God-Centeredness & the Gospel 12

August 11, 2006

“But unless the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them” (A. W. Tozer).

2 Corinthians 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”” This text should be a puzzle for all those who believe that the recitation of historical information is the Gospel. Yet Paul was eager to preach the Gospel to those in Rome. He was not just willing, but he was eager. There was something about the Gospel that made Paul eager to preach it. We can ask if something about man made him eager to preach the Gospel. We can wonder if there was something about the honor he was obtaining from the persecutions he was receiving that made him eager to preach the Gospel. But in fact, Paul tells us that he was eager to preach the Gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. He then goes on in it and says that “in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.

It is interesting to note that from Romans 1:18-32 Paul sets how man descends into sin and that is by suppressing the truth of God and exchanging the glory of God for idols. But when Paul gets to the Gospel in chapter three, he shows that it is the righteousness of God. He shows that the Gospel is all about God. In fact, he hardly even mentions man while he is talking about the Gospel. The Gospel is all about the character of God. So what was Paul doing in chapter three of Romans in explaining the Gospel that is the power of God for salvation? What was Paul doing in Romans 11:33-36 when he broke out in doxology? Paul was in worship of the living God. Paul exalted God and exulted in Him. Paul was delighted in the glory of God and thought it abhorrent that anyone would preach a different Gospel (Galatians 1:6-8). Now if Paul’s Gospel was centered upon God and was the power of God for salvation, we need to be careful that we preach the message he preached with the same focus.

As we draw back and wonder what the power of the Gospel really is, I think that we must consider the passages above in II Cor 4:4 & 6 as explaining that. The power of the Gospel is God shining Himself in the heart of a sinner and revealing the light of the knowledge of His glory in Christ. That and that alone can answer how the Gospel has so much power in the heart of sinners when God moves to work through it. In the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, that is, the Gospel is all about the glory of the righteous God and the righteousness that He gives as a gift by grace alone. The message that reveals the righteousness of God is only understood and received from faith to faith. It is interesting how II Cor 3:18 uses a different phrase and yet one that is closely tied. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (II Cor 3:18). Other passages tie in the concepts of faith glory: “with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:20). “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” (John 5:44) and Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).

The link between faith and glory are closely tied together. When one grows in faith, he sees the glory of God. Hebrews 11 sets out what faith is and it is essentially the sight of the soul. This means that the believer walks by faith (spiritual sight) and not by sight (physical sight). But what is it that faith grabs hold of? Can it be anything other than God Himself and His glory as seen and promised in the Gospel? “And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (I Peter 1:8). The power of the Gospel is that the one who has faith or belief is the one who sees the glory of God. This faith in God is really a trust in His glory, that is, that His beauty and expressed character is worth far more in this life and in the eternity to come. The power of the Gospel is the God shining forth His glory.

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Justification, Part 14

August 9, 2006

In one sense we are still talking about justification, but in another sense we are talking about faith. There is no real discussion about justification without talking about faith and the nature of faith. Without question Scripture speaks of a person being justified by faith without works. Some try to interpret the statement of Scripture regarding justification in such a way that allows for works to have a part in some process of justification. Others try to say that one can believe in Christ in some way and yet never bow to the Lordship of Christ. Both views are dependent in some way on a belief in a certain kind of faith. The first view wants faith to be expressed in moral actions and say that God cannot declare a person just without this. The second view wants people to be saved by an intellectual assent to some propositions and then say that the faith a person has may never really be seen after that point. Therefore, faith is a vital part of any study of justification by faith apart from works (alone). In one sense the study of faith determines how we view justification.Let us try to look at how man comes to believe in anything at all. Interestingly enough, philosophers have struggled with this at least since Plato. There is still no consensus on how a person can even know that what he thinks he knows is true. Alvin Plantinga had an interesting insight into this when he posited that God created man with belief developing capacities. This is how people go around in life developing beliefs and can know that when their capacities are operating properly they then know what is true. So God has given man a nature within the physical realm, that is, man was given five senses and the gift of rationality by God. When these are operating properly man can know what is true (on a limited basis) within the physical realm.

Now, let us move to the spiritual realm. Man was created without sin and as such Adam was able to walk with God. However, the fall occurred and man was no longer in fellowship with God and was spiritually dead. This means that man was limited to the physical realm with his abilities and belief forming capacities. However, when man is born from above man is born of the Spirit and as such has some capacity for belief in the spiritual realm.
To have faith or belief in the spiritual realm, one must have a spiritual nature with the capacity for developing beliefs in the spiritual realm. It is the new birth that does this. One is born of the Spirit (John 3:3-8) and as such is born into the spiritual realm. The fruit of the flesh is seen in that it operates according to man-centered and physically oriented things. The fruit of the Spirit is seen in that the man now operates according to what the Spirit is doing in and through the man (Galatians 5:22).

