I’m just back from a refreshing and edifying time with saints at New Word Alive. New Word Alive is a family Bible conference held each year in North Wales. If you’re in the U.K.,  I can’t recommend it enough for its focus on the word of God, evangelism, and Christian fellowship. It was a joy to take part.

Of course, spending a week at a largely internet-free campground in North Wales means you’re a little out of the loop when it comes to the goings ons of the Christian world. And when it’s the world of Christian hip hop, the cultural black hole is even more pronounced. I loved the saints at New Word Alive, and the worship was wonderful, but there wasn’t much boom-bap happening.

So, I was a little surprised to see some of the internet brouhaha over shai linne’s new single, “Fal$e Teacher$.” In the single, shai takes aim at a host of prosperity gospel and word-faith teachers. It’s not the first time he (or others for that matter) has critiqued such teaching in his music. In response to the single, Bradley Knight, son of Paula White, posted an open letter to shai in defense of his mother’s ministry. Christianity Today picked up on the issue. Lisa Robinson at Parchment and Pen offered reflections based on her years inside prosperity congregations. Mark at Here I Blog added some source support for the song’s denunciations. Those were the first 4-5 entries in my quick google search. I’m sure there’s tons more opinion out there!

The back and forth has conjured the usual questions about whether private conversation should have happened first, whether public criticism and naming names is appropriate and under what circumstances, and whether Christian unity and charity ought to rule out polemics.

For my part, not that “my part” means anything, I’m rather glad shai included this single on his album. I have six reasons:

1. Reach. Unless you’re inside the prosperity gospel or word-faith  movement, you’ve probably been concerned with the reach of these teachers. They operate impressive (I mean that!) multimedia empires and export their brand of the “gospel” to the most distant corners of the globe. That media savvy and reach has made it difficult for others to stand against the rushing tide of their teaching. But Christian hip hop has a developing, media-rich, and savvy reach of its own. It’s reaching a younger generation of believers and reaching the corners of the globe. Christian hip hop may be the first medium by which orthodox voices can effectively push back against the titans of word-faith and prosperity “gospel” teaching. When Prop, Lecrae, and shai are able to stir the ire, accolades, or pushback of theologians, secular awards panels, or ministry offices of word-faith teachers, something is happening on a different scale. We may be observing Truth’s reach being extended in a helpful and hopeful way.

2. Force. Of course, what good is reach if you have no power or force? The ranging responses drawn from “Fal$e Teacher$” also suggests that Christian hip hop may be developing as a cultural force at least strong enough to prick the conscience and shape opinions. Hip hop has always featured rhetorical and creative power. Now we’re witnessing a maturing theological power. Prop’s “Precious Puritans” provoked a conversation about our heroes, race, and pastoral sensitivity. Perhaps shai’s single will awaken a fresh discussion of biblical and theological faithfulness. Perhaps the medium of hip hop will have enough rhetorical, theological, emotional, intellectual, and social force to prompt some Christians to re-evaluate the teachers to whom they listen. I pray so. I mean, when’s the last time you heard contemporary Christian music or gospel music effectively raise these issues? Yeah, me neither.

3. Urgency. I’m also thankful the Lord moved shai to pen, record and release this song because the gospel is urgent business. Getting it right is eternally urgent. Making it clear is urgent. Believing the gospel while it’s still day–urgent. These are not the kinds of issues that should be dealt with in the glacial, cold cerebral manner of academe. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the message that divides time and eternity, heaven and hell, life and death. Who can tolerate distortion and half-truth when so much is at stake? I’m glad for the driving sense of urgency that hip hop can give to some of these issues, because these issues and these teachers are affecting real people in real ways. Perhaps we pastors have been unable to create the combination of light and heat such errors deserve. Perhaps the native passion and the growing theological light of Christian hip hop can change the pace of the discussion.

