9Marks Panel Discussion: Growth and Grace: How Obedience Sets Us Free

Is Christian freedom about watching movies or memorizing the Ten Commandments? Can Christians smoke cigarettes? What does it mean for a Christian to delight in God’s law? All Christians want to grow in grace, but it seems easy for churches to stumble into legalism or license. The goal of this panel is to consider what it means to pursue Christian holiness and freedom, and how the local church is the best place to do both.

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Tim Keller (MDiv, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) was founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Manhattan, chairman of Redeemer City to City, and co-founder of The Gospel Coalition. He wrote numerous books, including The Reason for God. He and his wife, Kathy, had three children.

John Piper (BA, Wheaton College; BD, Fuller Theological Seminary; ThD, University of Munich) serves as founder and lead teacher at Desiring God and is chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, Piper served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, and he is a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He has authored more than 50 books, and more than 30 years of his preaching and writing are available free of charge at Desiring God.

Mike McKinley is the senior pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia. He is the author of Church Planting Is for Wimps (Crossway, 2010); Am I Really a Christian? (Crossway, 2011); Did the Devil Make Me Do It? (The Good Book Company, 2013); Passion (The Good Book Company, 2013); and The Resurrection in Your Life (The Good Book Company, 2015). His most recent book, co-authored with Mark Dever, is 90 Days in Ruth, Jeremiah and 1 Corinthians (The Good Book Company, 2016).

Thomas Schreiner is the James Buchanan Harrison professor of New Testament interpretation and associate dean for Scripture and interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. You can follow him on Twitter.

Hunter Powell (PhD, University of Cambridge) is the author of The Crisis of British Protestantism, which examines the church government debates at the Westminster Assembly. He is also a partner at M78 Ventures, a history teacher at the University of Texas, an adjunct faculty member at Westminster Seminary, and an entrepreneur, who was recently CEO of a tech company.