Recently in The Gospel vs. Religion Category

I’m convinced that I cannot be real with others or myself without the gospel. It’s not a “cannot” like “I cannot eat ice cream because I’m on a diet.” No, it is more like “I cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound.” It’s an impossible cannot, not a voluntary, self-imposed cannot. Without the gospel, being real with others is an impossibility for me. If I lose sight of the gospel, it’s not long until I find myself saying this or doing that so that people will view me one way and not another. As soon as I begin to say or do things so that others think I’m like this or like that, I’ve ceased to be real with them and with myself. This is hypocrisy. When the gospel loses its central place in my consciousness, my modus operandi is to attempt to create and sustain an identity with which those within my circle of relationships will be impressed.

The main problem with this failure to be real with others and myself is not that I’m failing to be real with others and myself. That’s a problem for sure, but it’s not the main problem. So what is it? It’s my failure to be real with God. My main problem when I’m saying and doing things for the purpose of influencing how people think of me is that, ultimately, I’m failing to be real with God Himself.

Consider two ways in which these two failures are connected. First, when I fail to be real with others, I’m guilty of exalting man’s view of me over God’s view of me. It means I care more about what man thinks of me than I do about what God thinks of me. This is idolatry because it essentially puts another god before my eyes, namely, the god of human opinion. To be real with people means having no other gods before the God (Exodus 20:3).

Second, when I fail to be real with others, I’m guilty of relying upon human works to make myself presentable rather than upon God’s grace. It means that I’m seeking acceptance on my own terms rather than resting in the acceptance that has come to me by grace. Trying to be who I am not before others is a form of works righteousness. It is the kind of thing we do when we are not resting in God’s gracious provision in Jesus. Choosing not to be real with others is ultimately an affront to God's grace.

Only through the gospel can I admit who I really am to others or even to myself. When I lose sight of the gospel, there’s no way I can bear up under the weight of the knowledge of the sin that lurks within the recesses of my own heart. If I can’t bear it myself, I certainly can’t bear allowing other people to see it. But through the gospel I can bear to acknowledge the depth of my own sin, whether to myself or to others, because it has already been judged in Jesus. As Paul says, for those who are in Jesus the Messiah there is no longer any condemnation (Romans 8:1). The gospel says that because of the work of Jesus not only do I not have a sentence of condemnation hanging over my head but I also have God’s full and gracious acceptance. Only when I see those two twin truths in the gospel, namely, that I’m no longer condemned but rather graciously accepted because of the work of Jesus the Messiah, can I truly be real with others and begin to give God His rightful place in my life.

Beyond this, the gospel also announces God's provision for my ongoing struggles with being real. It reminds again and again that God has dealt with all of my sin, even my hypocrisy, in Jesus. He accepts me not because I'm being real but because Jesus was real in my place in his life and death. Only the gospel enables me to press forward in my quest to be real with God, others, and myself.

I'm preaching from Hebrews 10:19-25 tomorrow on the necessity and privilege of the gathering of the church. My default mode is to read “enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus” and “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” from an individualistic perspective. I can read those words and think primarily about the great privilege I have to approach the Majesty on High (Hebrews 1:3) privately. But the writer of Hebrews is not so much thinking of believers approaching God privately as he is about believers approaching God corporately, that is, together. Just consider the repetition of “let us” in these verses (vv. 22, 23, & 24). The writer’s point is that believers are to enter the holy places together . He’s thinking primarily about believers drawing near corporately. Approaching the Majesty on High as a corporate body is the incomparable opportunity and privilege of the blood bought church.

What I find striking about these verses that call for believers to approach together is that the writer says that we together have confidence to do this. He writes, “We have confidence to enter the holy places” (Hebrews 10:19). He doesn’t say that some believers do and some don’t have confidence to enter based upon how they may or may not have lived the previous week. No, he just declares that believers have confidence period.

I find this striking for two reasons. First, if I’m not vigilant, I tend to base my confidence in drawing near to God on how I have “measured up” the previous several days. If I think I’ve lived up to a particular list of standards, I have confidence. If I consider myself to have failed in living as I believe I ought, I don’t have confidence. But the writer doesn’t appear to be thinking in these categories at all. He just says, “Brothers, we have confidence.” Second, if you read the accounts of Israel approaching God through the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, the word confidence is not what immediately comes to mind. Rather, “fear and trembling” comes to mind (cf. Hebrews 12:18-24; Numbers 4:20; 17:13).