4. Profile. Not one of the teachers listed in shai’s song could be called “unknown” or “low key” or otherwise “anonymous.” These are some of the most high-profile figures in the evangelical (I use the term loosely) world. Their collective public influence is massive. Their teaching, prettied up and slicked down a bit as their clout has grown, is a very public record. They have not taught these things in a corner and the proliferation of books, websites, and other resources means that a very public alternative and response needs to be given. We need a higher profile opposition to these high profile errors. I’m thankful to shai for the part he has played in doing this. I understand that some people view the first opinion as “unfortunate” at worst but hold anyone who replies guilty of a more foul offense. They tell us that confrontation should first happen privately (even as they write to publicly confront for this supposed transgression). But this inverts the Bible’s teaching, which says, “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Prov.18:17). By silencing the cross-examination, we leave ourselves with only the first-stated case, which usually is not the correct position. It seems to me the Christian world needs to grow up a little and accept the public accountability that’s necessary to guarding the gospel and guarding God’s people.

5. Prevention. I pray this ounce of prevention really does result in a pound of cure. I pray that minds would be changed, thinking sharpened, and hearts enflamed with greater passion for Christ and greater thanksgiving for what He really does purchase for us. Every faithful pastor wants to guard the flock entrusted to his care. They want to keep the sheep feeding on the green pasture of God’s word correctly understood and applied. In this day of internet connectivity, most every pastor who takes this responsibility seriously is probably thankful for an ally like shai who uses an important medium to help protect the children of God. I know I’m thankful and I hope many are kept from the errors of men and women piercing themselves through with the love of money, deceiving and fleecing the flock to provide for their worldly lifestyles.

6. Witness. I shouldn’t have to say that false teachers harm the witness of the church, but they do. People with clear vision can see it. Take, for example, this comment from a self-described atheist over at Christianity Today:

Well, as an atheist who does watch TBN on occasion…I have to say he [shai] got it right. If you Christians care about the integrity of your religion, you’d drum out these snake oil salesmen from your midst. They’re turning Christianity into a laughingstock with no credibility at all.

Even those with no belief in God see the problem created by “gospel” hucksters. If we care about the effectiveness of the church then we must care about the reputation (1 Tim. 3) and teaching (Titus 1:9) of its leaders.

Conclusion

The usefulness and power of hip hop will be multiplied as we pray for and encourage the kind of courage shown in shai linne’s “Fal$e Teacher$”. There ought to be enough room in Christian hip hop for someone to stir godly controversy in behalf of the gospel and the Church. What we have to guard against is the kind of controversy between artists that overthrows the potential of the medium and the artists. As Christian hip hop matures, I pray it continues to handle the hard-hitting controversial subjects with reach, force, urgency, profile, and a pinch of prevention. The entire Church will be blessed as they do.

If you haven’t already, get shai’s new album Lyrical Theology, vol. 1 here.

This past weekend a number of couples from the church took to the theaters to watch the critically acclaimed Les Miserables. We’d heard from a number of people how wonderful this film adaptation was. Now, in every one of those conversations I played the genuine skeptic, calling the film a “chick flick” and all. In every one of those conversation burly plaid-wearing men spoke passionately about how it wasn’t a “chick flick,” how it was moving and passionate and full of action, and about how many sermon illustrations and gospel themes ran through the movie.

Against the better judgment of my inner caveman, I went to the movie.

My very first thought in the opening moments of the very first scene was I hope they don’t sing the entire movie. Two nano-seconds later, the singing started… and never ended! I suppose there were ten spoken words in the entire flick. Immediately following the movie I received a much-needed lesson in culture. I’m gonna pass it on to you for free. You ready? There’s a great difference between a musical and an opera. Some of you knew that. Some of you didn’t. You see a musical–take a classic like Grease–has spoken parts punctuated by songs. An opera has every word sung. Every word. Les Mis is an opera. Check that–a pop opera, I’m told. If my wife had told me we were going to a “pop opera” I would have never left the couch, flipped on Net Flix, and called it a night. But because I can enjoy a musical here and there, I was clobbered by the pop opera Les Mis. Clobbered!

It was a long couple of hours. One brother exiting the movie with hollow eyes in a death walk slightly above zombie status rightly commented, “That could have been about 40 minutes shorter.” Amen and amen. But the filmmakers can’t be blamed for erasing a portion of our lives with a harrowing cacophony of amateur siren songs. Had I known the novel ranks among the longest in the world (1,500 pages in English and 1,900 in French) I would have taken a sleeping bag to the theater!