True faith can only come from a spiritual nature. This being true, the type of faith which comes from the fleshly nature or the realm of the world is not true faith. The fleshly nature will look at Christ and interpret Christ and the cross in terms of the flesh. Another way to look at that is to understand that the person in the fleshly nature is all about self and thinks that surely God loves him and is focused on him too. He sees a glory of the cross and of Christ in one sense, and is perhaps moved to tears and even good works as a result of seeing that glory. But the glory that the fleshly person sees is the glory of self. He believes that the cross is all about him and how much God loves him, This is to say that he does not see the glory of the cross as it relates to God and His glory in truth, but he loves God and the cross only out of self-interest. The cross is meant to slay the pride and self-interest of man, but many teach it in a way that actually makes men focus on themselves in a religious way. It is still nothing but pride.

The most pervasive form of evangelism today (in Arminian and Reformed circles) is based on the fleshly, physical,
and self-centered model. People are told that they must believe in certain facts and if they do they will be saved.
However, do they believe from the fleshly and physical realm or the spiritual realm? A faith that does not come from the Spirit actually contributes to the deception of many souls. A faith or belief that is thought to be from self-interest is still nothing but selfishness and self-interest. A faith or belief that comes from the natural man is still a faith or belief based on the physical realm. This is a faith from a natural man based on natural principles. Even if the person goes on to attend church and pursue spiritual activities he or she is still dead to spiritual things and might be hardened in his or her delusion even more by the activities. A person must be born from above to enter the kingdom, that is, to have the kingdom in him and have the reign and rule of God (from the spiritual realm) guiding and ruling all that he or she does. This would include the faith and belief forming capacities.

How does a person come to faith in something? How can a person come to true faith in Christ and trust in his or her justification before God? Usually people trust in self and their own reason or their capacity for developing true beliefs. However, the person who is to have beliefs developed after the truth of God must look to the Word of God and the character of God to have a true way of developing beliefs in accordance with the spiritual realm. Let us examine the difference between true and deluded faith in this light.

A person that is still in the natural realm will always trust in himself and his own ability to determine what is true. This is nothing more than pride and independence which is the result of the fall. This person believes what is in accordance with what he wants to believe and is as he perceives his own self-interest. He believes in order to sustain his independence and pride. He may be an atheist or a thorough Theist, but he is essentially a self-centered individual. When this person is told that God loves him and has a wonderful plan for his life, he believes it because he also loves himself and has a wonderful plan for his life. When he is told that Jesus died for him he will believe this too since he thinks he is worthy enough to be died for. There are many who will take a very intellectual route to deception and even hold with virility the Reformed doctrines because they are logical and sensible. The intellectual aspect of those teachings is also something a proud man can love and be interested in. There are many who appeal to the natural man with promises of worldly riches and health. Man in his self-love loves that.

But the truth of the Gospel is that God is all about Himself. Man cannot know that God loves Him until he loves God (see I John 4:7-10). The Gospel tells man that God does not save man because man is worth it, but because God is worth it. Man is saved by grace and nothing but the grace of a sovereign God. Man must repent of his self-centeredness and his pride in order to be saved. Man must be born from above and nothing that he can do will obligate God to do this. Man must truly confess from the heart (a firm belief) that he is a worthless sinner and be broken and contrite of heart in order to be saved. Indeed, man must be delivered from any trust in himself, his worth, and his own works in order to trust in Christ alone. This, clearly, is nothing that can happen within the physical realm alone. Something must happen in the spiritual realm or man remains dead to the spiritual realm.

We must consider whether man must be delivered from any trust in himself and his natural abilities in order to have a true faith in Christ. The ramifications of this are enormous. Man must be turned from his natural way of looking at things and developing beliefs in order to have a true and biblical faith. In other words, man must not trust in himself and his own heart, he must trust in God and His Word alone (Proverbs 3:5). Man must turn from trusting in his own rationality which judges things within the physical realm to judging things by the Word of God. Even more, man must have faith in order to see things in the spiritual realm and so develop beliefs that are in accordance with the character and glory of God. After all, the person that is truly converted loves God above all other things and knows that He is the standard by which all standards are judged.

Let us try to gather this together and apply it to justification. A person is declared just by God and not by self. Romans 3 and 4 are clear that a person is justified by faith without works. So how does this work in light of the past few weekly discussions? In order to believe in Christ a person must disbelieve in self. This is usually a humbling process by which the person learns to distrust self which necessarily means that he must be turned from his pride. So as the person is turning from his pride and trust in self, he is now beginning to see things differently. Now he can see that indeed it is only the ungodly in and of themselves that God justifies (Rom 4:5) and so this person is now willing to accept the information that he is a wretched sinner. Now the sinner sees that it is not only that his good works are not enough, but that God will only justify those who do not work for salvation (Rom 4:5). So the sinner is humbled enough to see this. During this process the sinner is given a new heart and he is now able to see things in a different light. Now the Gospel is glorious to him and he does not want to contribute anything to his own salvation. Now he sees something of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

The sinner that is given new belief forming capacities in the spiritual realm now sees who he is in light of seeing the glory of God and the Gospel. The sinner now walks by trust in Christ for salvation and not in himself at all. The one who has spiritual sight also sees sin as the most hideous thing on earth. He sees and feels his own ungodliness and wants nothing but a sight and taste of the glory of God in Christ. This person who sees the glory of the cross and of the righteousness of Christ will turn from his own worth and efforts as from a poisonous viper. This is now a person who repeats Psalm 115:1 in all things: “Not to us, not to us, but to Thy name be the glory.” The belief forming capacities given this person in the spiritual realm enable this person to be justified by faith without works. This person now walks by faith and not by sight (in the natural realm).

