God Is the Gospel - Revision history

Kathyyee: Protected "God Is the Gospel" ([edit=sysop] (indefinite) [move=sysop] (indefinite))

2010-04-19T03:44:25Z

Protected "God Is the Gospel" ([edit=sysop] (indefinite) [move=sysop] (indefinite))

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Revision as of 03:44, 19 April 2010

Kathyyee at 03:44, 19 April 2010

2010-04-19T03:44:11Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:44, 19 April 2010
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	Here is the way Jonathan Edwards put it in a sermon to his people in 1731. Read this slowly and let it waken you to the true goodness of forgiveness and life.		Here is the way Jonathan Edwards put it in a sermon to his people in 1731. Read this slowly and let it waken you to the true goodness of forgiveness and life.
-		+	<blockquote>The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God; he is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world. The Lord God, he is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem; and is the ‘river of the water of life’ that runs, and the tree of life that grows, ‘in the midst of the paradise of God’. The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another: but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield then delight and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them. (The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999], pp. 74-75) </blockquote>
-	The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God; he is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world. The Lord God, he is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem; and is the ‘river of the water of life’ that runs, and the tree of life that grows, ‘in the midst of the paradise of God’. The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another: but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield then delight and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them. (The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999], pp. 74-75)	+
-		+
	Savoring God through the gospel, with you,		Savoring God through the gospel, with you,

	Pastor John		Pastor John

Greetje at 18:32, 30 September 2008

2008-09-30T18:32:34Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:32, 30 September 2008
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-	{{info}}~~God Is the Gospel~~	+	{{info}}Have you ever asked why God’s forgiveness is of any value? Or what about eternal life? Have you ever asked why a person would want to have eternal life? Why should we want to live forever? These questions matter because it is possible to want forgiveness and eternal life for reasons that prove you don’t have them.

		+	Take forgiveness, for example. You might want God’s forgiveness because you are so miserable with guilt feelings. You just want relief. If you can believe that he forgives you, then you will have some relief, but not necessarily salvation. If you only want forgiveness because of emotional relief, you won’t have God’s forgiveness. He does not give it to those who use it only to get his gifts and not himself.

		+	Or you might want to be healed from a disease or get a good job or find a spouse. Then you hear that God can help you get these things, but that first your sins would have to be forgiven. Someone tells you to believe that Christ died for your sins, and that if you believe this, your sins will be forgiven. So you believe it in order to remove the obstacle to health and job and spouse. Is that gospel salvation? I don’t think so.

-	~~Have you ever asked why God’s forgiveness is of any value? Or~~ what ~~about eternal life? Have~~ you ~~ever asked~~ why ~~a person would~~ want ~~to have eternal life? Why should we want to live forever? These questions matter because~~ it is ~~possible~~ to want forgiveness ~~and eternal life~~ for ~~reasons~~ that ~~prove~~ you ~~don’t~~ have ~~them~~.	+	In other words, it matters what you are hoping for through forgiveness. It matters why you want it. If you want forgiveness only for the sake of savoring the creation, then the Creator is not honored and you are not saved. Forgiveness is precious for one final reason: it enables you to enjoy fellowship with God. If you don’t want forgiveness for that reason, you won’t have it at all. God will not be used as currency for the purchase of idols.

-	~~Take forgiveness~~, ~~for example~~. ~~You~~ might ~~want God’s forgiveness~~ because ~~you are so miserable with guilt feelings~~. ~~You just~~ want ~~relief~~. ~~If you can believe that he forgives you, then you will have some relief, but not necessarily salvation. If you only want forgiveness because~~ of ~~emotional relief, you won’t have God’s forgiveness~~. ~~He does not give it to those who use it only to get his gifts and not himself~~.	+	Similarly, we ask: why do we want eternal life? One might say: because hell is the alternative and that’s painful. Another might say: because there will be no sadness there. Another might say: my loved ones have gone there and I want to be with them. Others might dream of endless sex or food. Or more noble fortunes. In all these aims one thing is missing: God.

-	Or you ~~might~~ want ~~to be healed from a disease or get a good job or find a spouse. Then you hear that~~ God ~~can help you get these things~~, ~~but that first your sins would~~ have ~~to be forgiven~~. ~~Someone tells you to believe~~ that ~~Christ died for your sins~~, ~~and that~~ if ~~you believe this, your sins~~ will ~~be forgiven. So you believe it in order~~ to ~~remove~~ the ~~obstacle to health and job and spouse. Is that gospel salvation? I don’t think so~~.	+	The saving motive for wanting eternal life is given in John 17:3: "This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." If we do not want eternal life because it means joy in God, then we won’t have eternal life. We simply kid ourselves that we are Christians, if we use the glorious gospel of Christ to get what we love more than Christ. The "good news" will not prove good to any for whom God is not the chief good.