All along the way I’m uncomfortable and vexed. I couldn’t figure out why until the end. It seems to me the gospel was handled in a most unhelpful way. The “converted” Valjean spends the entire movie trying to find forgiveness through good deeds. We see him in the convent trembling, sweating, fading, with one question on his lips: “Am I forgiven?” His nemesis, who lives by an inflexible law and justice, is crushed beneath the weight of the law even when offered forgiveness. One wonders what the effect of the film might be if imputed righteousness might have been clearly communicated. Valjean could have done wonderful acts of mercy not for forgiveness but from forgiveness. He could have lived his life with assurance rather than dogging doubt. He might have actually told the film’s many other beggars where to find the Bread of Life. Rather than trying to be the Savior, he could have enjoyed the Savior. His nemesis might have had the crushing weight of the law lifted by the Lamb who satisfies both the Law’s demands and penalty.

Instead, we were treated to a cruel imitation of the gospel, a suggestion of grace without the marrow of it. In fact, the film probably confuses mercy (being punished less than our sins deserve) with grace (being treated better than our sins deserve). Praise God for mercy, but grace is so much more. If you’re taking a friend who is not yet a Christian to this movie, be prepared to show them the difference between moral conversion and new birth.

Then, to top all the misery off, there’s the final scene with the entire cast–except Javert–singing a revolutionary fight song as though collectively victorious. A universalist hint? I dunno. But by that time I was thoroughly entrenched among the miserables, the wretched, the poor ones, the victims.

My wife owes me 10 action movies in a row for this one!

There was one bright spot though–the cute, feisty little boy. You’ll like him, but you’ll still be miserable. I know I was.

Okay… let the disagreements begin!

It comes up all the time.  The answer is always the same, like kids in Sunday school answering “Jesus” to every question.  And we nod our heads like adult Sunday school teachers too concerned about the child’s esteem or dampening their enthusiasm even though we know the response is inadequate.

It’s Tuesday.  I’m on vacation (which is why I’m ahead on blogging).  And someone has sent me another note chastising me (mildly) for not concluding a post with “the gospel.”

It doesn’t matter what the topic is.  Men and women struggling to get along in their marriages?  ”The gospel.”  Someone struggling to find work in this economy?  ”Believe ‘the gospel’.”  The mechanic just “fixed” your car–again–and charged you–again–for the same problem you noticed last week?  Think of “the gospel.”  The Russian high court sentencing a punk rock band to two years in prison for a flash mob performance in a Russian Orthodox cathedral?  ”They need the gospel.”  Want rock hard abs?  Try “gospel” aerobics.  I smashed my little toe against the dresser?  All together now, “the gospel.”

It’s ubiquitous.  And it’s becoming an inflexible law.  We dare not face any issue without the requisite hat tip to “the gospel.”  If we do, there’s bound to be someone to write us a ticket for our verbal violation, to insist we missed a “gospel” opportunity.  Are Christians unable to have an intelligent conversation about some issue or confront some problem in life without using the phrase “the gospel” or pointing people to “the gospel”?  Or, is it that our own grasp on Jesus’ life and ministry are so slippery that we’ve not yet learned to naturally turn any conversation to a legitimate discussion of the Lord’s redemptive work on our behalf?

Of course, I’m not tired of hearing the actual gospel.  Let us all determine to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  But let us also learn that the apostle taught a lot of things about Jesus Christ, His crucifixion and resurrection without lackadaisically tossing out a few cliched references to “the gospel”.  He meditated on and expanded the message of God’s redemption through His Son in many varied arguments, tropes, and statements.  But that’s not what’s trotted out in today’s situations of human need.  We’re not getting deep reflections on the Person of Christ–His offices, nature, and work.  We’re not given robust explanations of the cosmic renewal of all things in Christ as the grounds of hope and joy no matter the circumstance.  We’re not having very many conversations that explore the dynamics of repentance and faith when we’re tempted to blast our mechanic.  Too many Christians lazily tell us we need “the gospel” the way little kids answer every spiritual question with a reflexive “Jesus.”