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God-Centeredness & the Gospel 11

August 7, 2006

“But unless the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them” (A. W. Tozer).

2 Corinthians 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” These verses are quite clear regarding the issue that we are discussing. One, the gospel is the gospel of the glory of Christ. Two, the Gospel of the glory of Christ is light. Three, Christ is the image of God. Four, the light that God commanded then and commands now is the light of the Gospel. Five, the light He shines is Himself because the text speaks of “the One who has shone in our hearts.’ Six, when He shines in our hearts that gives the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Seven, the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Christ.

Genesis 3:1ff sets out the doctrine and reality of the fall. What happened is that the serpent promised Eve that she would be like God. Evidently Eve believed the promise and ate of the fruit. Adam then ate the fruit and spiritual death happened immediately and man also began to die physically. But the promise that man would be like God is indeed the nature of the fall into sin. The essence of the fall is that man wants to be like God and so is now proud. It is nothing but pride that would make men even think that he can be like God. As Romans 1:18-32 sets out; man has to suppress the truth about God in order to sin. Man is always exchanging the glory of God for something lesser, and that lesser is always himself. Man thinks that he can live according to his own will and wisdom. Man thinks that he can obtain his own righteousness and this is known as self-righteousness. Man loves himself and so lives as his own chief end and goal in all he does rather than love God in all that he does.

The Gospel is God’s work in setting man right and bringing man back to living for His glory. The true Gospel must be something that would lead men to exchange seeking their own glory to seeking the glory of God. Can anything but the Gospel of the glory of God do that? The true Gospel must be something that leads men to suppress the sin in their hearts for the glory of God. The true Gospel must be so glorious that it will lead men to living by His wisdom and will rather than seeking their own. The true Gospel must be so glorious that it will deliver man from trying to obtain his own righteousness and rely on the righteousness of God through Christ alone. The true Gospel must turn a man from self-love to a love for the glory of God so that all the man does is for the glory of God. As you can see from comparing the present paragraph with the previous one, the Gospel must turn men from serving, loving, and trusting in self to serving, loving, and trusting in God.

I can’t think of anything more deceptive than a man-centered gospel. A man-centered Gospel comes to man who is a slave to his own self-love and tells him that God loves him so much that He sent His Son to die for him. Now all man has to do is to trade some sinful actions for eternity in heaven. All man has to do is to make a choice and go to church and be reasonably good. With this method God is thought to be centered on man and would do almost anything to save man. Man is left in his own self-love and pride and so is never truly humbled in order to see the glory of the true Gospel. Whenever the true Gospel is heard by people like this, they hate it since it calls upon them to deny their chief love which is self and to follow Christ. They do not want to follow Christ but rather follow their own wills and loves.

In lowering the view of God the Church has exalted man to the center stage. We have kicked the living God out of Church and replaced Him with many little gods. Each human being is a god to himself and he will have the church operate as he wants and it must operate in a way that pleases him. After all, he is god to himself and wants everybody else worship him. The Gospel of the glory of God must be preached or the churches will remain full of little gods. To rephrase one Scripture, each god will be doing what is right in his own eyes. The truth of the exalted God has been lowered and so the true Gospel has been lost. What has happened is that man has lowered the truth of God and so has exalted himself. The Gospel of the glory of God, therefore, as been lowered to be the gospel about how all the gods can retain their godhood. The exalted man cannot bear to hear of a rival in terms of the Gospel of the glory of God. Low views of God destroy the Gospel.

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God-Centeredness & the Gospel 10

August 6, 2006

“But unless the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them” (A. W. Tozer).

2 Corinthians 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” These verses are quite clear regarding the issue that we are discussing. One, the gospel is the gospel of the glory of Christ. Two, the Gospel of the glory of Christ is light. Three, Christ is the image of God. Four, the light that God commanded then and commands now is the light of the Gospel. Five, the light He shines is Himself because the text speaks of “the One who has shone in our hearts.’ Six, when He shines in our hearts that gives the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Seven, the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Christ.

We must always remember that to preach the Gospel of the glory of Christ is to preach the Gospel in such a way that the glory of God is seen in the face of Christ. Perhaps the most important thing for a preacher to do is to enter the pulpit with a humble heart seeking to see the glory of God shining through His text. The goal is to set out the glory of God more than anything or anyone else. We speak glowingly of food, entertainments, cars, sporting events, and so many worldly things. But we think that we have to speak in a monotone when we talk of God. That is sheer and utter nonsense. While it is not necessary to speak with elevated tones and wild gestures, it is necessary to speak of God as if one believes He is better than all of the things of the world. In his early ministry Jonathan Edwards was said to stand in the pulpit and hold a candle in one hand and the manuscript in the other hand as he read his sermon. But, one witness said, there was an intensity and conviction about him that made him an eloquent speaker. True speaking of the glory of God comes from the inner man.