-	~~In other words,~~ it ~~matters what you are hoping for through forgiveness~~. ~~It matters why you want it. If you want forgiveness only for the sake of savoring the creation, then the Creator is not honored~~ and ~~you are not saved. Forgiveness is precious for one final reason:~~ it ~~enables~~ you to ~~enjoy fellowship with God. If you don’t want forgiveness for that reason, you won’t have it at all. God will not be used as currency for~~ the ~~purchase~~ of ~~idols~~.	+	Here is the way Jonathan Edwards put it in a sermon to his people in 1731. Read this slowly and let it waken you to the true goodness of forgiveness and life.

-	~~Similarly~~, ~~we ask: why do we want eternal~~ life~~? One might say: because hell~~ is the ~~alternative~~ and ~~that’s painful~~. ~~Another might say: because there~~ will be ~~no sadness there~~. ~~Another might say~~: ~~my loved ones have gone there~~ and ~~I want to~~ be ~~with~~ them. ~~Others might dream~~ of ~~endless sex or food. Or more noble fortunes. In all these aims one thing is missing~~: ~~God~~.	+	The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God; he is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world. The Lord God, he is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem; and is the ‘river of the water of life’ that runs, and the tree of life that grows, ‘in the midst of the paradise of God’. The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another: but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield then delight and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them. (The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999], pp. 74-75)

-	The saving motive for wanting eternal life is given in John 17:3: "This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." If we do not want eternal life because it means joy in God, then we won’t have eternal life. We simply kid ourselves that we are Christians, if we use the glorious gospel of Christ to get what we love more than Christ. The "good news" will not prove good to any for whom God is not the chief good.	+	Savoring God through the gospel, with you,
-		+
-	~~Here is the way Jonathan Edwards put it in a sermon to his people in 1731. Read this slowly and let it waken you to the true goodness of forgiveness and life.~~	+
-		+
-	The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God; he is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world. The Lord God, he is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem; and is the ‘river of the water of life’ that runs, and the tree of life that grows, ‘in the midst of the paradise of God’. The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another: but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield then delight and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them. (The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999], pp. 74-75)	+
-		+
-	Savoring God through the gospel, with you,	+

	Pastor John		Pastor John

Greetje: New page: {{info}}God Is the Gospel Have you ever asked why God’s forgiveness is of any value? Or what about eternal life? Have you ever asked why a person would want to have eternal life? Why ...

2008-09-28T21:34:00Z

New page: {{info}}God Is the Gospel Have you ever asked why God’s forgiveness is of any value? Or what about eternal life? Have you ever asked why a person would want to have eternal life? Why ...

New page

{{info}}God Is the Gospel

Have you ever asked why God’s forgiveness is of any value? Or what about eternal life? Have you ever asked why a person would want to have eternal life? Why should we want to live forever? These questions matter because it is possible to want forgiveness and eternal life for reasons that prove you don’t have them.

Take forgiveness, for example. You might want God’s forgiveness because you are so miserable with guilt feelings. You just want relief. If you can believe that he forgives you, then you will have some relief, but not necessarily salvation. If you only want forgiveness because of emotional relief, you won’t have God’s forgiveness. He does not give it to those who use it only to get his gifts and not himself.

Or you might want to be healed from a disease or get a good job or find a spouse. Then you hear that God can help you get these things, but that first your sins would have to be forgiven. Someone tells you to believe that Christ died for your sins, and that if you believe this, your sins will be forgiven. So you believe it in order to remove the obstacle to health and job and spouse. Is that gospel salvation? I don’t think so.

In other words, it matters what you are hoping for through forgiveness. It matters why you want it. If you want forgiveness only for the sake of savoring the creation, then the Creator is not honored and you are not saved. Forgiveness is precious for one final reason: it enables you to enjoy fellowship with God. If you don’t want forgiveness for that reason, you won’t have it at all. God will not be used as currency for the purchase of idols.

Similarly, we ask: why do we want eternal life? One might say: because hell is the alternative and that’s painful. Another might say: because there will be no sadness there. Another might say: my loved ones have gone there and I want to be with them. Others might dream of endless sex or food. Or more noble fortunes. In all these aims one thing is missing: God.

The saving motive for wanting eternal life is given in John 17:3: "This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." If we do not want eternal life because it means joy in God, then we won’t have eternal life. We simply kid ourselves that we are Christians, if we use the glorious gospel of Christ to get what we love more than Christ. The "good news" will not prove good to any for whom God is not the chief good.

Here is the way Jonathan Edwards put it in a sermon to his people in 1731. Read this slowly and let it waken you to the true goodness of forgiveness and life.

The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God; he is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world. The Lord God, he is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem; and is the ‘river of the water of life’ that runs, and the tree of life that grows, ‘in the midst of the paradise of God’. The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another: but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield then delight and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them. (The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999], pp. 74-75)

Savoring God through the gospel, with you,

Pastor John