As blasphemous as it sounds, “the gospel” is not the answer to every question.  It’s not enough.  What about Jesus do I need to know that I’m unaware of when the medical report comes back?  I’m sure there’s something I’m likely to miss, but “the gospel” doesn’t communicate it.  What about joblessness is addressed by Jesus when I’ve sent out the 132nd resume with no response?  What specific promises should I hold onto in order to persevere through life without income in a monied economy?  Help me by telling me the actual message.  Bury my nose in the text of Scripture if you can.  My husband of 50 years just died?  Can you not tell me at length something about the resurrection–Jesus’ and ours–and the adoption the entire creation awaits to be fulfilled?  Can you not reduce the entire scope and swoop of Christ’s redemptive work to the mere facts of the gospel, but along with those facts sketch and paint something of the goodness of this news?  I know I need Jesus.  I know the news is good.  I need reminders specifically enumerating the reasons why.  That’s what plants, roots, and grows enduring faith.  That’s how we actually get to know Jesus more personally–by finding out what He’s like in the crucible of life.

I wonder if the cliff notes references to “the gospel” doesn’t blunt our understanding, meditation, application, and enjoyment of the incredible realities accomplished for us through the Son of God.  Are we inoculating people against the actual gospel with our frequent but unexplained references to “the gospel”?

A great post from Conrad Mbewe on the problem of motivational speaking as a “gospel” message and a way of life.  Here’s his opening:

Last Sunday, a young man came to see me after our church service. He is the kind of guy who shows up at church once in a while and then disappears for a season. My guess is that he goes around churches sampling sermons and looking for answers. On this visit, he asked that I help him to overcome a failure in his life, and it was a failure to progress. He said that his greatest problem is that he does not believe in himself. Could I help him believe in himself so that he could become successful?

I asked him whether he was a Christian. His answer was, “Do I really need to be a Christian in order to be successful? Are you telling me that all those successful people out there are Christians? Aren’t there general principles that I can apply to my life—whether I am a Christian or not—that can catapult me to success?” I challenged him to answer that question himself. After all, I was sure he had done enough rounds among motivational speakers to have the answer.

“That is the problem,” he said, “I have been told that such principles exist and I have tried them. They seem to work for a while and then I am back to my old self again. I want you to help me find that formula that will help me go forward and never slide back to the place where I do not believe in myself.” To cut the long story short, I finally persuaded him of the need for reconciliation with God before anyone can break free from the frustrating rut that God locks unreconciled sinners in.

As you probably know, the every-other-year conference known as Together for the Gospel was held in Louisville, KY last week. I had the privilege of traveling there with my darling wife and 14 others from FBC Grand Cayman. I’m still processing the tons of good stuff I heard and received while there.  ”Drinking from a fire hydrant” doesn’t quite capture the experience.  I’m soaked and pray it’ll take a long time to dry out!

In order to process some of what I heard, I plan to offer some short reflections over the next several days.  I welcome your interaction and thoughts.  Before I give some overall observations, I want to point to a few others who have sifted some nuggets for reflection: Kevin DeYoung, Mike McKinley, Dan Phillips, Carl Trueman, and Trevin Wax.  All these were worth reading, especially Trevin’s.

As for my own overall take, a few things stand out.

1.  This was the most encouraging T4G of the four to date.  I found the entire time filled with that peculiar and precious hope that comes from life with our Lord.  All the plenary addresses were flavored with pastoral concern throughout.  In previous meetings, at least some of the talks were either polemical or historical in nature.  They were great, but I really enjoyed the pastoral tone of this meeting.  More than that, I needed the injection of pastoral care.

2.  This year’s conference made the theme far more prominent and compelling.  If someone could leave under-estimating the gospel, then I don’t know what could raise their estimation!  I was humbled from the opening three testimonies of conversion–a new feature to the conference that over and over again illustrated in real lives the power of the Good News to transform sinners from every walk of life.  Honestly, when the first three shared their testimonies I felt as if my sermon had already been preached much more effectively and succinctly, leaving me little to say.  Which, in God’s kindness, exposed once again my tendency to under-estimate the message of Jesus’ love, righteousness, death, and resurrection to redeem sinners.  I loved the repeated hammering of the theme.