It is a necessary and self-evident truth that a person must really believe that God is better than the whole world if he is going to be genuine in speaking like that. So in one sense the real work is done in the study by prayer and meditation. God will only be exalted when the heart that speaks of Him exalts in Him. God will not be exalted by a person who has techniques to speak of Him and simply high words to speak of Him. No, it takes a heart that loves and breathes forth the truth and beauty of God. It takes a man who loves the glory of God more than his own glory as a preacher to preach the Gospel of the glory of God.

The Gospel of the glory of God will only come from the man who has within him high and exalted views of God. This will be a man who studies God as infinite rather than an object of study to be learned from a book. In other words, for the Gospel of the glory of God to be preached and taught it will take men who will spend time with God in prayer, study, and meditation over the character of God as displayed in the Bible. A mere outline of a text will not do and the mere speaking of a text in an expositional manner will not do either. Good doctrine is important but it must also be done with servitude to the Gospel of the glory of God in Christ.

Men must strive to interpret Scripture and all events with the character of God foremost in mind. They must learn to set out the character of God from the text they are preaching. After all, first and foremost the Bible is the revelation of God. It is in God that we live, move and have our being. It is God that gives us our every breath. It is God whose glory is shining all around us each moment of the day and night. It is God who created the world to display His glory. It is God who created man in His image in order that man would live for His glory. It is God who sent His Son and gives the Gospel in order to display His glory. There should always be the glory of God in preaching and teaching because we should always be about the glory of God that shines everywhere.

We must never forget that the mere reciting of information is not enough. We must strive to show the beauty of God in everything. We must strive to have our hearts full of His beauty and desirability in order that our preaching and teaching will always be salted with His glory. If we don’t do this, we will not be preaching the glory of the Gospel of God. If we don’t do this, what do we love most in preaching? Ourselves? Our honor? Having a big church? Being acceptable to others? Low views of God by preachers destroy the Gospel of the glory of God.

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God-Centeredness & the Gospel 9

August 5, 2006

“But unless the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them” (A. W. Tozer).

2 Corinthians 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” These verses are quite clear regarding the issue that we are discussing. One, the gospel is the gospel of the glory of Christ. Two, the Gospel of the glory of Christ is light. Three, Christ is the image of God. Four, the light that God commanded then and commands now is the light of the Gospel. Five, the light He shines is Himself because the text speaks of “the One who has shone in our hearts.’ Six, when He shines in our hearts that gives the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Seven, the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Christ.

But if all of these things distract and detract from the Gospel of God because of a low view of God (see previous posts), then what does it mean to preach the Gospel of the glory of God? What does it mean to have a high view of God? The first thing is that we preach and teach to where people will understand that they cannot completely understand God and His glory. Whatever can be comprehended (completely understand) in the mind cannot be the glory of God. To preach the Gospel is to proclaim the message of the Gospel, yes, but it is to point to the glory of God in such a way that the individual must depend on God to see the glory of the Gospel.

Second, we must always try to show the character and attributes of God in all that we preach and teach. The Gospel, then, must be proclaimed in such a way that the character of God is primarily on display. We are not preaching and teaching Christ unless we preach and teach Him in such a way that corresponds to what His purpose and intent was. He was the outshining of the glory of God (Heb 1:3) and the tabernacle of the glory of God (John 1:14). When He did a miracle, for example, He did it to display His glory. What was His glory? It was the glory of God shining through Him. Many preach about Christ and even wonderful things about Christ but when they fail to show the character and glory of God shining though Him, they are not preaching Christ.

We can also go on to say that many preach about the Gospel by preaching much of Christ but they are not preaching the true Gospel of the glory of God because they are not preaching the Gospel in such a way that shows how the glory of God shines in and through Christ. I know that this sounds weird but a lot of preaching Christ can be a hiding of the Gospel rather than a preaching of the Gospel. We must always remember that people are not saved by an intellectual belief concerning the factual contents of a message, but by seeing the glory of God in Christ. The devil does not need to hide the factual content of the Gospel from people if the glory of it is not being preached. As II Cor 4:4 sets out, he blinds them to the Gospel of the glory of Christ. If ministers and others are preaching a gospel in such a way that it is not the Gospel of the glory of Christ, then the devil has already blinded them to the glory of it and their preaching and teaching is not setting out the glory of the Gospel.

What is meant by the term “glory” as it relates to the Gospel? The term means a few different things. In one sense the glory of God is one word that refers to all of His character and attributes. In this sense the Gospel is all about the character and attributes of God in Christ. In another sense the word “glory” has the meaning of beauty. So the Gospel cannot be preached without setting out the character and attributes of God as beautiful and glorious. The Gospel consists in the display of the beauty and majesty of God in what He did and is doing to save sinners. The Gospel is to be taught with reverence and awe because it is about God and His glory.

