Charles Spurgeon, Mark Driscoll and the Gospel of Christ
I recently read this Spurgeon quote on Adrian Warnock’s blog , I include it here, not because I am stuck for stuff to post and feel the need to pinch stuf from Adrian’s blog but rather because it sums up beautifully one of the core problems of contemporary evangelicalism.
“The gospel is a reasonable system, and it appeals to men’s understanding; it is a matter for thought and consideration, and it appeals to the conscience and the reflecting powers. Hence, if we do not teach men something, we may shout, “Believe! Believe! Believe!” but what are they to believe? Each exhortation requires a corresponding instruction, or it will mean nothing. “Escape!” From what? This requires for its answer the doctrine of the punishment of sin. “Fly!” But whither? Then must you preach Christ, and His wounds; yea, and the clear doctrine of atonement by sacrifice. “Repent!” Of what? Here you must answer such questions as, What is sin? What is the evil of sin? What are the consequences of sin ? “Be converted!” But what is it to be converted? By what power can we be converted? What from? What to? The field of instruction is wide if men are to be made to know the truth which saves. “That the soul be without knowledge, it is not good,” and it is ours as the Lord’s instruments to make men so to know the truth that they may believe it, and feel its power. We are not to try and save men in the dark, but in the power of the Holy Ghost we are to seek to turn them from darkness to light.”
This quote from Spurgeon reveals a heck of a lot about him. It shows us that he was a very good teacher and educator. It shows us that he was a sharp evangelist and it shows us that he had a fantastic grip on what the gospel was about. I say this so often in this blog that I probably sound like a broken record but I’ll continue to say it none the less:- one of the gretest needs of the hour for the evangelical churches is a clear presentation, understanding and experience of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Regarding this issue I am happy to reccomend a book by Mark Driscoll. The Book is called Vintage Jesus.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vintage-Jesus-Timeless-Questions-Theology/dp/1581349750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221662231&sr=8-1
I think its good for the following reasons
Mark Driscoll is a young pastor seeking to communicate what the bible teaches about Jesus the man, his message and ministry in a culturally relevent context. The book is the body of orthodox teaching about Jesus in the clothes of contemporary culture. In other words ancient message for modern times.
In particular some of the material could be great for generating discussion about who Jesus is, what was his message and what was the meaning of his ministry? The book is particuarly good because it:-
1) Breaks down cultural barriers and takes Christianity into contemporary culture.
2) Explores how other religions and religious leaders have interpreted Jesus, his message and his ministry.
3) Explores how some famous people have interpreted the person of Jesus
4) Has some great quotes about what key influential people have said about Jesus
5) Presents what the bible says about Jesus and His message
6) Its very readable
7) Its provocative, but then so was Jesus. Not everyone will agree with the authors position. However Vintage Jesus clears away a lot of the smoke concerning Jesus and gets to some of the key claims about his identity and message that have been at the core of Orthodox Christianity since its inception. For this reason it is a good resource as it roots basic theological discussion about who Jesus was and what was his message is all about within todays context.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I thank you for sharing this quote. Adrian has some very valid points. The more I study the Gospel of Christ as taught by Christ himself as well as by his Apostles and Prophets in the Bible, the more my heart cries out for all religion everywhere to return to that same Gospel and doctrine of Christ. Christian religions worldwide have changed the message of Christ to be something that is “easy” and “comfortable”. They have removed the “repent or suffer the consequences” that was taught by nearly everybody in the Bible. Are the pastures of the world too afraid of offending someone that they won’t teach the real Gospel. Have they themselves chosen a message that is “easy” and “comfortable” to live so they can grow their congregation? I know we don’t like to look outside of our own faith for ideas. Perhaps we build these walls out of fear of the unknown, but as one who doesn’t mind the idea of studying other religions, I like how the Mormon church doesn’t pull any punches. They haven’t changed their doctrines one bit for well over the 150. They have established their church using the same structure as that found in the Old and New Testaments, including Prophets, Apostles, Seventies, Evangelists (we call them Mormon missionaries). They even claim to have that same priesthood as taught throughout the Bible. Here’s a website that talks further about some of their beliefs.
http://mysite.verizon.net/resvvgeg/Prophets_Priesthood.htm
These are powerful foundations that the people of today need to build their faith upon. We can’t afford to teach anything outside of the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. If we do then we are no better than the Sadducees and the Pharisees that altered and modified the Law of Moses and were called to repentance by Christ throughout his ministry.
Deut. 12:32
“What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”
Teach the Gospel of Christ as he intended it so we don’t find ourselves guilty of adding to, or diminishing it. I believe that if we truly teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, his Apostles and his Prophets, it is only then that we can truly expect to have the witness of His Holy Spirit who will grow our faith and understanding.
September 23rd, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Hi Dan,
I agree totally with your desire for us to ‘not pull any punches’ in our proclamation of the Gospel. However Mormonism proclaims a false Gospel. Also they have changed not only their doctrine, but the Book of Mormon itself!
Since the original post was about Driscoll’s book “Vintage Jesus” let me quote from it, Here’s what Driscoll has to say about Mormonism:
“Mormonism teaches that Jesus was not God but only a man who became one of many gods; it furthermore teaches that he was a polygamist and a half brother of Lucifer”
“The Mormons actually teach that God the Father had physical, flesh and bone sexual relations with Mary, thereby enabling her to conceive Jesus.”
“Mormons do not pray to or worship Jesus, according to Bruce McConkie, one of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS [mormon] Church. Mormons are reverentially grateful to Jesus, but worship in the true sense is reserved for the Father. Conversely according to Scripture, not only should we worship like Jesus, and worship through Jesus, we should also worship Jesus. This is because Jesus is both the glory of God and the God of glory.”
Amen Mr Driscoll!
Of course Mormons rarely come right out and admit these doctrines, sometimes they even speak as if they are not Mormons but Christians to gain a listening- hardly an example for true believers to follow?..
I agree however Mormon commitment to taking their message out into the world should shame much of the church. And I agree we must ‘pull no punches’ in our proclamation of the Gospel, but we must also make sure its the true Gospel that we’re preaching.
Only the Truth will set us free.
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Hi Ross, thanks for picking up on this, I meant to do so at the time but I got sidetracked with other stuff.
Dan, thanks for ‘popping by’ and interacting with the material.
Ross has pretty much summed up my initial response to your comment, infact I dont think I could add anything to what he has said.
I am curious though, are you a believer in Christ? Or are you a follower of the church of the Latter day saints?
I agree with the fact that mormons can display tremendous commitment to their faith. However, I also strongly agree that they are an anti-christian cult.
If you are uncertain about some of these issues I totally recommend Vintage Jesus. I would class it is one of the best contemporary tests of orthodoxy today. As believers we can disagree on many points but regarding the person of Christ, Trinity etc we must know the truth and be united in it.