So what accounts for this confidence? How is it that people who sin in word and deed can be said to have objective confidence to enter the holy places, a confidence that doesn’t dissipate in the wake of personal sin and in the contemplation of the God who is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29)? The writer answers this question for us? “We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh (Hebrews 10:19-20). Our confidence to enter is not based upon what we have or have not done but upon what Christ has done through the shedding of his own blood. It's based upon the work of Christ. It is Christ who "entered once for all time into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12).

The implications here are many. Let me highlight just one. The work of Christ frees us to gather together not as those who have our lives together but as those who don't. The fact that our confidence is based upon the work of someone else, namely, Christ, means that we all gather with the freedom to acknowledge our sin and not hide it from other believers. I have gathered with the saints with a plastic, "I'm-doing-well-spiritually-this-week" smile upon my face too many times. This smile is a sad attempt to feign confidence, to fake it, and it's evidence that I've forgotten the gospel. Only when I gather with the saints knowing that I have objective confidence to enter by the blood of Jesus will I be free to acknowledge my sin of the previous week before others. Only when I approach in the truth of the gospel will I not have to conceal my sin from myself or from the fellowship of believers. The gospel frees us to gather as we really are, namely, as people who are in need of drawing near to God by the blood of Jesus. Ultimately, the only alternative is to gather with the saints in loneliness though we are surrounded by people who are just like we are. Dietrich Bonhoeffer understood this very well.

“He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their…service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break through to fellowship does not occur, because though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among them. So we remain alone with our sin, living lies and hypocrisy. The fact is we are sinners. But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great desperate sinner; now come as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you…He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. God has come to save the sinner.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Bonhoeffer describes what happens to us when our confidence is based not upon the work of Christ but upon our own attempts to measure up. So, the writer of Hebrews says, "since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith" (Hebrews 10:19-21). The confidence that Hebrews 10:19 says we have comes to us through the work of the Messiah. It is ours by the blood of Jesus. When the work of Christ is our confidence, it changes our mindset when we draw near to God and in how we relate to our fellow-gathers.

Mark Lauterbach of Gospel Driven Life has been writing a series of great posts about Christ-centered preaching in response to his reading of Charles Bridges' book The Christian Ministry. Let me encourage you to give him a visit.

P.S. Mark just posted an excellent example of a Christ-centered sermon here.

No one has challenged my thinking on the gospel and life quite like Tim Keller has the past few years. I am extremely thankful to God for Tim’s writing and preaching ministry. Below are the first few paragraphs from several of his most recent Vision Campaign articles. Just click on each article title if you want to read the article in its entirety.

Article One: THE GOSPEL: KEY TO CHANGE

The Greek term “gospel” (ev-angelion) distinguished the Christian message from that of other religions. An 'ev-angel' was news of a great historical event, such as a victory in war or the ascension of a new king, that changed the listeners’ condition and required a response from the listener. So the gospel is news of what God has done to reach us. It is not advice about what we must do to reach God. What is this news?

God has entered the world in Jesus Christ to achieve a salvation that we could not achieve for ourselves which now 1) converts and transforms individuals, forming them into a new humanity, and eventually 2) will renew the whole world and all creation. This is the ‘good news’—the gospel. And it is good news in three important ways…

Article Two: THE CITY: WHY WE’RE HERE

Fundamental to Redeemer’s vision is the belief that there is no better place for Christians to live, work, serve, and spend their lives and resources than in the city. Why?

The gospel originally grew in and through the city. The Pax Romana (27BC-180AD) led to the growth of the first multi-ethnic, global cities. Travel was easier than it ever had been and ever would be again until the 19th century. Nationalities that had been at war with one another were now at ‘peace’ under the iron rule of Rome. Cities became multi-cultural and the hub of international networks of capital and information—essentially, city-states. For example, Antioch was really a United Nations, with a Asian, African, Jewish, Greek, and Roman sections. Capital and culture flowed back and forth from Antioch to three continents through urban-based networks…

Article Three: BUILDINGS FOR COMMUNITY

The cruciality of community

On the night before his death (John 13ff), Jesus said that the purpose of his death was to form a new community. His disciples were to become a new humanity which was to be a 'demonstration plot' of the kingdom of God. In their relationships to one another, and in the way they related together to the rest of the world, they were to be a sign that Jesus is the Lord who is going to redeem all of creation. Christian community is a comprehensive and distinct way to be human in
deep relationship with others who have been transformed by the gospel.

