Idols in my life.

With all the ruckus about the Kansas City Royals this past week, idolatry has been a recent subject of my consideration. From the devoted fans who gathered early-morning to sell blue T-shirts, to the proliferation of blue merchandise in supermarkets and street-corners, I couldn't help but wonder if someone's idol had been in an upswing. Reflecting on Mark Driscoll's 2013 message on idolatry, I was utterly convinced that sports made the top 10 (http://goo.gl/t1ufpV).

However, as all good Pastor's do, Mark touched other examples, leaving no stone left unturned. By the time he flipped to a picture of an Apple logo at minute 8, I knew that was me. While not an Apples fan, technology has been a common friend since childhood. More specifically, I'd have to confess that the internet ranks pretty high on the list of idolatry. Especially through the season of Depression, the internet was my on-stop-shop for drowning out the pain of my life. With the advent of the smart-phone, the availability skyrocketed.

Reflecting now, I still spend far too much time perusing social media, software updates and latest news, even before I do my morning devotions. I often distract myself with news and software updates, so much so that it has overshadowed truths that I could be meditating on from prophetic words, Scripture, etc. It really is a struggle when to draw the line between healthy usage and at what point I am putting internet usage before God. If I'm looking to the internet before my time with God, that seems like a pretty clear indicator, though. Looks like I got a good starting point of what idolatry to kill in myself and bring before my Creator.

"The Gospel"

“The Gospel,” simply put, is that through faith in Christ we receive forgiveness of sin now, and can now experience restoration (physical, spiritual, relational, etc.) that will ultimately find it's fulfillment in the return of Christ. Certainly, the Gospel has much more breadth, but this might be how I currently boil it down.

Coming from a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod background, this is actually a pretty interesting question. In my tradition, we have a very defined, justification-heavy way of identifying ”the Gospel.” While I now realize that we over-emphasize Justification, to the exclusion of Sanctification and Glorification, I think it is absolutely warranted to understand “the Gospel” in terms of Justification. For example, Paul seems to accentuate the good new in Romans, Galatians and Ephesians primarily in terms of Justification. Further more, the context of Jesus preaching the “Gospel” in Mark 1:14-15 is in the context of personal sin, hence “repent.” Therefore, a personal need for vindication makes the most sense.

A helpful paradigm when considering “the Gospel” is “Law and Gospel.” That is to say, distinguishing in the scriptures what is “Law” (our works, what we must do for God) and “Gospel” (grace, what God has done for us). Paul's discussion of grace often seems to divide the word in this manner (Eph 2:8-9, Romans 3). For example, 1 John 4:19 says that we love because God first loved us. The law is that we love God (Matthew 22:37), but the Gospel is that he first loved us. If we do not distinguish these components, we tend to twist these truths and turn good news bad. After all, many people say they preach the Gospel, but if you really listen, most of what they many say tends towards what we must do for God (law) and there isn't really a lot of good news involved. In effect, they are preaching Sanctification (law), as if that is the Gospel. Sadly, this is what keeps people in bondage and what Paul warned against in Galatians (Galatians 3:2). Good works are a response to the Gospel (1 Jn 4:19), but not the gospel itself. That being said, the Bible doesn't neatly dice up “law and gospel,” so that paradigm shouldn't be stretched too far. It's merely helpful for identifying what is good news, rather than chiding people with New Testament warnings and calling that “the Gospel.” In fact, this distinction may have very well helped sidestep the Hyper Grace theology running about charismatic circles today.

Anyways, not only is justification from our sin good news, but that justification from sin paves the way for restoration in our relationships, our body (healing), finances, etc. Therefore, God healing us both now and in the age to come is “the Gospel.” Emphasizing justification from sin apart from how that now effects our body, relationships, emotions, etc. lacks a wholistic sense of what the good news is, which is that God is redeeming all creation.