There are two kinds of Christians.

“Sink Christians” view salvation like they would a sink. The water of salvation flows into the sink so that Christians can soak up all the benefits: eternal life, assurance in the present, strength in times of trial. Those who adopt this mindset concentrate solely on what the Bible says God has done and will do for them.

“Faucet Christians” view salvation differently. They look at the world as the sink and themselves as the faucet. The blessings of salvation flow to them in order to flow through them out to the wider world. They rightly see that the Bible describes salvation as something that God not only does for them, but also through them.

- from Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals

“If we proclaim a gospel that focuses only on the private experience of the individual and the heavenly benefits for the next life, then we should not be surprised to see people dismissing the importance of good works in this life within the context of the Church.”

- a quote from my forthcoming book, Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals

“… Salvation is not just about a new you, but a new world – a world in which you have been chosen to play a part. We trust in the God who has promised this new world, and we long eagerly for the day when Christ will return. Jesus instructs us to pray, ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ In other words, Lord, bring the rule of heaven here!”

- a quote from my forthcoming book, Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals

“If we are inclined to share our personal testimonies [when proclaiming the gospel], so be it. But let us be sure to incorporate our own personal stories within the biblical story of Jesus. Our own testimonies are worth little if they do not include the historical truth claims that form the heart of the Christian faith. If we fail to preach Christ, we are leaving The Self on the throne. We are giving testimony about ourselves, not God.”

- a quote from my forthcoming book, Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals

“The gospel of the early Christians was Christ-centered. The gospel is not a message about us (for example, “You are a sinner, and you need a Savior”). It is a message for us, yes. But it is first and foremost a message about Jesus Christ and what he has done, to the glory of God the Father.”

- a quote from my upcoming book, Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals

Many of you know that I have been working on a book for Crossway entitled Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals. I will be giving more details about this book as the release date gets closer. For now, I’d like to give readers of Kingdom People a sneak peek by posting a quote from Holy Subversion every Saturday. I hope the brief quotes will stir up some good discussion. Here’s one to kick us off: 

True Christianity is not merely life-changing; it is world-changing.

Emphasize only the changing of individual lives and we will fail to call political systems, philosophies, and human structures to account under Jesus’ lordship.

Emphasize only political systems, philosophies, and human structures and we will compromise in our work for worldly progress while people remain dead in their sins.

But put the message of Jesus’ atoning death on the cross together with the biblical call to bring our world under the lordship of the Risen Jesus and we have an explosive message that rocks our world to its very core. It is the apostolic message of Christianity.