In What is the Gospel? (Amazon link), author Greg Gilbert divides the gospel message into four elements: God, Man, Christ, and Response (28-31). I find Gilbert to be a clear and engaging writer, which always helps me – a poor reader – get more out of a text. In this case, I’m reading with a pen, pencil, and highlighter at the ready. (Don’t ask why I need three marking tools; I don’t understand it either!)
Gilbert opens chapter three, Man the Sinner, with a clear and relatable story of him receiving a parking ticket. After explaining that many times man sort of views sin like a parking ticket. However, he helpfully distinguishes between man’s typical view of sin and God’s view of sin with the following statement:
But according to the Bible, sin is a lot more than just the violation of some impersonal, arbitrary, heavenly traffic regulation. It’s the breaking of a relationship, and even more, it is a rejection of God himself—a repudiation of God’s rule, God’s care, God’s authority, and God’s right to command those to whom he gave life. In short, it is the rebellion of the creature against his Creator. (48, emphasis added)
The whole statement is excellent – and I highlighted it all – but the final sentence stuck out today and caused my mind to translate it into visual images, which I think helped me to digest the depth of his summary description. Above, Gilbert says, “In short, it [man’s sin] is the rebellion of the creature against his Creator.” As I pondered this rather common description, I began to think how frustrated God must be with me at times as I rebel at His rule over me. The image that came to mind was of my frustration when I had trouble getting a wrench to do what it was designed to: tighten or loosen a bolt or nut. Sometimes, I get frustrated when I can’t get the wrench to do its simple task.
The difference between the wrench not doing what it is designed to do and me not doing what I was designed to do is found in the word rebellion. The wrench doesn’t rebel against the engineer who designed it, nor against the inexperienced operator who may struggle to use it effectively. It hasn’t the capacity to rebel. Yet, I get frustrated with the wrench. At times, I am very frustrated. Reading this makes me feel silly.
How frustrated must God be when I demonstrate my great capacity to rebel against Him? God designed me to glorify Him in the comings and goings of my life, and I often fail to do so. Unlike the wrench, it is my nature to rebel against God. Reading this makes me feel ashamed and convicted of my rebellion. Perhaps you can identify with me as you see your own rebellion against God.
But what can or should you or I do about our rebellion? In short, Gilbert explains that we need to 1) have a true understanding of God’s holiness, 2) have a true understanding of our sinful nature, 3) have a true understanding of Christ’s death on behalf of the guilty, and 4) respond to the above three elements by faith and repentance. These are the four points of What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert. Of course he expands on each of these points. I highly recommend this book for its clarity and content.
When the Bible Meets Life
As I was reading Proverbs 28 this morning, two verses stood out.
When I read these verses my mind could not avoid the connection to this weekend’s news of the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. “… when the wicked rise, people hide themselves,” is a perfect description of the conditions within the areas overtaken by ISIS. In an effort to survive under the rule of ISIS, thousands of people submitted and did their best to simply keep out of sight. Through the years of ISIS domination of the area reports would leak, describing the underground market for cigarettes, which were forbidden by ISIS. There were also reports of an underground communication network that was used to warn of the location of ISIS monitors moving about looking for those who might not be living according to ISIS standards. The people truly hid themselves to survive.
A roaring lion and charging bear are images of power and force. In verse 15, these images describe what it is like when a wicked person rules over a poor people. The rule of Abu Bakr Al-Badhdadi and ISIS could not be described more clearly than power and force. Whether that be demonstrated by the piles of severed heads of their victims put on display or the punishment of sinners in the public square. This was done as if to say, “this could happen to you.” Don’t forget the infamous execution videos of their victims dressed in orange jumpsuits published by ISIS propaganda forces. Or, the brutal treatment of women, including kidnapping, rape, and murder, by ISIS soldiers from the lowest rank all the way to the top.
The Bible should not be regarded as an old book for a past generation. It’s a living book as relevant as today’s news. More relevant, actually.
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