The quality of our community is the real secret of Christian mission. When those outside see exceptional community it convinces them of the truth of Jesus' message, and it attracts them personally toward joining those who follow him. In John 17:23 Jesus says that via Christians’ loving unity 'the world will know that You sent me and have loved them even as You have loved me.'

In addition, the quality of our community is the real secret of Christian growth…

Article Four: WHY NEW CHURCHES?

Church planting lies at the foundation of Redeemer’s vision. Why?

1. Christ-formation in an individual happens best not through programs, but through a local church. Evangelism aims to get people to make a decision to follow Christ. Experience, however, shows us that many of these 'decisions' disappear and never result in changed lives. Why? Many decisions are not really thorough spiritual conversions, but often only the beginning of a journey of seeking God. (Other decisions are very definitely the moment of a 'new birth,' but this differs from person to person.) Many people come to full faith through a process of mini-decisions. Only a person who is hearing the gospel in the context of an on-going worshipping and shepherding community can be sure of finally coming home into vital, saving faith…

Article Five: THE FULLNESS OF MINISTRY

From Redeemer’s understanding of the gospel and commitment to the city (paper’s #1 and #2) flows an unusually balanced and full understanding of the ministry of every local congregation. We call them the Five Ministry Fronts. It is difficult to stay equally engaged along each of these fronts, but we believe that we must stay committed to all five or we will become unbalanced.

1. Churches must be “outward facing.” First, churches must be highly effective in helping skeptical and secular people to find faith. It is not enough to only reach already conservative and traditional-minded people. The gospel (unlike religious moralism) produces people who do not disdain those who disagree with them. Rather than simply confront those who disbelieve, the gospel leads us to sympathetically, but effectively, find ways to answer secular cultural hopes and aspirations with Christ and his saving work…

Article Six: CHRISTIANS AND CULTURE

A society’s ‘culture’ is a set of shared practices, attitudes, values, and beliefs which are rooted in common understandings of ‘the big questions’—where life comes from, what life means, who we are, and what is important to spend our time doing in the years allotted to us. No one can live without some assumed answers to these questions, and every set of answers shapes culture:

• the way we treat the material world,
• the way we relate the individual to the group and family,
• the way groups and classes relate to one another,
• the way we handle sex, money, and power,
• the way we make decisions and set priorities, and the way we regard death, time, art, government, and physical space…

Article Seven: Creation, Fall, Redemption—and Your Money

The Bible sees the history of the world in four stages—1) Creation by God, 2) Fall into sin, 3) Redemption through Christ, and 4) Final Restoration--the new heaven and new earth. But creation-fall-redemption-restoration are not just discrete stages in time, they are also different aspects of present reality. Put another way, when we look at any object in this world, we know three things about it:

• First, it is part of God’s good creation, yet,
• Second, it is fallen and affected by sin—distorted somehow, broken, falling short of its original
purpose. But,
• Third, it is being, and can be, redeemed. The purpose of God is to wipe all creation clean of all
the effects of sin until it is all restored to wholeness, beauty, and glory. This is the basis of the Christian worldview. If you miss any these three perspectives, you have a distorted view of reality…

Galatians 1:4 Who [referring to Jesus] gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us [that he might rescue us] from this present evil world

There is a great scene toward the beginning of the extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring. A table of hobbits are sitting together enjoying each others company when one of them says, “There’s been some strange folk crossing the shire I heard. Dwarves and others of a less than savory nature. War is brewing. The mountains are fair teeming with Goblins.” One of the other hobbits not pleased with what was just said replies, “Far-off tales and childrens stories, that’s all that is. Your beginning to sound like that old Bilbo Baggins. Cracked, he was.” Then a negative comment is made about Frodo being cracked or crazy as well to which Frodo responds, “And proud of it!” And then the hobbit that originally called Bilbo cracked makes a very significant statement as it relates to the soon coming struggle of Middle-Earth. “Well its none of our concern what goes on beyond our borders. Keep your nose out of trouble and no trouble will come to you.”

