3 Ways to Live: Gospel Message

This is a way that we have found helpful to explain the gospel.

We as a community of believers must differentiate the gospel from religion just as Jesus did.

Jesus did not come for the dead religious but the sinners, whom he would redeem and send out on mission.

Many other churches with our acts29 network have benefited from Tim Keller's work.

the Story: Gospel

Please take a few minutes to read and look through this compelling and colorful online book about the gospel. We use this tool along with others for our leaders at imago dei. Most people don't understand the gospel nor it's centrality in the scripture. This tool helps us understand what the gospel is all about and how to share it with others.


Web page
www.spreadtruth.com

The Gospel, Moralism, and Irreligion

The Gospel- Tim Keller

The Gospel- Mark Driscoll

The Gospel by John Piper: 6 minutes

Gospel Intentionality

God wants to use more ordinary people to do more of His extraordinary work in our world. In the video we find inspiration and perfect picture of what success should look like for Imago Dei Community Church. People living on mission, people incarnating the gospel. People joining God in the good for the city. When we- people of God bring the gospel message of hope and love to the people of our city we win! That's success. When we as a church empower a movement of people to bring gospel intentionality to their home, their work, their communities and their city. That's living on mission! That's the picture of success.

Recently I was a guest preacher and taught on the subject of living with Gospel Intentionality. I preached from Acts 1:1-11. My outline was basically Acts 1-5 tells us that Jesus is Lord. Luke (the author) develops a conclusive argument to his friend that Jesus is in fact Lord,the risen God in the human flesh, having showed himself after his death to people for more than 40 days, sharing meals building his relationships, teaching truth and preparing them for mission!

Luke continues in verses 6-11 to explain how Jesus gave his followers a basic command...Go, "Be my witnesses to all Judea all Samaria and to the ends of the earth."They were to take all that they had learned and put it to action! Jesus was leaving them to carry on his mission. Little did they know that this little seedling Christian community would later become the most influential force in the Roman Empire By 310 AD this Christ community had grown to more than 20 million followers strong!- Which is before Constantine, I might add! You can learn more about how to live with gospel intentionality by listening to my recent sermon titled Jesus is Lord and Jesus says Go. You will need to look around on the website to find it but it's there!

So where does God have you right now? Where are you working?

Imagine what could happen if you saw your work as a ministry to serve others, seeking the benefit of others?

What would happen if you lived in your neighborhood with gospel intentionality living like Jesus in a continual pattern of truth, relationship and mission?

What about your city? What's God doing in your city? What could you imagine God wanting to do through His people- the Church there?

The Gospel: Jesus Forgives Story

I had a powerful vision one time. It was 1999. I was living in Waco, TX at the time. I was a new Christian and had moved down there to be with my crazy new Christian friends. We all had traded in our Guns n Roses and Nirvanna CD's for Keith Green and Jars of Clay.

We were x-druggies and thugs that had all come to know Jesus in a powerful way that changed our lives. We all had a mission. #1 Know Jesus More and #2 Help others know him too. Why Waco? It had nothing to do with the nut job David Keresh that started the cult.

I was there for adventure. My buddies were going to Baylor, and attending an happening college ministry where students were trained and sent all around the world to plant churches. It was this time that I learned the necessity to rehears the gospel to myself.

I was struggling with the sins of my pasts, feeling the guilt and the shame of all the girls I had done wrong, the people I mistreated, the hateful and hurtful things I had done.

At that time I was attending a community college near by, working at Italian restaurant (which was a joke b/c I was a pathetic waiter and couldn't keep peoples orders straight) and I was very involved in our local church. The point is...I was busy. In the midst of all this I was struggling with my past and wondering what God was doing in me for the future.

During an afternoon of prayer and study time in Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology I asked the Lord if there was anything holding me back from growing spiritually and he told that there was! He showed me that I was holding back Christ's work on the cross for me. I was failing to trust and believe that Jesus payment for my sin was sufficient and effective (Rom 5:8, I Pet 3:18).

I had bought into a false Gospel. I believed that I had committed too many sins to be completely accepted and secure. I had not trusted the scriptures at the core of my being that Christ's work on the cross really did serve as a payment for my sins and made me right with God. (Romans 5)

The Gospel says that Jesus work on the cross satisfied the wrath of God, serving as a propitiation for our sins and because of this God has nothing but love for his children. It's Christ's sacrifice that makes us right and keeps us right! The Father loves you and me so much that he sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins I John 4:10. and make peace between God and man (Romans 5)

What's ironic is that we Christians forget that the gospel should be everyday. It should be part of our ongoing sanctification process not just a one time event at Salvation. The Gospel has got to penetrate the heart an ongoing basis or else we fall to dead religious practitioners. It's the message of grace. It's by grace we are saved and grace that keeps us saved. (Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5)

-Pastor Ryan Rice
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share your story: my gospel testimony

This video was recorded years ago. It's a personal testimony of my life and how Jesus pursued me in the midst of my rebellion. I share it #1 to give glory to God and #2 to encourage our people to share their testimony as a means to communicate the gospel. Testimonies are often the most powerful and personal ways to share the gospel.

