Every other Tuesday morning at 7 AM some of the Men of East Point Church meet at Q’s Restaurant for what we call MGM (Men of God in the Morning). It is a time in which we discuss not only some issues concerning the church, but we also talk about the greatness of God and the wonders of Christ in our lives. Currently, we are looking at the attributes of God – His perfections or divine qualities. On the one hand, God’s attributes are many (i.e., love, mercy, power, justice, holiness, etc.). Yet, in discussing the attributes of God, we come to understand that God really has only one attribute. It is the attribute of “Godness.” In this God is unique. Only God has the attribute of Godness. Godness is God being God. All that it is for God to be God can be called Godness. And thus, when we speak of God’s attributes of love, power, justice, etc., we are actually speaking in subcategories. These subcategories help us to understand and grasp what is ultimately incomprehensible – namely, Godness. The more I contemplate the wonder of God and His Godness, the more I am brought prostrate before the words of the Apostle:

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen (Rom. 11:33-36).

Helping us to better understand Godness is the little book by Tim Shenton entitled Our Perfect God. We invite you to join with us whenever you can.

Last evening at the Desiring God National Conference, Sinclair Ferguson gave 20 biblical resolutions from the Book of James. How helpful and challenging are these:

James 1:5 To ask God for wisdom to speak and with a single mind
James 1:9-10 To boast only in exaltation in Christ, & humiliation in world
James 1:13 To set a watch over my mouth
James 1:19 To be constantly quick to hear, slow to speak
James 2:1-4 To learn the gospel way of speaking to poor and the rich
James 2:12 To speak always in the consciousness of the final judgment
James 2:16 To never stand on anyone’s face with my words
James 3:14 To never claim as reality something I do not experience
James 4:1 To resist quarrelsome words in order to mortify a quarrelsome heart
James 4:11 To never speak evil of another
James 4:13 To never boast in what I will accomplish
James 4:15 To always speak as one subject to the providences of God
James 5:9 To never grumble, knowing that the Judge is at the door
James 5:12 To never allow anything but total integrity in my speech
James 5:13 To speak to God in prayer whenever I suffer
James 5:14 To sing praises to God whenever I am cheerful
James 5:14 To ask for the prayers of others when I am sick
James 5:15 To confess it freely whenever I have failed
James 5:15 To pray with and for one another when I am together with others
James 5:19 To speak words of restoration when I see another wander

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While reading through John Piper’s book “Counted Righteous in Christ,” I came across a great paragraph where Piper discusses the problem with growing a Church with out a heart for doctrine.  He says;

“Everyone knows that with the right personality, the right music, the right location, and the right schedule you can grow a church without anybody really knowing what doctrinal commitments sustain it, if any.  Church-planting specialists generally downplay biblical doctrine in the core values of the what makes a church “successful.”  The long term effect of this ethos is a weakening of the church that is concealed as long as the crowds are large, the band is loud, the tragedies are few, and persecution is still at the level of preferences.

But more and more this doctrinally-diluted brew of music, drama, life-tips, and marketing seems out of touch with real life in this world- not to mention the next.  It tastes like watered down gruel, not a nourishing meal.  It simply isn’t serious enough.  It’s too playful and chatty and casual.  Its joy just doesn’t feel deep enough or heartbroken or well-rooted.  The injustice and persecution and suffering and hellish realities in the world today are so many and so large and so close that I can’t help but think that, deep inside, people are longing for something weighty and massive and rooted and stable and eternal.  So it seem to me that the trifling with silly little sketches and breezy welcome-to-the-den styles on Sunday morning are just out of touch with what matters.”

This is vintage Piper; direct, hard hitting and right on.  I thinks he is so right, people today are yearning for substance, something that they know is solid.  The problem is, they don’t know what it is and where to find it.  So they sit in the churches mentioned in the quote above, content with eating food that will only hold them until Sunday night and have no relevance or impact on them for the rest of the week. 