That is in my mind one of the most significant statements in giving us insight into the people of the Shire. They are a peace-loving, comfort-enjoying people who care very little at all about the outside world. They enjoy their simple life and see no reason to be concerned with what happens in the land of the “big folk.” What they didn’t realize was that Trouble with a capital “T” was coming to them and unless there was decisive intervention the Shire and their happy culture would perish. What they failed to see was that they were in dire need of decisive rescue from the growing evil shadow of the East. The hobbits were completely ignorant of their impending doom and their desperate need for rescue.

Christianity is the only religion that recognizes our hobbit like peril. Founders of other religions came primarily to teach. They came with a set of doctrines and an example to be followed. Though Jesus was a great teacher, the greatest teacher mankind has ever known, Paul makes no mention of this when he gives us this nutshell version of the Gospel in Galatians 1. What we see here is what is at the very heart of the Gospel, namely, that mankind was in desperate need of rescue. Jesus came to rescue first and then to be an example second.

The uniqueness of Christianity is that it comes to us and informs us of our absolutely helpless and perilous state. The Gospel does not first reveal Christ to us as a guide and example. No, it first reveals Christ as our Deliverer, our Rescuer. Christ came to earth and before most people knew what was really happening He had already accomplished every thing needed for the deliverance of his hobbit like people. He accomplished our redemption before we even knew we were perishing and unable to recover ourselves. This is the Good News of the Gospel.

"Amazing as it sounds, we come with remorse and guilt over one thing and the Bible tells us we are far worse, much guiltier than we could have ever imagined. But surely this only confirms the accusation that the Christian faith is psychologically unhealthy. How are we ever to recover any healthy self-esteem with an attitude like that? What would ever possess a person to call a message like this 'good news'? The fact is that in the cross God demonstrates the deepest law of acceptance. For to be convinced that I have been accepted, I must be convinced that I have been accepted at my worst. This is the greatest gift an intimate relationship can offer—to know that we have been accepted and forgiven in the full knowledge of who we are, an even greater knowledge than we have about ourselves. This is what the cross offers" (Rebecca Manley Pippert, Hope Has Its Reasons: The Search to Satisfy Our Deepest Longings, 110-111).

The following is one of the hymns I most love. It is entitled "It is Finished!" (written by James Proctor).

It is Finished!

Nothing, either great or small--nothing sinner, no;
Jesus died and paid it all, long, long ago.

"It is finished!" yes, indeed, finished ev'ry jot;
Sinner, this is all you need, tell me, is it not?

When He, from His lofty throne, stooped to do and die,
Ev'rything was fully done; hearden to His cry!

Weary, working, burdened one, wherefore toil you so?
Cease your doing; all was done long, long ago.

Till to Jesus' work you cling by a simple faith,
"Doing" is a deadly thing--"doing ends in death.

Refrain:
Cast your deadly "doing" down--down at Jesus' feet;
Stand in Him in Christ alone, gloriously complete.

I was reading Paul David Tripp's Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands in preparation for a NT Survey lecture. I was once again reminded of two things: (1) how quickly I turn to finding my identity outside of Christ; and (2) how great is my identity as defined by the story of redemption. Here is the quotation:

"The Bible is a narrative, a story of redemption, and its chief character is Jesus Christ. He is the main theme of the narrative, and he is revealed in every passage in the book. This story reveals how God harnessed nature and controlled history to send his Son to rescue rebellious, foolish, and self-focused men and women. He freed them from bondage to themselves, enabled them to live for his glory, and gifted them with an eternity in his presence, far from the harsh realities of the Fall.

"This overarching story reflects the fact that our problem as human beings is deeper than the individual sins we commit eaach day, creating the specific problems that complicate our lives. Our deepest problem is that we seek to find our identity outside the story of redemption...We need a message big enough to overcome our natural human instinct to live for our own glory, pursue our own happiness, and forget that our lives are much, much bigger than this little moment of life...It is because our sin problem is so pervasive and so deeply ingrained that we need more from Scripture than insight, principles, understanding, or direction. An encyclopedic, problem-solving approach to Scripture is totally inadequate for the true depth of our need. We need something that will change us from the inside out--we need Christ! Only his person and work can free us from our slavery to self and our tendency to deify the creation. Only as we see our story enfolded in the larger story of redemption will we begin to live God-honoring lives. Lasting change begins when our identity, purpose, and sense of direction are defined by God's story (Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands, pp. 27-28).

We have said that you must preach the gospel every week--to edify and grow Christians and to convert non-Christians. But if that is the case, you cannot simply 'instruct in Biblical principles.' You have to 'get to Jesus' every week.

