In a little while I’m heading to London to speak at a Cor Deo Delighted by God conference. Our subtitle for the day is Glorious Gospel. I am excited to hear the other sessions and to ponder together just how glorious the gospel really is.
What it comes down to, I suppose, is how glorious our God is, and what kind of gospel He has given us. Too often the presentation of the gospel I hear is less than glorious.
It seems like a negotiation between a willing sinner and a reticent God. The sinner is willing to say some words in order to gain a significant package of benefits. And God is open to some sort of a contractual deal, but really is essentially resistant without the intervention of a kind lawyer working for us.
This is such a corruption of the truth. God’s initiative is critical, and the extent to which He has gone to overcome the resistance of the human heart is stunning. And as for the language of contracts, let’s dump that in the grip of His fatherly embrace!
The gospel is wondrously glorious, but it’s the kind of glory that involves His being high and lifted up, in absolute self-giving humiliation.
Let’s be sure we don’t preach a watered down, or petty, or negotiated gospel.
PS We’d really appreciate your prayers for today’s conference to go well!
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Next Week: The 10 Biggest Big Ideas
In the classroom Haddon Robinson said more than once that there are basically eight to ten big big ideas in the Bible. He never gave us a list, but I’ll offer mine starting on Monday. What would you include?
Biblical Preaching 
How true. What a poor “gospel” it is that presents itself basically as some sort of “get out of jail free” offer! The real Gospel is not, primarily, about escaping Sin but about gaining a relationship with our glorious God (dealing with Sin is needed for that, but not the point).
One problem with preaching that people should flee sin is that they could run in any direction, but preaching an invitation to God’s party draws them in the right direction.