Often times I share my story in 2-3 minutes with strangers I meet. I never find someone who doesn't want to hear a good story! Last time I checked, the gospel is a great story about a good guy kicking some evil butt and raising up and army of people to join in the battle with a promise that we all will one day will win!

I believe stories are a universal common connection. The important things to hit in sharing your story isn't dramatic points (such as my story) rather real life pain and recognition of sin and rebellion against God and how he pursued you and redeems and restores you. Don't give people religion self help stories. They can get that at Barnes and Noble. They need to know Jesus is the Savior who died and rose again!

You might need to re-learn the gospel or learn it for the first time. For those of you that don't have the dramatic testimony, there had to come a point in your life when your faith became real and you better understood the need for the gospel in your life and your deep need for Jesus. Remember we all have sinned (Rom 3:23).

I encourage you to explore your story with God and learn to communicate it with the people you meet. Let your story share the Good news about Jesus. Don't ignore sin, Jesus payment for sin and salvation through faith! People respond to people's story and experiences, your testimony should reflect the gospel. Go for it! Share your story!

good news/bad news gospel

In the south, the old Romans Road is the main message for the gospel proclamation. I used it for years. Today I find that the gospel narrative approach has much more big picture of the gospel than these bullet pointed facts!

Regardless of the way we share or understand the gospel, it's important that we get the fundamental's of the gospel down. Sin. Substitutionary Atonement (Christ dying in our place for our sins) and salvation by faith!

A Gospel Narrative

The gospel has to include sin, Christ's sacrifice and salvation by faith if it's really going to be good news! Good news means that hell bound sinners like me and you can be set free by placing our faith in Christ the who died and rose again!

Literally that's what Gospel means, Good news! Watch a short video on this presentation of the Big Story of God and the Gospel. There are many ways in which the gospel can be communicated.



Key texts
Rom 3:23 All have sinned
Rom 6:23 Sin penalty is death

Rom 5:8 Christ died for sin
Eph 2:8-9 You are saved by Faith

Gospel vs. Religion

In a city like Phoenix, it's obvious that there are lots of good religious people in the valley! Take for example the Mormons in this city. If you know one, you know they are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. I have actually worked with several and truly can testify, that though I disagree with them theologically, I have always been impressed with their ethics.

They are known for their hardworking values and their strong commitment to those strange doctrines (which I will save for later). You can't go a week in this city without seeing those young men in their white shirts peddling their Huffy mountain bikes just to knock on one more door to get one step closer to secure their salvation!

Although I find their doctrines antithetical to the gospel entirely, I am not writing right now to compare and contrast Mormonism to main stream evangelical theology. Rather I am writing to remind and inform those interested in our church how the gospel differs greatly from religion and good works.

As we look at scripture we see that good people are not good enough! Being good, simply doesn't cut it. Salvation is by grace not by works, (so this messes things up for the Mormons) (Eph 2:8-10). The Bible teaches that you can have great intentions and lots of good works but miss the gospel and get the one way ticket for a hell bound train! Ouch!

Jesus ripped and railed on the religious people of his day! The Pharisee's were the guys who did all the good works but rejected Jesus as the messiah and missed his gospel message!(Matthew 23)

Our church is not interested in creating good people, rather gospel-centered people. A people who readily confess their weakness and accept the fact that they are totally depraved by sin, being born into sin and standing in total need of redemption (Psalms 51:4-5, I Peter 3:18)

Religion actually makes my job harder. In essence religion says, If I do good, I get God! The gospel says, I am bad and yet (b/c of Jesus) I still get God!(Romans 5:1 Romans 5:8)

Here are a few ways to differentiate the gospel from religion.

Concerning Salvation.
•The Religious say, “Because I am a good person I am saved and will go to heaven right?”
•Gospel centered people say,“ I could never be good enough, but b/c Jesus’ payment for my sin, I am saved by grace and will go to heaven!”

Concerning Spirituality
•The Religious say, “B/c I pray and go to church and read the Bible or do good, I am accepted and will grow! I help myself and make myself into a better person.”
•Gospel-centered people say, “I’m accepted by God b/c of Jesus death! I’m a sinner saved by grace and b/c I am so grateful I obey. I pursue holy living, my spirituality is evidence of God's grace working in me! It's not about me.

Concerning Security
•The Religious say. “When I screw up I feel God is angry with me and I am afraid he hates me.” I live in fear!
•Gospel centered people say. “When I screw up I realize I grieve God but know His love for me is unconditional b/c of Jesus payment of sin! I stand in awe and amazement that I have acceptance and security in God’s love for me. I live in freedom not fear!”