Why does the Gospel need to be preached like that? Because sinners are caught up with how desirable the world is more than they are with God. He must be preached in such a way that sinners see that their own honor and glory is worse than nothing and that the things of this world are at enmity with God. Until the Gospel is preached with glory, sinners just think that God is all about them as they are. They need to see that God is all about Himself and they should be all about God and His glory too. They need to see His glory or they will see the world as better than God. Low views of God destroy the Gospel of the glory of God through Christ.

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Justification, Part 13

August 4, 2006

Two newsletters previous to this one we looked at the nature of faith and how it operates in the spiritual realm. Last week we looked at how justification by faith alone (without works) means that man is not to trust in himself at all and in fact must look upon his own efforts and works for salvation as filthy rags. This week we want to look at faith and what it sees in the spiritual realm which is another reason why it requires that man turn from any and all self-trust in biblical self-denial and repentance. When one sees the glory of God in the face of Christ (the real object of faith in the Gospel) there can be no doubt that this is what is seen by faith and faith alone since the natural man thinks of the Gospel as foolishness and weakness. Seeing the glory of God in the Gospel is the power of the Gospel to overcome the prideful and self-centered hearts of sinners and show the glory of God in a way where man turns from his own puny and putrid works (or trust in himself) to trust in Christ alone.Without traversing over the ground of what Justification is, we must ask the question as to what faith beholds and how it does so. We have previously seen that faith must be at least the sight of the soul in the spiritual realm and that faith brings its reality from the spiritual realm. Faith cannot be the act of the natural man since faith beholds things in the spiritual realm and the natural man has no spiritual capacity to see spiritual things. So what is the difference between the rational person who thoroughly understands the Gospel and even has an intellectual belief that the doctrines of the Gospel are true and the person that does not have a thorough grasp and yet believes and loves the Gospel? This, I think, gets to the heart of the real issue of true faith in Christ and His Gospel.

In the Gospels we see many people believing in Christ after they heard Him teach or after seeing Him perform miracles. But they were not converted people. Eventually, though, they fell away when the hard teachings came. We see people believing today and praying prayers and so forth. We see Reformed people explaining the doctrines of the Gospel in a way that has more doctrinal content than others, but they are still practicing evangelism just like everybody else. An Arminian can tell a basic content of the Gospel message and a Reformed person can explain a more thorough understanding of the Gospel, but neither really arrives at the real issues. Either way both camps in this sense are asking a person to pray a prayer or make a decision based on the person’s self and old nature. The Arminian will congratulate the person on making a wise choice and the Reformed person will praise God that the person made the choice. In reality, however, both have relied on the person making the choice. Faith cannot come from a natural man and it must be involved in the spiritual realm. While doctrine and the message of the Gospel are vital, they are not enough.

We can look at John 11 and get at the basic concept. Jesus waited until Lazarus died until He went to be with Lazarus’ sisters and the body of Lazarus. Jesus said regarding the sickness of Lazarus at that time, that it “is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it” (p. 4). After He raised Lazarus from the dead, “Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”” (v. 40). Those who believed saw the glory of God in the resurrection and those who did not have faith saw the resurrection but not the glory. Some who saw the resurrection of Lazarus even went to the head Jews and informed them. The Jews did not deny that the resurrection of Lazarus had happened, but they then wanted to kill Jesus and Lazarus so that they would not lose their positions (John 11:46, 53, 57; 12:9-11).

This is a vital point. Those with faith saw the glory of God in the resurrection and that was the point of Jesus letting Lazarus die. Faith operates in the spiritual realm and sees things that men without faith do not see. Faith sees the glory of God that men without faith do not see. The resurrection of Lazarus was an event to behold. Those without faith saw it and recognized that a man had been raised from the dead. They could not and did not understand it at all. They saw it from a self-centered perspective and it actually caused resentment and anger among them when they saw that others left the Jews and followed after Jesus.

Those with faith, however, saw things about the resurrection of Lazarus that those without faith could not see. Since faith operates in the spiritual realm, that is, the realm which God moves in the Spirit, it saw what God was doing and saw His beauty and majesty. Faith beheld the beauty of God in overcoming the power and dominion of Satan by overcoming the power of death. Faith saw the glory of Christ in that even dead men obey Christ when He speaks. Faith saw sheer grace in that Lazarus did not deserve this. Faith saw the beauty of God shining in His power over death and in causing the dead flesh and muscle to walk out right then and there. Faith saw the pleasure of God in displaying His glory as He pleased. Faith saw the goodness of God in preserving this man for his sisters. Faith saw the love of God in that Christ wept over Lazarus. Faith saw the character of God and the beauty and glory of that character when the unbelieving man saw none of that. While unbelieving man may see some of the character of God in its raw form as it acts within the natural realm, it does not see the beauty and glory of the character of God as it shines in the spiritual realm. The man who does not have faith is blind and dead in the spiritual realm and so does not see the glory of God.

