The Gospel vs. Religion

I love this description on the difference between religion and the Gospel that Mark Driscoll and his team at Mars Hill put together. It characterizes the ministry that I am involved in at the Indonesian Christian Church as we commit to reach the lost and teach the reached to live a Christ-centered life.

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures . . .” -1 Corinthians 15:1–4

What is the Gospel? The word gospel simply means “good news.” The central message of the Bible is the gospel, or good news, about the person and work of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, Paul provides the most succinct summary of the gospel: the man Jesus is also God, or Christ, and died on a cross in our place, paying the penalty for our sins; three days later He rose to conquer sin and death and give the gift of salvation to all who believe in Him alone for eternal life.

The great reformer Martin Luther rightly said that, as sinners, we are prone to pursue a relationship with God in one of two ways. The first is religion/spirituality and the second is the gospel. The two are antithetical in every way.

Religion says that if we obey God He will love us. The gospel says that it is because God has loved us through Jesus that we can obey.

Religion says that the world is filled with good people and bad people. The gospel says that the world is filled with bad people who are either repentant or unrepentant.

Religion says that you should trust in what you do as a good moral person. The gospel says that you should trust in the perfectly sinless life of Jesus because He alone is the only good and truly moral person who will ever live.

The goal of religion is to get from God such things as health, wealth, insight, power, and control. The goal of the gospel is not the gifts God gives, but rather God as the gift given to us by grace.

Religion is about what I have to do. The gospel is about what I get to do.

Religion sees hardship in life as punishment from God. The gospel sees hardship in life as sanctifying affliction that reminds us of Jesus’ sufferings and is used by God in love to make us more like Jesus.

Religion is about me. The gospel is about Jesus.

Religion leads to an uncertainty about my standing before God because I never know if I have done enough to please God. The gospel leads to a certainty about my standing before God because of the finished work of Jesus on my behalf on the cross.

Religion ends in either pride (because I think I am better than other people) or despair (because I continually fall short of God’s commands). The gospel ends in humble and confident joy because of the power of Jesus at work for me, in me, through me, and sometimes in spite of me.

Mark Driscoll on CNN

HT: JT

Mark Driscoll on Nightline

Pastor Mark Driscoll of Marshill Church in Seattle was interviewed by ABC Nightline some time ago. If you are not familiar with Driscoll, it's worth looking at how this pastor attracts lots of young people to Christ in a very agnostic city like Seattle. Unlike many today who dumb down the message of the Gospel in the name of outreach, Driscoll stays true to the pattern of sound teaching, preaching Christ and him crucified in the midst of the young, hip, and restless generation.

Check out the video interview here

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Why Religion & Spirituality Stinks

This short teaching video clip is vintage Driscoll. There are harsh words in it; words God used in the Bible to refer to one's religiousness and spirituality.

"We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment" — Isaiah 64:6 (ESV)

POLLUTED GARMENT in Hebrew means menstrual cloth or in Driscoll's word "bloody tampons"

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" - Phil 3:8 (ESV)

RUBBISH in Greek is DUNG.

Death by Love

A new book from the Calvinist-in-boxer, Mark Driscoll, entitled Death by Love, elaborates on "a rigorous theology of the cross that is practically applied to the lives of real people." Tim Challies reviewed this book here. The following promo video gives you a good idea of the book:

Mark Driscoll Interview in Sydney

Mark Driscoll, founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle is currently in Sydney to be the keynote speaker at several conferences and talks. I heard the 3,000+ online tickets for admission to one of these conferences, Engage Conference, was sold merely in less than 30 minutes! (of course, there is also the "DA Carson" factor apart from Driscoll). Too bad I couldn't come due to work commitments.

Driscoll who described himself as 'a Calvinist in boxer' in one of his books was interviewed by Sydney Anglican in King Cross, the most famous red district in Sydney (obviously, it was done in a broad daylight). Here is the link to the Video Interview where among others he characterized pockets of people in Sydney who perceived various kinds of Jesus but not biblical Jesus.