you?
• Are you the result of the Holy Spirit convicting you of your sin?
• Has the power of God’s Word been released in your life?
• Are you living your life in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
• If we were to listen to your words, would we hear Christ in what you say?
• If we were to watch you, would we see Christ in the way you behave?
• If we were to live with you would we be convinced you are living a Spirit-filled life?
• Do you daily submit yourself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit?
• Do you love with Christ?
• Are you close to Christ?
• Is Christ the center of your life?
• Do you live for His glory?
• Do you do everything – whether in word or deed – for the glory of God?

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Mark 1:1

Note the word “beginning”. Mark is speaking of the practical nature of the Gospel. He is saying we have experienced the Gospel. We know its doctrine. We know the truth, and we know the facts. Yet let us never forget this: the Gospel all starts with Christ. He is the sum and substance of the Gospel. The Gospel embraces all of Christ.

Some like to take the life of Christ and ignore His death. These people say, “He was a nice example, so let’s follow Him.”

Then there are others – even Bible believers – who like to take the death of Christ and ignore His life. They say, “He was our great sacrifice, so let’s worship and obey Him.”

The Gospel demands that you cannot have one without the other. You must take the life of Christ and the death of Christ to have the Gospel, and this is part of the practical dimension of Christ.

I have heard that the Gospel is like a mighty bird with two wings. Each wing is absolutely imperative. One wing is the life or obedience of Christ. The other wing is the sacrifice or oblation of Christ. You can’t cut one of them off and still fly. For the Gospel to fly in its full glory, both wings of the Gospel – His life and His death – must be emphasized.

The Gospel must include everything of Christ – from the birth of Christ through the life of Christ, from the life of Christ through the death of Christ, from the death of Christ through the resurrection of Christ, from the resurrection of Christ through the exaltation of Christ, from the exaltation of Christ through the intercession of Christ, from the intercession of Christ through the return of Christ. The Gospel must take in all the ministry of Christ.

And note this also about the practical nature of the Gospel. Salvation must be earned. It must be merited. God does not grant salvation freely. God has a standard of salvation that must be attained in order for it to be given. Yet here is the problem: WE CANNOT EARN OUR SALVATION. We cannot merit salvation. The glorious truth of the Gospel is this: we couldn’t earn salvation, but Jesus Christ earned it for us through His perfect, sinless life and sacrificial and substitutionary death.

Romans 5:19 teaches us about the practical nature of the Gospel:

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

It is the obedience of Christ, along with His sacrifice, that merited our salvation. It is the obedience of Christ, along with His sacrifice that is part of the practical nature of the Gospel.

Tomorrow we conclude our discussion with the PERSONAL dimension of the Gospel.

The revelation of the Gospel is first found in the fact of the incarnation. It is in the birth of Christ the history of the Gospel begins. Yes, the Old Testament speaks of the Gospel in the prophetic voice to say “Someone is coming!” But in contrast, it is the birth of Christ that begins the actual history of the Gospel. And if you take away the history of the Gospel, you have destroyed it. If Jesus was not literally born of a virgin, if He had not come in the flesh, the Gospel would not be true.

Notice the reference to a time element of the Gospel in the following passages:

4 But when the FULLNESS OF TIME had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-6

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the PROPER TIME.

1 Timothy 2:5-7

In His first message on earth, Jesus Himself makes reference to the historicity of the Gospel:

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The TIME IS FULFILLED, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Mark 1:14-15

Is the Gospel a theory or is it a fact? If it is only a theory, then the Gospel is not historical. It must be factual in order to be historical.

Since the Gospel begins with the incarnation, let’s use the virginal conception of Christ as our test. Is it a theory or is it a fact? Some believe the virgin birth is only a theory, based on the human assumption virgins do not give birth to babies. Thus, since virgins do not give birth to babies, the virginal conception must only be a theory.

Yet let’s take the virginal conception of Christ one step deeper by asking this question: did it happen or did it not. Was Jesus actually born of a virgin or was He not? The Bible says it happened. And since the Bible teaches historically that it happened then it is a fact.

The same argument is true with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Did it happen or did it not? If it did not happen, then it is a theory. Since the Bible said it did happen, then it is a fact.

The same is true with the creation of the heavens and the earthy by the spoken word of God in six days. The same is true about the providential work of God in the affairs of mankind. The same is true with the blood atonement of Jesus Christ, with the Trinity, with the sinful nature of man, with the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Are these theories, or are these facts? If they are theories, then the Bible is no longer historically true. But since they happened, they are proven as Gospel facts.

Thus, the Gospel has a literal, factual, and historical dimension.

Tomorrow we discuss the PRACTICAL dimension of the Gospel.

Allow me to provide three glaring exhibits in the New Testament that prove the eternal nature of God’s Gospel.

Exhibit A: The eternal nature of the Gospel is displayed in the foreordination of Christ by the Father:

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake…

1 Peter 1:20

Exhibit B: The eternal nature of the Gospel is displayed in the foreordination of Christ’s people:

…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

Ephesians 1:4

Exhibit C: The eternal nature of the Gospel is displayed in Paul’s crescendo of praise after completing his glorious discourse about how Gentiles are included in the Gospel:

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:33-36

Pay close attention to verse 36:

For from him (The Gospel’s ETERNAL SOURCE)…

…and through him (The Gospel’s ETERNAL AGENCY)…

…and to him (The Gospel’s ETERNAL PURPOSE) are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

The Gospel did not originate with man. Neither was the Gospel an afterthought of God. The Gospel originated with God as a predetermined plan. It is eternal. Thus, that is why faith is required to receive it and faith is required to comprehend the eternal dimension of it.

In short, because the Gospel is eternal then it’s great aim and object is not reserved for time. And as a Christ-follower, I believe in the eternal purpose of God, but I refuse to try to say what I know that purpose is until it comes to past.

Tomorrow we talk about the HISTORICAL dimension of the Gospel.