Let’s pray that God would continue to raise up churches that are committed to the Gospel and sound doctrine but let’s also pray that God would open the eyes of those yearning that they may  find the substance they are longing for in Christ.

I have said it before and yet I believe it is well worth repeating. Next to the God-inspired, all-encouraging, life-giving Word of God, John Bunyan’s incomparable allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress has provided for me the most gospel encouragement of any reading I do. I continue to read Bunyan’s classic and find fresh and challenging insight every time I do. I have also had several opportunities to teach through the book, both inside and outside of our home. One such time was last year at a Family Bible Conference at Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church in Lecanto, FL, I condensed the teaching through the book into four messages: Gospel Pilgrimage, Gospel Friendship, Gospel Warfare, and Gospel Death and Dying. The messages are now available on our website. You can access them here.

The gospel is our daily instructor. We should understand that the gospel is not just some theoretical, pie-in-the-sky, by-and-by notion. But rather the gospel has implication and importance for all of life. God intends for the gospel to be more to us than a formula for being saved from the wrath of God and the pains of hell. It is also the way of life that brings glory to God and comfort to his people everyday.

In Titus 2:11-12 the Scriptures remind us of this truth, that is, the practical importance of the gospel of grace. It states:
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

According to this passage, the gospel not only brings us salvation, but graciously teaches us how to live in light of that salvation. It teaches us to serve, love, and glorify God in our everyday lives. It reminds us that we are saved and thus we should live like it. Our lives should be marked out by self-control, uprightness, and righteous, Christ-honoring living. We should see the gospel as so precious, as so delightful, as accomplishing such a wonderful salvation for us, that we not only desire to tell others about it, but we desire for it to have the preeminent place in our lives. My salvation is the most important thing in my life. And my life should say so.

Over the last few weeks in our Bible studies we have been discussing the Gospel Driven Life and the characteristics that are noticeable in a person that is living such a life.  Paul in Philippians makes it clear that  A Gospel Driven Life as Tony mentioned in an earlier post, rejoices.  But Paul is not alone in making this point; Peter, James and John also exhort believers to rejoice in the Lord or to be joyful in all situations.  What makes this joy different?  Well, the truth is there are many things that cause people to rejoice.  Most Americans would be quite joyful if the gas prices began to  drop significantly or if the stock market  proceeded to rise dramatically.  But who can count on those things?  I for one rejoiced when the NY Giants pulled out an overtime victory against the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend but I was not so joyful when I saw that the NY Mets lost 2 out of three to the Braves.  My point is; yes there is a lot in this world to rejoice over, but counting on those things for your joy will soon leave you joyless as the circumstances change.

The new testament writers could exort us to rejoice in all things because they knew that as Christians our joy is based in an objective truth that never changes.  No matter what my favorite team did this weekend or the tough circumstances I face in this life the, fact remains that because of the Person and work of Jesus Christ, God’s wrath against me has been satisfied and I get to spend eternity with Him.   Now that is some thing to rejoice about!!

Does your joy stem from that truth?  If so, like Paul we should be rejoicing in all circumstances and at all times becuase although those things may change, the Gospel never changes.

In 2002, Rick Warren published the book “The Purpose Driven Life.” According to ABC News, the book has been translated into over 50 languages and has sold more than 30 million copies. I rarely go into a home and not see the book on the book shelf.

Rick Warren’s record breaking book has become a cultural icon to this generation, as nothing seems more appealing and important to people than to know that their lives have meaning, purpose, and direction. Churches and organizations have revamped themselves and even reorganized themselves around Warren’s five purpose for the fulfilled life.

Warren says that the book is not a self-help book, but is actually “anti-self help” as it points people away from themselves and to find their purpose and fulfillment in what God calls them to do and to be. Thus Warren begins the book with the now famous line, “It’s not about you.”

I don’t mind you having a “purpose-driven life” so long as the purpose is the biblical purpose. When I look at the scriptures it seems that Jesus and the Apostles clearly had a purpose and demonstrated purpose driven lives. And the purpose was clear and it was singular. Their purpose was the gospel. The Bible gives us the purpose driven life in that it is the gospel-driven life. If you want to be purpose driven, make sure the purpose is the gospel. And then you can truly say, “Is not about you.”