For example, look at the story of David and Goliath. What is the meaning of that narrative for us? Without reference to Christ, the story may be (usually is!) preached as: "The bigger they come, the harder they'll fall, if you just go into your battles with faith in the Lord. You may not be real big and powerful in yourself, but with God on your side, you can overcome giants." But as soon as we ask: "how is David foreshadowing the work of his greater Son"? We begin to see the same features of the story in a different light. The story is telling us that the Israelites can not go up against Goliath. They can't do it. They need a substitute. When David goes in on their behalf, he is not a full-grown man, but a vulnerable and weak figure, a mere boy. He goes virtually as a sacrificial lamb. But God uses his apparent weakness as the means to destroy the giant, and David becomes Israel's champion-redeemer, so that his victory will be imputed to them. They get all the fruit of having fought the battle themselves.

This is a fundamentally different meaning than the one that arises from the non-Christocentric reading. There is, in the end, only two ways to read the Bible: is it basically about me or basically about Jesus? In other words, is it basically about what I must do, or basically about what he has done? If I read David and Goliath as basically giving me an example, then the story is really about me. I must summons up the faith and courage to fight the giants in my life. But if I read David and Goliath as basically showing me salvation through Jesus, then the story is really about him. Until I see that Jesus fought the real giants (sin, law, death) for me, I will never have the courage to be able to fight ordinary giants in life (suffering, disappointment, failure, criticism, hardship). For example how can I ever fight the "giant" of failure, unless I have a deep security that God will not abandon me? If I see David as my example, the story will never help me fight the failure/giant. But if I see David/Jesus as my substitute, whose victory is imputed to me, then I can stand before the failure/giant. As another example, how can I ever fight the "giant" of persecution or criticism? Unless I can see him forgiving me on the cross, I won't be able to forgive others. Unless I see him as forgiving me for falling asleep on him (Matt.27:45) I won't be able to stay awake for him.

In the Old Testament we are continually told that our good works are not enough, that God has made a provision. This provision is pointed to at every place in the Old Testament. We see it in the clothes God makes Adam and Eve in Genesis, to the promises made to Abraham and the patriarchs, to the Tabernacle and the whole sacrificial system, to the innumerable references to a Messiah, a suffering servant, and so on. Therefore, to say that the Bible is about Christ is to say that the main theme of the Bible is the gospel--Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9).

So reading the Old Testament Christocentrically is not just a "additional" dimension. It is not something you can just tack on - to the end of a study and sermon. ("Oh, and by the way, this also points us to Christ".) Rather, the Christocentric reading provides a fundamentally different application and meaning to the text. Without relating it to Christ, the story of Abraham and Isaac means: "You must be willing to even kill your own son for him." Without relating it to Christ, the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel means: "You have to wrestle with God, even when he is inexplicable-even when he is crippling you. You must never give up." These 'morals-of-the-story' are crushing because they essentially are read as being about us and what we must do.

A BASIC OUTLINE FOR CHRIST-CENTERED, GOSPEL-MOTIVATED SERMONS
The following may actually be four points in a presentation, or they may be treated very quickly as the last point of a sermon. But more generally, this is a foundational outline for the basic moral reasoning and argument that lies at the heart of the application.

The Plot winds up: WHAT YOU MUST DO.
"This is what you have to do! Here is what the text/narrative tells us that we must do or what we must be."
The Plot thickens: WHY YOU CAN'T DO IT.
"But you can't do it! Here are all the reasons that you will never become like this just by trying very hard."
The Plot resolves: HOW HE DID IT.
"But there's One who did. Perfectly. Wholly. Jesus the---. He has done this for us, in our place."
The Plot winds down: HOW, THROUGH HIM, YOU CAN DO IT.
"Our failure to do it is due to our functional rejection of what he did. Remembering him frees our heart so we can change like this..."

a) In every text of the Scripture there is somehow a moral principle. It may grow out of because of what it shows us about the character of God or Christ, or out of either the good or bad example of characters in the text, or because of explicit commands, promises, and warnings. This moral principle must be distilled clearly. b) But then a crisis is created in the hearers as the preacher shows that his moral principle creates insurmountable problems. The sermon shows how this practical and moral obligation is impossible to meet. The hearers are led to a seemingly dead end. c) Then a hidden door opens and light comes in. The sermon moves both into worship and into Christ-application when it shows how only Jesus Christ has fulfilled this. If the text is a narrative, you can show how Christ is the ultimate example of a particular character. If the text is didactic, you can show how Christ is the ultimate embodiment of the principle. d) Finally, we show how our inability to live as we ought stems from our rejection of Christ as the Way, Truth, and Life (or whatever the theme is). The sermon points out how to repent and rejoice in Christ in such a way that we can live as we ought.