Concerning Suffering:
•The Religious say, “I am angry at God, b/c life isn’t working and not fair! I obeyed and why am I still suffering? I deserve more!”
•Gospel centered people “ I am in pain and this world is broken but I trust your promises God. You God work all things for my good even when it's hard.”

Even believers need to rehearse the gospel. We Christians must avoid falling into a dead legalistic, religious exercise that renders us impotent, hollow and numb! We need to sit and savor in the sweetness of the gospel. rehearsing the crazy love of God by saying "I am loved by God not matter what I do." Why? Because Jesus was the substitute and was sufficient payment for my sins and satisfied the righteous demands of God, therefore you should live in freedom. The Father loves you!(I Peter 2:24 ,I John 2:2 Romans 3:23-25)

Our prayer is at imago dei is that sinners would see the savior and start living a life of freedom not of fear, a life that would reflect a picture of the gospel.

Resources: Books: A Gospel Primer Article by Tim Keller and Acts29

The Power of the Gospel: Hatred to Humilty

Not too long ago I was invited to preach at a church. My sermon talked about sin, and salvation. I spoke passionately about the need for repentance. I knew the message would be offensive, but I didn’t expect people to tell pastor they hated my message! Later that week I called the pastor to ask if there had been any visible sign or anyone that might have come forward to talk.

He mentioned that shortly after the Sunday service one person came forward and gripped and complained about how offensive the message was. The person had evidently told the pastor that they hated my message. The funny thing is, a few days later this angry person came back to the pastor to share how they had been convicted and found themselves confessing their sins, prayed for repentance and prayed to receive Christ. This person moved from a heart of hatred to a heart of complete humility!

I am amazed by the power of the gospel. Truth continues to set people free. There is no substitute for preaching the gospel. Preach the word my brothers, call sin, sin share with them the hope of salvation in Jesus alone. Oh what a powerful reality, Let all who are weary find rest and peace with God.

Coexist in Culture?

Jesus teaches us a powerful truth about how Christians are to co-exist in their culture with non-Christians when he teaches the Parable, "The Wheat and the Weeds

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared."- Mt 13:24-25

What's interesting is that Jesus asserts that the weeds shouldn't be pulled out, rather he urges that both the good seed (wheat) and the bad seed (weeds) be left to grow together. Why?
Well because they would both die if they were pulled to early. The roots are still tender, so He urges the farmer to leave them till harvest. Jesus further explains the parable:

"The one who sowed the seed is the son of Man (Jesus) The field is the world (culture) and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom(Christians). The weeds are the sons of the evil one, (UnChristians) and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels." - Mt 13:37-39, (Parenthesis mine).

The main point Jesus is making, is that we are in world but not of the world. (Jn 17: 15-17). We are to learn how to Coexist in our culture, yet remain strong and pure until he returns! We are Wheat in the weeds and our job is not to pull out the weeds but to live among them!

3 Points should be considered here for the believer

Pilgrim Principle: This idea is that we have are to confront cultures evils and speak out against worldly wrongs, based upon our Biblical convictions. This principle is supported in Rom 12:2, "Do not conform to the patterns of the world" and is right, one should not conform to the world, yet we remain in the world at Jesus requests (John 17:15-16).

Ingeniousness Principle: The idea here is that the gospel message comes through the listeners own cultural lens of understanding, therefore the task of the Christian is to adapt, the message to fit culture, using language, symbols, sign and customs of the culture, so that the Gospel is clearly understood. Jesus did this continually in his teachings and Paul said, "Be all things, to all people"

In but Not of Principle: Jesus said it best, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:15-16). We are in the world—that’s the indigenous principle, yet, we are not of the world—that’s the pilgrim principle. For a more exhaustive look at this look at John Piper's Article

Again we must learn how to Coexist in our culture, yet remain strong and pure in our convictions, not compromising the gospel, but living in and around those that most need it!
We are Wheat in the weeds and our job is not to pull out the weeds but to live among them!

Vision: Love One. Love All

Bob Marley echoes what Jesus pointed out as the most two important truths in all of scripture. I am so refreshed with Jesus teaching. In fact, I believe we we need not only look to the pastoral epistles to form our ecclesiology, but the gospels as well!

At Imago Dei Community Church our vision comes from Jesus' simple and profound statement to "Love one and to Love All." He is the Head of the Church.

LOVE ONE.When Jesus was asked to name the greatest commandment, He replied that God is one, and is to be loved with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. We believe this is the ultimate priority of every person, to discover and foster an exclusive love relationship with God. (Deut 6:5, Joshua 22.5, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27)

LOVE ALL. Jesus continued his answer by saying that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor. We interpret this to mean everyone; that dignity and worth transcend beliefs, lifestyles and demographics. (Matthew 22:38, Luke 10:25-37)