We see glimmers of this in both Testaments. In John 1:14 we see who Christ really was and is: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled] among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Christ was the very tabernacle (O.T. picture of the dwelling place of His glory) of the glory of God on earth. When people really saw Christ for Who He really was, as John says, they “saw His glory.” While it is the received doctrine among Christians that we must believe in the deity of Christ in order to be saved, surely there is more to it than simply holding to an intellectual only form of belief that Jesus Christ was and is Divine. How can we really believe that unless we see the glory of God shining through Him? We can have an intellectual belief of Christ since it is what the Bible teaches, but do we really have the belief of it from the inner man unless by faith we behold the glory of God shining in and through Christ? I don’t think so. To believe that Christ is the Son of God and the Messiah is to see something of the glory of God in Him. How could it be anything else since, as Christ told Phillip, He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

We have the passage in John 12:41 which tells us that the words of Isaiah 6 were said because “These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.” What Isaiah saw, therefore, was the glory of Christ. This is the same glory that men are to behold as in a mirror and be transformed by it. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (II Corinthians 3:18). It is only by beholding this glory by faith that one is transformed into the image of that glory. As Paul explained in I Corinthians 1-2 the natural man does not understand the cross and the things of God. They are nothing but foolishness to them. The difference, then, is that the believing person understands spiritual things and as such beholds the glory of God in them.

This basic concept is seen clearly from II Corinthians 4:4-6. In this we see what the glory of the Gospel really is. “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (II Corinthians 4:6). We should note that the knowledge of the glory of God comes to man in the face of Christ. It comes to man when God shines into the heart of man to give the light of that knowledge. But notice that it is God Himself who shines in the heart. Christ Himself is the light and so all light of the glory of God must be Christ. What does the devil have to do to keep people from believing the Gospel? “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (II Corinthians 4:3-4). The text does not tell us that the evil one tries to keep people from hearing the message of the Gospel, though he may do that in some instances, but he simply has to blind “the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” If the evil one can keep people from seeing the glory of Christ and of the Gospel, they will not believe. Unbelievers do not see the glory. Once they see the glory in truth, they are believers.

Let me try to draw this together. True faith is not simply an act of the will, but comes from a spiritual nature given in the new birth. But more than that, true faith must behold the glory of God in the face of Christ. It is the glory and beauty of the character of God that distinguishes the believer who believes the facts of the Gospel and is saved from the unbeliever who actually believes the facts of the Gospel intellectually and yet is not saved. The biblical Gospel is all about the glory of God as displayed and seen in Christ. All who do not see the glory of God in the Gospel have not seen the true Gospel and have not believed in Christ. So the Church must wake up and do its preaching, teaching, and evangelism in a far different way. People who have an intellectual belief in the facts of the Gospel without a sight of the glory of God do not have true faith and are not saved. They are exercising a faith that comes from a fleshly nature and rests in some facts that they believe are true, but they do not see Christ in His glory. The facts are true, but to see Christ in truth is to see Him in His glory. Surely we must teach people in a way that is conducive to them seeing the glory. That is different than what the Church is doing now.

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God-Centeredness & the Gospel 8

August 4, 2006

“But unless the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them” (A. W. Tozer).

2 Corinthians 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” These verses are quite clear regarding the issue that we are discussing. One, the gospel is the gospel of the glory of Christ. Two, the Gospel of the glory of Christ is light. Three, Christ is the image of God. Four, the light that God commanded then and commands now is the light of the Gospel. Five, the light He shines is Himself because the text speaks of “the One who has shone in our hearts.’ Six, when He shines in our hearts that gives the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Seven, the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Christ.

The academic model seems to be striving for a rational understanding and presentation of the facts of the Gospel. It also seems to result in the rational presentation and discussion or arguments about the finer points of the doctrines of the Gospel. It wrestles and argues over what men in the past have said. Are these things wrong? Not necessarily, but where is the glory of the Gospel in this? What happens if people preach from the academic model? What happens when the Church is turned on the one hand to presenting the doctrinal facts of the Gospel with the academic model and on the other hand some reject the academic approach for a simple Gospel? Could it be that the academic approach has left out the glory of the Gospel and so is not really studying the Gospel? Could it be that the polarization that occurs with some have also left the glory of the Gospel for a simple model in an effort to escape the heavy intellectual content of the academic model? Has the academic model in its efforts to do its work in the academic way undermined the glory of the Gospel?

By nature of the case the academic model and way of doing things focuses on the intellect and scholarly ways of setting out issues. But is that surrender to the world? Does it set out the glory of the Gospel without which there is no Gospel at all? II Corinthians 4:4 & 6 has many truths that can be derived from it. One of those is that the text does not say that Satan blinds the mind in order to block the intellectual information of the Gospel, but that he blinds the mind so that they would not see the glory of Christ. In what way does the academic approach protect the Gospel when it is not teaching the heart of the Gospel which is the glory of God? Is the academic model really one that focuses on rationality more than glory?

