I need constant reminding of what the Gospel truly means everyday. When I get tired of myself (like my last blog post), and feel like I just can't make it one more day, that is when I have forgotten about the Good News, the Gospel. God has once again knocked me flat, and used Horton's book as the heavenly reminder. He says on page 120, "We always gravitate back toward ourselves: 'Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.' We wander back toward self-confidence just as easily as into more obvious sins."
Going into some of the movements of the "different" Gospel that we hear today, he examines the likes of Schuller, Osteen, Brian McClaren, and some of the emerging church leaders and what they deem as "good news." He briefly gives some historical perspective of how we got here through Charles Finney et. al., but quickly examines the difference between what Christ's Good News is really and the actual "bad news" of the preaching that lays our condition squarely on our backs. We all know where that leads to ultimately, but we are lulled too easily into believing that we can be our own good news. The true Gospel says that only in Christ will we ever be free. He has a terrific quote by CS Lewis as Lewis quipped,
"I haven't always been a Christian. I didn't go to religion to make me happy, I always knew that a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don't recommend Christianity." (From God in the Dock).
In another essay Lewis wrote,
"We are defending Christianity; not 'my religion'....The great difficulty is to get modern audiences to realize that you are preaching Christianity solely and simply because you happen to think it true; they always suppose you are preaching it because you like it to or think it good for society or something of that sort. Now a clearly maintained distinction between what the faith actually says and what you would like to to have said or what you understand or what you personally find helpful or think probable, forces your audience to realize that you are tied to your data just as the scientist is tied by the results of the experiment; that you are not just saying what you like. This immediately helps them to realize that what is being discussed is a question about objective fact-not gas about ideals and points of view."
I need to hear this truth everyday, sometimes continually all day long. I cannot save myself, I am doomed, but God in His mercy has sent His Son on my behalf, and the Son willingly gave up His life for mine. I am saved the same way that I am being saved, by Grace through faith. I cannot work do anything, even my good works are as filthy rags. On my best day I am a hypocrite and let those down around me, especially if you were to examine the thoughts and motives of my heart. Christ's story of redemption saves me, not only by bringing me justification but by baptizing me into His resurrection life. This changes who I am, and my motives as well.
Horton puts it this way,
"It is no wonder that the average person today assumes that all religions basically say the same thing and that singling one out as the only truth is arrogant. After all, who doesn't believe in the Golden Rule: 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'?....If religion is basically ethics-getting people to do the right thing-then why get uptight over the different historical forms?...What distinguishes Christianity at its heart is not its moral code but its story-a story of a Creator who, although rejected by those he created in His image, stooped to reconcile them to Himself through His Son. This is not a story about the individual heavenward progress but the recital of historical events of God's incarnation, atonement, resurrection, ascension, and return and the exploration of their rich significance. At its heart, this story is the Good News that God has reconciled us to Himself in Christ."
Why has this "preaching the Gospel" to myself again so encouraged me? I have real hope in Christ. When I look at myself, I see only a heart that is deceitfully wicked, and thus the previous blog post. Christ though, the truth is, that He has given me the only way to be reconciled to the Father, and He has actually paid the price for me, as well. That is Good News! I thank God for this wonderful reminder by Michael Horton.
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