church discipline

“There are at least three purposes of [church] discipline. The first is to restore a sinning believer (Matt. 18:15; 1 Cor. 5:5; Gal. 6:1; 1 Tim. 1:20; James 5:20) … church discipline is not a cruel thing but a loving thing. Second, discipline exists to deter such sins by others, to instruct the congregation as to what is and is not acceptable (Heb. 12:15; 1 Cor. 5:2, 6-7; 1 Tim. 5:20). Third, discipline exists to protect the honor of Christ and his church (Rom. 2:24; 1 Cor. 6:6; Eph. 5:27). When churches ignore sin, the world despises them and the reputation of Jesus Christ himself is dragged through the mud.” -John Frame

a level playing-field.

The gospel does extraordinary things. From salvation, to justification and sanctification–the gospel enables, completes, fulfills, and empowers it all.

And the same is true with how we view others.

Many times we view someone’s sin as massive and it cripples us. We look at them in disgust, praying that they might get hit by a car (violent, I know. Sin is violent!).

But the gospel demands that I view my sin as more devastating than I normally do because its not the sin itself that gives definition to the devastation: it’s whom I have sinned against.

And I’ve sinned against a holy, righteous God. And since I have offended this infinitely holy God, my sin is what I should be looking at, not the sin of someone else. Their sin is against God first. We aren’t to judge as God judges.

This means that I have to keep short accounts with others. If I get bitter or upset towards them, I am assuming that their sin against me is greater than my sin against God.

Because of the gospel, we’re all on a level-playing field. We are all sinners. But the cross of Christ demands that I deal with my sin against God through what Jesus has done for me.

No one is better than anyone else. The playing field is level.

And through the gospel I now realize that the sin committed against me pales in comparison to the innumerable sins I’ve committed against God. Innumerable.

Space, Time and Jesus

“If the Temple was the space in which God’s sphere and the human sphere met, the sabbath was the time when God’s time and human time coincided.”

N.T. Wright, Simply Jesus. (HaperCollins Limited, 2011) 136.

The Implications of the Gospel, Part 4

(originally published in our local newspaper on 2/1/12)

We’ve thus far defined the gospel, talked about its cosmic implications, and last week showed one practical way in which the gospel affects our relationships. I have argued that the gospel is more than just good news—and certainly nothing less—as well as it affecting everything, the spiritual and natural world. It also changes how we perceive ourselves (we understand ourselves to be born with a propensity towards sin) and how we perceive God (he is holy, just, loving, wrathful and gracious). Having this “gospel grid” can teach us better ways in which we see the world.

C.J. Mahaney wrote a wonderful little book called “The Cross-Centered Life,” and in it he quotes theologian D.A. Carson. Carson says, commenting on the Apostle Paul and Paul’s theology, that, “He cannot long talk about Christian joy, or Christian ethics, or Christian fellowship, or the Christian doctrine of God, or anything else, without finally tying it to the cross. Paul is gospel-centered; he is cross-centered” (pg. 11).

The obsession in the New Testament is the gospel and at the center of the gospel is suffering Servant, Jesus Christ. Everything revolves around the cross for Christian theology. Struggling with sin? Look to the cross. Struggling with money? Look to the cross. Frustrated at your job? Look to the cross.

The glory of God is shown most vividly when Jesus died on the cross. He died for us, and as Martin Luther says, it was the “Great Exchange.” Jesus takes our sin; we get his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus takes our failures,; we get his successes. Jesus obeys perfectly, cleans our filthy hearts, and removes our guilt. We are no longer condemned (Romans 8:1). It was at the cross where business was done between God and man.

Before we implement the “gospel grid,” let’s get practical for a moment.

As a pastor, there is one relationship paradigm that I am most confronted with in counseling: marriage. Marriages continue to falter under the pressures of this world and it seems that many people in our churches are all feeling the same pressure. The pressure to have both spouses working, the daycare bills, the mortgage payment, gas prices, layoffs at work, grocery bills growing, cost of insurance on the rise and the list goes on and on. Marriages are strained because of this pressure. But what would it look like to have a gospel grid in your marriage?

Husbands: it looks like you repenting first and blame shifting never, taking full responsibility. It looks like men growing in their knowledge of the Lord and choosing to lay their lives down for their wives, just like Jesus did for the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33).

It looks like it does for every other relationship, and here is the secret. Are you growing in awareness of your own sin while simultaneously growing in your awareness of God’s holiness? That’s part of what it means to live a gospel-centered life. Repentance and faith, repentance and faith, repentance and faith… This is what it means to be enamored by the gospel.

The Implications of the Gospel, Part 3

(originally published in our local newspaper on 1/25/12)

Last time we looked at the “big picture” implication of the gospel message. And it would be appropriate to clarify that yes, it is a message, but it is also more than that. It is a message that has cosmic implications because it deals with the spiritual and natural world, too. In other words, it’s a message about what Jesus has done that affects the space/time continuum. It’s about the Kingdom of God coming to bear on all of creation.

But this week I want to focus in on a couple of ways in which the gospel message affects our relationships. For many, the gospel is more easily understood in cosmic scope, but less understood in practical day-to-day ways. The reality is, each of us needs the gospel every day. We need it in every moment, opportunity and situation.

One of the core doctrines of the Christian faith is our “Union with Christ.” This is the Bible’s way of speaking of what Jesus has done for us. He has obeyed where we failed to obey, died a death we should have died, and was resurrected to defeat death thus adopting us into his family when our faith is placed in him. “In him” are the words the Apostle Paul often uses to describe our union with Jesus. His point: he has brought unity to our relationship so that when the Father looks at us, he sees Jesus. This gives us a new identity.

And this new identity gives us value, not because we are something special—we certainly are not!—but because Jesus gives us his inherent value and status before God having brought us near to the Holy One.

Here’s where it gets a bit more practical.

Most of us are insecure in our relationships. We tend to buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t like with money we simply do not have. And we have this perpetual “need” to feel needed and valued by others. So we often, though disguised in the sin of pride, prop ourselves up because we care what others think of us. We say, “Look at me! Look what I did! Check out what I did on Facebook! Me, me, me and me!”

The gospel challenges this propensity. It says that our value is not found in what other people think of us. When our lives our driven by the gospel we don’t “need” anything but Jesus. What people think of us doesn’t matter because what God thinks of us has taken primacy in our lives.

Jesus has brought us near to our Maker. He’s done so by the blood of the cross. We are now called to put to death what is earthly in us and instead, “Put on…as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:12-13). Seek to live a gospel-driven life that is secure in Christ Jesus.