I Cor 8:1 tells us that knowledge puffs up. Interestingly enough, what else does the academic approach do other than build knowledge? The Gospel is all about the glory of the grace of God. Yet God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble (I Peter 5:5). Without dismissing everything that goes on within academia, we must understand and realize that the Gospel of the glory of God is best defended through preaching and teaching that is warm and points to things that cannot be comprehended by the intellect of man. God has to shine Himself into a person’s heart to give the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Christ. No academic model can do that.

The Church has to realize that it must return to some of the basic attributes of God. He is self-existent, eternal, infinite, and incomprehensible. That means that God is far above the comprehension level of man and that He does things as He wills in the way that He wills. He cannot be comprehended by academics either. In many ways, then, when the academic model is brought into the church, the church suffers. The average person does not have the ability or the time to deal with academic models. But the average person’s heart can be reached by God if God wants to shine the knowledge of His glory in that person’s heart. It is far better to preach and teach the glory of God in the church than it is to copy the academic model.

Perhaps one root of thinking that the academic model is so important comes from a low view of God and a high view of man. The mind that thinks it can comprehend God’s truth and the glory of the Gospel has been puffed up with itself and has a miserably low view of God whether it is conservative or liberal. A low view of God destroys the Gospel because a low view of God cannot understand His glory which is the Gospel.

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God-Centeredness & the Gospel 7

August 3, 2006

“But unless the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them” (A. W. Tozer).

2 Corinthians 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

These verses are quite clear regarding the issue that we are discussing. One, the gospel is the gospel of the glory of Christ. Two, the Gospel of the glory of Christ is light. Three, Christ is the image of God. Four, the light that God commanded then and commands now is the light of the Gospel. Five, the light He shines is Himself because the text speaks of “the One who has shone in our hearts.’ Six, when He shines in our hearts that gives the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Seven, the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Christ.

What are some variations of a man-centered approach to the Gospel that are conservative and yet do not have the glory of God in it? We have discussed how many conservatives have focused on man so much that the light of the glory of the Gospel has been shut off. We have discussed how those who focus on moral issues do not see the real issues of the Gospel. We have also discussed something of how academics can also be very good and yet not be about the glory of God in the Gospel. However, we have not discussed many of those in detail. Without going back over the ground previously covered, the Gospel is only the Gospel when God shines the light of His glory in the hearts of man which is really outshining Himself through Christ.

God saves “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (Eph 1:6) and “to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory” (Eph 1:12). These verses, along with Romans 3:24 (being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus) should destroy the concept that men have that God saves them because they are worth it. God saves to the praise of the glory of His grace, not because men are worth it. God saves to the praise of His glory, not because men are worth saving. God is moved by Himself as the self-sufficient God to show grace and not because of any cause, reason, or motive in man.

The teachings of psychology have inundated Christianity for years and those teachings are still being taught. Books and tapes that teach this are still numerous. However, the teaching that God saves people because they are worth it and because they have some value is against the Gospel. Worth and grace do not mix at all. Sinners are saved by grace alone and not because they had any worth in them that made them worth saving to any degree. One should never feel good about him or herself because they are saved, they should feel thankful to God for their salvation. The glory of the Gospel resides in God and His grace, not in man and his worth. A person should esteem God and His glory rather than himself. A person should value the glory of God and not himself. A person should look at the worth of the glory of God and not himself. A low view of God leads to a high view of man and is a denial of the Gospel of the glory of God.

Moralists come in many stripes and varieties. However, one is not saved to the glory of God by being moral. One does not necessarily show that he or she is saved by an external turning from immoral activities to morality. One is saved when he has the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ shone into his heart. True morality is found only by those who are born of God and know God (I John 4:7-8). This is because there is no morality apart from the Greatest Commandments with the heart of those being love. One is only moral if the love of God dwells in that person and that love of God works love for Him and therefore the person keeps His commands. It is the glory of God in a person working that glory through the person that enables true morality. A person can be pro-choice, pro-family, and all of those things and be highly immoral in those things because she does not love God. God is not impressed by being pro-choice, but in being what we are out of love for Him. The Gospel of glory turns people to seeking His glory as it works through them. Morality can actually be out of a low view for God in thinking it earns something or pleases Him in and of itself. Low views of God destroy the Gospel and behavior that honors God.

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God-Centeredness & the Gospel 6

August 2, 2006

“But unless the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them” (A. W. Tozer).

2 Corinthians 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

These verses are quite clear regarding the issue that we are discussing. One, the gospel is the gospel of the glory of Christ. Two, the Gospel of the glory of Christ is light. Three, Christ is the image of God. Four, the light that God commanded then and commands now is the light of the Gospel. Five, the light He shines is Himself because the text speaks of “the One who has shone in our hearts.’ Six, when He shines in our hearts that gives the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Seven, the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Christ.