3.  The panel discussions were usually too short but also engaging.  We took some hits last time around for being too chummy after each person’s talk.  Sorta, “You’re great.  No, you’re great.  Well, you’re great, too.”  Whether or not that was a fair representation, clearly we needed to mix things up a bit more.  Switching to topical panels of varying configurations helped the conference experience a great deal.  Like everyone else, there were topics that interested me more than others.  But I thought they all edified.

4.  The singing was good but subdued–until the last night.  Perhaps it was the larger facility or the piano positioned less prominently.  I don’t know.  It seemed to me (and this could’ve just been me) that compared to previous years there was less energy in the singing.  The singing was still very good, but you could tell the difference between the first two days and the very last segment Thursday night.  Thursday night was the singing I’ve come to really enjoy–energetic, rich, joyful.

5.  I missed Sproul and MacArthur.  I like these men.  They’re heroes to me.  In the past it’s been like being with your granddad or great uncle.  Sproul has this lovable, playful “pull my finger” quality about him.  And to be in a room with MacArthur is to be warmly and graciously noticed, regarded, loved.  Their combined decades of ministry added ballast to the T4G boat.  Please don’t misunderstand.  This is no commentary on this year’s speakers.  It’s simply a personal appreciation.  I like and missed these men even as I enjoyed the sweet fellowship with this year’s speakers.

The crew from First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman

6.  My greatest encouragement–apart from the strength that comes from the word of God–comes from traveling with the saints of FBC Grand Cayman.  There’s nothing quite like the assurance that comes from looking out on the audience, spotting the sheep entrusted to my care, and recognizing that they’ve come for the benefit of their own souls but also to stand with me.  It’s a great joy.  It makes me deeply happy to see this growing aspect of our partnership in the gospel.

7.  I’m grateful I’m not alone.  Some people don’t like the large crowd.  They prefer smaller conferences.  I really enjoy small conferences, too.  But I draw a different kind of encouragement from seeing a larger assembly of like-minded men and women.  Seeing the crowd reminds me I’m not alone.  That’s important when you live on an island!  Perhaps I’m the only one who needs this encouragement, this reminder that I’m part of something much larger and wonderful.  I don’t know.  But getting this shot in the arm once every two years doesn’t seem like too much to ask and enjoy when I can.

Lord willing, I’ll say more about the sermons and panels in the days ahead.

For now, how about you?  Any general reflections on T4G this year?

I enjoyed listening to this 9Marks interview on cross-cultural ministry with Mack Stiles, Brian Parks, Nisin and Lenny.  They’re a team of brothers serving in the UAE who bring a wealth of cross-cultural life and ministry experience.  I particularly enjoyed the gospel focus and the naturalness of their conversation.  So often discussions of this sort become polemical and oddly culturally hegemonic in assumptions.  This was refreshing.

CT offers an interview with Tullian Tchividjian on a rather tumultuous merger of New City and Coral Ridges and the hope of the gospel that sustains them now.

At last week’s 9Marks @Southeastern conference, our conference host and seminary president Dr. Danny Akin delivered an overview sermon on the entire book of Galatians.  Get this: the sermon had two major divisions with 42 subpoints!  Don’t try this at home kids!

Essentially, Akin walked us through the book of Galatians commenting on the 29 indicative statements Paul makes about the gospel and the 13 imperatives that flow from them.  If you’ve been following the blog discussion of the relationship between indicatives and imperatives then you might be interested in this talk and the panel that followed.  Akin makes it plain that out of the “done” (indicatives) there flows a “do” (imperatives).