The true purpose driven life is the gospel-driven life. It is the life that sees the gospel as the epicenter of all of life and interprets and pursues life in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is clearly what we see in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. There we see that the Gospel Driven Life is a life committed to the Advancement of the Gospel (1:12). The gospel-driven life sees all of lives circumstances as being orchestrated by God for the advancement of His agenda, namely the gospel. It understands that the gospel is never hindered by my circumstances, no matter how dire. The only thing that hinders the gospel is my attitude in my circumstances.

We also see that the gospel-driven life is a life set for the Defense of the Gospel (1:16). The gospel-driven life is a defense ministry. Yet it is not self-defense, but rather gospel-defense. The truth of Scriptures is that we can not defend ourselves and defend the gospel at the same time. We can not be all important and the gospel be all important. Paul reminds us that his ministry in prison was not self-defense, but gospel-defense.

Lastly, the gospel-driven life is the life that Rejoices in the Gospel (1:18). The gospel-driven life has one purpose – to see the gospel celebrated and made much of. If it means that I have to be debased and even scorned, though it won’t be easy, I will rejoice – not because I suffer, but because my suffering brings about a greater opportunity to gospel proclamation. In this the gospel-driven life rejoices and will rejoice!

There is something that the purpose-driven life and the gospel-driven life are in perfect agreement on. Both of them assert from the very beginning, “It’s not about you.”

This coming Saturday we are looking at Phil. 1:19-21. Paul makes a remarkable and wonderful statement in verse 19 concerning Gospel Cooperation. He says, “for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn our for my deliverance.” Paul is banking not only on the help of the Spirit (which surely is enough) but he is also banking on the prayers of the saints. I am becoming more and more convinced that we are not tapping into the awesome, cosmos-altering resource and privilege that is prayer. To know that Paul mentions it in the same breath asf the Help of God and to know that it is not only by God’s help that things get done, but by the help of the prayers of God’s people, should make us all the more diligent to pray today. Consider John Piper’s insightful and challenging words in this video clip. We will pick up on this theme a little more on this coming Saturday. Until then, I am counting on your prayers and the help of the Spirit to get prepared to minister faithfully the Word of God this coming weekend. What are you needing the prayer of the saints and the help of the Spirit for in your life?

One of the truths which we have been discussing concerning the gospel is how the gospel is summed up in the person and work of Christ. If I were asked to sum the gospel up in a word, I would say “Jesus.” Horatius Bonar summed it up this way:

The one true goal or resting-place where doubt and weariness, the strings of pricking conscience, and the longings of an unsatisfied soul would all be quieted, is Christ Himself. Not the church, but Christ. Not doctrine, but Christ. Not forms, but Christ. Not ceremonies, but Christ; Christ the God-man, giving His life for ours; sealing the everlasting covenant, and making peace for us through the blood of His cross…

There is a lot of church planting activity in the city of Atlanta and the surrounding areas these days.   Over the last 2 or 3 years there  have been over a half -dozen that I know of and I am sure plenty more that I am unaware of.  One might ask; “why so much activty or why plant there and not some where else?  I mean,  Atlanta already has some of the largest churches in the country; do they really need more churches?”  Well, the person asking those questions would be correct; Atlanta could not not be classified as an unchurched city.  Most people in Atlanta either go to church, have been to church or know someone who does.

The question then becomes what impact have all these churches had on our city?  Are people more God honoring, are we serving others before we serve ourselves, are we asking for the forgiveness of the sins of the city, are we laying down our lives for the Gospel??  We certainly are not!!  There is no denying that Atlanta is a city full of churches, but we are far from being a Christian city and even farther from beign a Gospel driven city. 

So; do we need more churches in Atlanta??  No!  But do we need more churches that are preaching the gospel and who are committed to seeing that good news worked out in our city?  I couldn’t say YES fast enough!!