The last blog ended with some discussion on light, but that discussion should be carried on a bit longer. The Gospel of John speaks a fair amount about light and of how Christ is the light (1:4-5). “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). How was Jesus the light of the world? He was light because He was and is the outshining or radiance of the glory of God (Heb 1:3). There can be no light of the Gospel, therefore, without talking about the light and the glory of God which is that light. When people saw Christ, they saw the glory of God being imaged forth if they had the eyes of faith to see. A low view of God has led some to deny the deity of Christ. That is a clear denunciation of the glory of the Gospel since it denies that Christ is the image of God as the Word of God and He would not be the outshining of the glory of God.

From II Cor 4:4 & 6 we see that the light that God commands to shine in the hearts of people is the Gospel of the glory of Christ which is really His glory in the fact of Christ. Or, to put it as the text puts it, the light that shines in the hearts of man is really God shining forth Himself in the hearts of man. We can also connect this with Hebrews 1:3 again where Christ is the outshining or radiance of God’s glory. So God shines Himself in the hearts of man when He outshines Himself and His glory through Christ in man. But again, He does this through the Gospel of His glory. Now, if people have low views of God which by definition cannot include His glory, then the Gospel has been lost in their case. The Gospel cannot be see without the glory of God shining in it because the Gospel consists of the glory of God.

The Gospel is to be preached by men. It is through the Gospel preached that God outshines His glory (Christ) into the hearts of men to bring light to them. But when a low view of God is in the preaching, there is no glory that shines forth. Let me try to apply this to different cases. Liberalism has no Gospel because it does not have a great and glorious God to begin with. Many conservatives have no Gospel because they are too concerned with conserving a message about God or morality to set forth His glory. Many Reformed people have no Gospel because they are too concerned about being correct on details and academically respectable to set forth the glory of God. When people are more concerned about details and other issues than the glory of God in the Gospel, they have lost the Gospel though they may be doctrinally sound.

The basic doctrine of the Gospel is not all that hard. Then we get into the academic approach and things get tough. However, there are many bright people and they wade through all the issues and wrote books on these issues. Without denying that there can be some importance to these types of things, if the glory is missing then so is the Gospel. If the glory is missing, so is the light of the Gospel. If the glory is missing, so is the God who shines the light of Himself in the hearts of men. God will not be where His glory is not. A message of the Gospel without the glory of the Gospel is a gospel without God. Low views of God destroy the Gospel.

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God-Centeredness & the Gospel 5

August 1, 2006

“But unless the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them” (A. W. Tozer).

2 Corinthians 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

These verses are quite clear regarding the issue that we are discussing. One, the gospel is the gospel of the glory of Christ. Two, the Gospel of the glory of Christ is light. Three, Christ is the image of God. Four, the light that God commands now is the light of the Gospel. Five, the light He shines is Himself because the text speaks of “the One who has shone in our hearts.’ Six, when He shines in our hearts that gives the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Seven, the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Christ.

I have been referring to the Gospel as the Gospel of God and as the Gospel of the glory of God. But here we see that the Gospel is the Gospel of the glory of Christ. There is no difference in the terms. Since it is the glory of God in the face of Christ that is the glory of the Gospel, the Gospel of the glory of Christ is the Gospel of the glory of God. We must also consider that the glory of Christ is in the fact that He is the very outshining of the glory of God. As John 1:14 tells us, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” When we see the glory of Christ, we are seeing the glory of the Father and the glory that is full of grace and truth. In other words, the glory of the Father as seen in His tabernacle of glory consists in grace and truth. After all, when Moses cried out to see the glory of God, what was he told by God? “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion” (Exodus 33:19). God’s glory is seen in His grace, compassion, and sovereignty.

But since we are talking about the loss of the Gospel in our day, how does that fit in here? If we have low views of God, we don’t have much glory to talk about. If we don’t talk of His glory, then we don’t have the Gospel of glory to talk about. If we don’t speak of the Gospel of glory, we are not talking about the true Gospel. Since God has revealed His glory in and through Christ, we are not talking about the truth of Christ unless we are talking about the glory of God that shines in and through Christ. We have transformed Christ into a being that is all about the glory of man instead of God in human flesh who shone and shines forth the glory of God. Jesus Christ and the Gospel of His glory is not just a formula by which man may be saved from hell. It is the message of the glory of God which God uses to turn men from vain things and the vanity of a life spent in serving and living for themselves to being temples of the living God doing all for His glory. A message that leaves out the glory of God is hopeless as to being the Gospel of God. There is no Gospel without the message and wonder of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

We can see from the verses above the importance of light. But what is that Light? The Light is the Gospel of the glory of Christ. Let us be clear and not mess around with this point. Men are in darkness and they have no light. The Church is not shining the light of the Gospel because it is not shining the light of the glory of Christ. Men who hear a truncated message about how worthy they are hear that with gladness but they are still in darkness. All are in darkness that do not see the Light Himself as He shines forth His glory in the Gospel. The Church is not being light in the world because it is not speaking of the truth of the Gospel by which the Light truly shines. How desperately the Church needs to repent of its idolatrous practices of man-centeredness and love for numbers. This is another reason that Tozer is dead on when he says that low views of God destroys the Gospel.

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