For those that are curious, here are the 29 gospel indicatives and 13 gospel imperatives Akin highlighted:

29 Indicatives
1. The gospel is rooted in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:1).
2. The gospel delivers us from the present evil age to the glory of Christ (1:3-5).
3. There is only one gospel and to desert it is to be damned (1:6-9).
4. The gospel is ours by divine revelation and not human imagination (1:10-12).
5. The gospel is grounded in a gracious election (1:15).
6. The gospel is constantly in danger of being lost and needs to be defended (2:4-5).
7. The gospel that saves Gentiles is the same gospel that saves Jews (2:7-9).
8. There are ethical imperatives that follow the gospel (2:11) and no ethnic distinctions in the gospel (2:12-14).
9. The gospel is good news that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and not by works of the Law (2:15-16).
10. Through the gospel, we are identified with Christ and His work on the cross (2:20).
11. The love of Christ for sinners is made evident in the gospel (2:20).
12. We receive the Holy Spirit by faith in the Gospel, the same Spirit who justifies and sanctifies (3:2-5).
13. The gospel that saved Abraham in the past is the same gospel that saves us in the present (3:7-9).
14. Relying on good works not only does not save but actually curses (3:10-11).
15. The gospel is the good news that Christ has redeemed us from the curse as our penal substitute (3:13-14).
16. The gospel is rooted in a covenantal promise that precedes the law (3:17).
17. The law is good because it shows us our sin (3:19, 21).
18. The law is good because it is our school teacher who leads us to Christ to be justified by faith (3:25-26).
19. The gospel unites us to Christ where we’re all one in him–soteriological not ecclesiological (3:27-29).
20. The gospel is grounded in Trinitarian theology (4:4-6).
21. Gospel redemption leads to adoption as a child of the Father (4:7).
22. The gospel gives us a knowledge of God freeing us from rules (4:8-11).
23. Faithful ministers will be passionate for the ministry of the gospel even if it results in anguish and a broken heart (4:12-20).
24. Works-salvation leads to slavery, while Mt. Sinai leads to freedom (4:21-31).
25. To pursue salvation by works obligates us to keep the entire law perfectly (5:1-3).
26. To be justified by works is to fall away from justification by grace through faith (5:4-6).
27. The gospel that saves us and sanctifies us (5:7-8).
28. To preach a false gospel invites judgment and calls for the strongest condemnation from the faithful (5:10-12).
29. The indicative of the gospel naturally leads to the imperatives of the gospel (5:13-6:20), which opens onto the imperative section of the letter:

13 Imperatives
1. We will not indulge and pander to the flesh (5:13, 16-21).
2. In love we will serve others (5:13-14).
3. We will not brutalize one another in word or action (5:15).
4. We will live in the Spirit whom we received when we believed (5:22-26).
5. We will engage in spiritual restoration (6:1-2).
6. We will be humble (6:4-5).
7. We will serve and do our part in the body.
8. We will bless those who teach us (6:6).
9. We should embrace and reaping (6:7-8).
10. We won’t grow weary in well-doing (6:9-10).
11. We will accept persecution for the cross of Christ (6:11-13).
12. We will boast only in Christ and His cross (6:14-15).
13. We will pursue peace, mercy, grace and Christ (6:16-20).

Whew! I’m tired just typing it all! Great stuff for the soul.

In his second sermon in Spiritual Depression, Lloyd-Jones expounds Romans 3:28–“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without deeds of the law.” Early in the sermon, the Doctor lays down the challenge: “There are so many people who never seem to arrive at the true Christian position [on justification] because they are not clear in their minds about certain primary matters, certain fundamental things that should be dealt with at the beginning.”  He adds, “The particular trouble with which we are dealing tends, I find, to be common among those who have been brought up in a religious manner rather than in those who have not been brought up in a religious manner” (p. 24).

So, the Doctor identifies Christian nominalism as a source of spiritual depression.  Here’s the problem in Lloyd-Jones’ experience: “They often concentrate on the question of sanctification, but it does not help them because they have not understood justification” (p. 25).  Such Christians have the holiness cart before the righteousness horse.  As a result, they’re prone to spiritual depression.

Lloyd-Jones rightly pinpoints confusion about justification as “a masterpiece of Satan.”  He writes, Satan “will even encourage us to be righteous as long as he has us confused at this point [how we are justified]” (p. 26).  Lloyd-Jones poses the treatment.  First, we must be quite clear on the conviction of sin.  Joy, the reversal of spiritual depression, depends on being absolutely clear about our sinfulness.