The following is a short article I was asked to write for The Summit Magazine (a magazine for alumni and friends of Baptist Bible College & Seminary). I plan on expanding on it quite a lot since it is impossible to do justice to this topic in 800 words (at least it's impossible for me). Here it is:

What would you say is the difference between morals-driven and Gospel-driven leadership in the home? We ask this question because we believe its answer is vital to the spiritual health of the home. Both morals-driven and Gospel-driven homes are concerned with the morality of their children. They both desire children who love God and others as themselves. They both value truth-telling, faithfulness, patience, servanthood, etc. However, they represent two radically different perspectives on these important concerns, desires, and values. So what does it mean for leadership in the Christian home to be Gospel-driven?

In our search to answer this question, we sought to apply the Gospel-centered perspective to specifics such as “What does it mean to be Gospel-driven in teaching our children to obey and honor us as their God-given parental authority?” Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians has been instructive in answering questions about leadership in the Christian home. We discovered that this idea of being “Gospel-driven” in the home is not new. It is not another Christian fad with a catchy phrase that after having its “day in the sun” will soon fade away. It is a concept that is as old as Scripture itself.

We have only enough space to introduce a Gospel-driven perspective of leadership within the Christian home. So we will consider Ephesians 6:1-4, verses that address both children and parents in the same context. As we look at these verses, we must remember that Paul did not intend for us to separate the commands to children and fathers from the life-giving foundation of the Gospel laid out in chapters one to three. In other words, Paul never intended the sole or even primary motivation for children to obey their parents to be that “it is right” (v. 1). How often have believing children been told the main reason for obeying their parents is that it is right? We are not saying the “rightness” of obedience is not a reason for obedience. It is a God-given reason, but “rightness” must not be the main reason or motivation for believing children to obey.

This same thinking applies to Paul’s second commandment to children in verses 2-3. The promise “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the earth” (v.3) is not the main reason children are to honor their parents. This is a reason, but it is not the reason. To give these two reasons for obedience as the primary reasons for offering obedience to parents is to teach our children to live a morals-driven life rather than a Gospel-driven life. If these reasons are our emphasis, we are essentially teaching our children that they should obey so they will be blessed. Although this teaching is true on one level, it is not true on the most important level.

Paul never intended us to sever Ephesians 6:1-3 from Ephesians 1-3. Remember that in Ephesians 6:1-3 Paul is writing to believing children. He has first declared to these children, whom he calls to obedience and honor, that God the Father has already blessed them in Christ with every spiritual blessing (1:3), that He chose them in Christ before the foundation of the world so they should be holy and blameless before Him (1:4), and that in Christ they have the forgiveness of sins (1:7). All believers, both parents and children, possess these unbelievable blessings.

Gospel-driven parenting says to believing children, “You are unspeakably blessed! Therefore, obey and honor us as your parents as to the Lord!” Gospel-centered parents seek to deepen their children’s understanding of the glorious riches that they already possess in Christ through faith. Their primary prayer and desire is that God would open the eyes of their children’s understanding so that they might know what is the hope to which God has called them, namely, the eternal riches of being in Christ (Ephesians 1:18). Morals-driven parenting says, “Obey and you will be blessed.” It seeks to motivate children to obey by emphasizing that if they work hard to live according to Biblical principles, then God will pour out His blessings upon them. Morals-driven parents (most often unknowingly) motivate their children through fear of lost blessings. Gospel-driven parenting says, “You are blessed. Therefore, obey.” The Gospel of God’s free grace teaches children to say “no” to their passions (Titus 2:11-12) not primarily for fear of lost blessings, but for joy in all that is already possessed in Christ. Gospel-driven leadership in the home produces joyful obedience and mutual submission because our crowning joy and security and blessings are not in our obedience but in our blessed Christ who lived and died in our place.

Unfortunately, we have been able to scratch only the surface of Gospel-driven leadership. We hope these thoughts will encourage you to continue to think through the implications of the Gospel in every relationship within the Christian home (Ephesians 6:22ff).