DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed: Mad-Libbing Church Angst

DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed: Mad-Libbing Church Angst

DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed: Who Do You Say That I Am?

DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed: Who Do You Say That I Am?

Who do you say that I am?

There are a lot of popular versions of Jesus in culture. There’s a Republican Jesus who’s for free-market economics. There’s a Democrat Jesus against Wall Street and Wal-Mart. There’s a therapist Jesus who helps us cope with life’s problems. There’s a Starbucks Jesus who loves fair trade coffee and Apple computers. There’s touchdown Jesus who helps Christians run faster and jump higher. There’s the martyr Jesus who died so that we could feel sorry for him. There’s nice guy Jesus. There’s spirituality Jesus. There’s good example Jesus.

And then there’s Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter says, “You are the Christ of God.”

Do not get inoculated with Christ. You get just enough Christianity in your veins to keep you from getting the real thing.

Most young people have a shrunken, domesticated Christ who is safe, easy and manageable instead of the real Christ. The closer you get to him the more you love him and the more you fear him. God is calling you stop playing games and making excuses and open your eyes to see Jesus as the Christ. He is more glorious and loving and gracious and powerful and more wonderfully terrifying that any of us can ever imagine.

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Augustine "The Confessions"

Today at church they had this great quote from Augustine of hippo in the brochure:

"Great are you, O Lord, and worthy of high praise. Great is your strength, and of your wisdom there is no counting. Even man is, in his way, a part of your creation, and longs to praise you; even man, who carries in himself his own mortality, that testimony of his sin, that testimony also that you resist the proud;for all that, man is part of your creation, and longs to praise you. you stir us up to take delight in your praise; for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless till it finds its rest in you"

Thank God for Jesus Christ whose yoke is light and easy (matt 11: 28-30). I cannot find rest in anything the world offers me, but in Him alone.

Amen.

Modern Evangelism

The pattern of modern evangelism is to give people a pleasing and easy message; take them through a simple formula; get them to pray a prayer, sign a card, or whaever, them tell them they are saved and should never doubt it. Such an approach to witnessing actually fights against the holy spirit, whose ministry is to bring both assurance to those who are truly saved(rom. 8:16) and conviction to those who are not (john 16:8-9). God knows the difference; we do not. It is not our job to certify people's salvation

- John Mcarthur
The gospel according to jesus , pg 213

The Gospel According to jesus.

"God does not call His people to a ministry of inquisition. Now is not the time to rip the tares out. Our mission is not political or military crusade, and this is not a time of judgment. Moreover, we are not called to dole out retribution. We are sent out rather to be ambassadors for Christ, emissaries of His mercy and grace." 

pg 141

Riverside Christian Fellowship on Reformed Theology

My Home church is starting a series in the basics of reformed/calvinistic theology listen to both of my pastors explanation of T.U.L.I.P here.