We go astray because we are not truly convicted of our sin.  That is why I say that this is in particular the problem of all those who have been brought up in a religious or Christian manner.  The chief trouble often is their wrong idea of sin.  … That kind of person thinks of sin only in terms of action, in terms of sins.  Not only that, but in terms of certain particular actions only.  So their tendency is to think that because they have not been guilty of these particular things, that they are not really sinners at all.  Indeed, sometimes they put it quite plainly and say: “I have never really thought of myself as a sinner: but of course that is not surprising as my life has been sheltered from the beginning.  I have never been tempted to do these things, and it is not surprising therefore that I have never felt myself to be a sinner.”  Now there we see the very essence of this fallacy.  Their thinking is in terms of actions, particular actions, and of comparisons with other people and their experiences, and so on.  For this reason they have never had a real conviction of sin, and because of that they have never plainly seen their utter absolute need of the Lord Jesus Christ.  they have heard it preached that Christ has died for our sins and they say that they believe that; but they have never really known its absolute necessity for themselves. (pp. 28-29)

Consider what’s being said here.  We can’t properly pursue sanctification and joy until we’ve properly understood justification.  And we can’t properly understand justification until we’ve come to be convinced of our sin, our nature as rebels before a holy God.  Until we are convicted of our sin in a genuine way, we will not have the spiritual joy that the gospel provides to justified sinners.  The root of our joy, according to Lloyd-Jones, is personal conviction of sin.

Having been convicted of our personal sin, the second fundamental thing Lloyd-Jones argues must be understood “is God’s way of salvation in Christ.”  The gospel.  At the heart of the gospel, according to Romans 3, is the imputation of Jesus’ righteousness to the sinner by faith in Jesus’ work on the cross and resurrection.  We stand righteous before God through an alien righteousness credited to our account.  We are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, apart from any works of our own.  Understanding this, Lloyd-Jones contends, unlocks the key to spiritual joy and increasing victory over spiritual depression.  Without this basic understanding, spiritual depression will continue to reign in the lives of those who are nominally Christian and unconvinced of their sin.

Here’s how Lloyd-Jones illustrates this point using conversations he had with many professing Christians:

To make it quite practical let me say that there is a very simple way of testing yourself to know whether you believe [Rom. 3:23-26].  We betray ourselves by what we say.  The Lord Himself said we should be justified by our words, and how true it is.  I have often had to deal with this point with people, and I have explained the way of justification by faith and told them how it is all in christ, and that God puts His righteousness upon us.  I have explained it all to them, and then I have said: “Well, now are you quite happy about it, do you believe that?”  And they say, “Yes.”  Then I say: “Well, then, you are now ready to say that you are a Christian.”  And they hesitate.  And I nkow they have not understood.  Then I say: “What is the matter, why are you hesitating?”  And they say: “I do not feel that I am good enough.”  At once I know that in a sense I have been wasting my breath.  They are still thinking in terms of themselves; their idea still is that they have to make themselves good enough to be a Christian, good enough to be accepted with Christ.  They have to do it!  ”I am not good enough.”  It sounds very modest, but it is the lie of the devil, it is a denial of the faith.  You think that you are being humble.  But you will never be good enough; nobody has ever been good enough.  The essence of the Christian salvation is to say that He is good enough and that I am in Him!

As long as you go on thinking about yourself and saying: “Ah, yes, I would like to, but I am not good enough; I am a sinner, a great sinner,” you are denying God and you will never be happy.  You will continue to be cast down and disquieted in your soul. You will think you are better at times and then again you will find that you are not as good as you thought you were.  You read the lives of the saints and you realize that you are nowhere.  So you keep on asking: “What can I do?  I still feel that I am not good enough.”  Forget yourself, forget all about yourself.  Of course you are not good enough, you never will be good enough. The Christian way of salvation tells you this, that it does not matter what you have been, it does not matter what you have done.  How can I put this plainly?  I try to say it from the pulpit every Sunday because I think it is the thing that is robbing most people of the joy of the Lord.  It does not matter if you have almost entered into the depths of hell, if you are guilty of murder as well as every other vile sin, it does not matter from the standpoint of being justified with God.  You are no more hopeless than the most respectable self-righteous person in the world.  Do you believe that?

