"If you think Scripture is telling you what you want to hear, take a long, hard second look."
- The Ancient Mariner
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Working on my sermon for Sunday on Luke 12:49-13:9. Found this jewel by Darrell Bock in the NIV Application Commentary:
Much of 12:49-59 raises the issue of judgment and accountability before God. Yet all too often we try to package Jesus for our culture today as if sin were a minor topic on his agenda. This is not only the work of skeptical scholars like those noted above, it is also found in the way we preach Jesus in evangelism. For all the value of seeker-sensitive approaches, if as a result of trying to market Jesus churches soften the message at this point, then they distort the gospel and do not preach the Jesus who offers renewal of life.
To remove accountability to God for sin is to remove one of the realities that make grace so powerful. In the effort to make the gospel palatable, we risk emasculating it of its most precious truth, that God has paid the debt for our failure and has washed it white as snow. Ironically in trying to exalt God's love by ignoring sin, we remove the most powerful evidence of its presence.

Yes and amen. The Cross makes absolutely no sense unless you understand sin--Sin doesn't seem sinful till you stand before a Holy God. There is no relief, no power, no love, in a Gospel that doesn't begin with this.