I’ve had very similar conversations with many people myself.  I’m sure many pastors have.  In a very real sense, the secret to our joy is our embracing justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone apart from any work whatsoever.  All of our salvation is bound up in a Person and His Work on behalf of sinners, given freely to all those who believe.  We lose joy when we lose sight of this.  We fertilize the ground of our joy when we till this truth into our hearts and minds.  We are great sinners with an even greater Savior.  That’s the seed of joy!

It would be interesting to have Lloyd-Jones join the recent blog discussions about indicatives and imperatives in the pursuit of sanctification.  It strikes me that Lloyd-Jones might not “side” with either supposed camp or emphasis.  He wouldn’t say that we need a tighter embrace of the indicatives and justification by faith alone.  Nor would he simply say that we need to move on to the use of means and a more faithful pursuit of commands.  Before he reconciled either of those points, Lloyd-Jones would say to the Christian that we need a deeper conviction of our sin before a holy God.  Until we’re flat on the ground before God because of our sin, we’re not sufficiently prepared to derive full joy out of either the free justification offered through Christ or the life of sanctification that necessarily follows true justification.  Our difficulty begins farther up stream in our sinfulness.  But having seen our depravity, we can then look to the Remedy and receive it with joy!  Gladness happens when we recognize what Jesus has saved us from–ourselves.

Rom. 3:28: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law.”  That’s a sentence worth shouting about!

The question is: Is conviction of our sin a wellspring of joy in the justifying work of Christ?

A little while ago, many of you will remember the exchange between our brothers Tullian Tchividjian and Kevin DeYoung on the nature of sanctification and its relationship to the gospel and justification.  If you missed that discussion, you can find a helpful compilation here.

Recently, a couple brothers over at Ref21 added some helpful thoughts on the relationship between justification and sanctification.

William Evans kicks things off by attempting to put the discussion in historical perspective, and offers four important issues in the current discussion in his post, Sanctification and the Nature of the Gospel:

First, there is the “missional” character of this impulse.

Second, there is a particular understanding of the key problem facing the church. Tchividjian and others are convinced that the great threat to the church and its mission is legalism, a reliance on one’s own righteousness rather than the work of Christ.  … Is it really the case that legalism and self-justification are the great problems facing the church and its mission?

Third, there is the obvious causal priority here placed upon the doctrine of justification.  Justification is seen as the cause of sanctification, and a proper grasp of justification or one’s acceptance by God leads necessarily to sanctification.

Finally, there is a particular understanding of the gospel at work here.  According to Tchividjian and others, the heart of the gospel is the message of justification by grace through faith, and everything else is extracted from this center.  But many Reformed theologians, from Calvin onward, have detected something even more basic–the believer’s union by faith and the Holy Spirit with the incarnate Christ, from whom all the blessings of salvation (both forensic and transformatory) flow.

Sean Lucas shares five reflections in response to Evans.  I particularly appreciated this insight, which I believe occurs quite often in settings rife with civic or cultural Christianity (nominalism):

From my own observation as a pastor of a largish steeple church in the Deep South, I would characterize the pressing problem a little differently than “legalism” or “cheap grace.” I believe that the predominant form of Christianity in my neck of the woods is “experiential moralism”: people go to church to have an experience that will help them fly right and do better. The problems come when a) they don’t have such experiences and b) they realize that it is not possible for them to fly right and do better. They pretend that their performance is adequate, but their performance isn’t holiness per se, but conformity to particular social norms. And when their marriages fall apart or their children run off, their profession of Christianity unravels as well.

Rick Phillips offers and explains seven propositions:

1.       Justification and Sanctification are twin benefits that flow from union with Christ through faith.

2.       Justification and Sanctification are distinct but simultaneous.

3.       Justification and Sanctification are both necessary and intrinsic to salvation.

4.       Justification is logically prior to progressive Sanctification.

5.       Justification does not cause Sanctification, but Christ both justifies and sanctifies his people.

6.       In Justification faith is passive and receptive (Gal. 2:16), whereas in Sanctification faith is active.

7.       The law of God functions differently with respect to Justification and Sanctification.

It seems our Presbyterian brothers have organized one of their famed committees and offered us some good food for thought.