I'm Not Saved Because...

The passing of another year makes me think back on my life. The most important person in my life is Jesus Christ. What matters most is the gospel.

I'm saved because of Jesus alone.

I'm not saved because I was born into a "Christian home."

I'm not saved because most everyone in my extended family is saved.

I'm not saved because I've been "in church" for as long as I can remember.

I'm not saved because my dad taught at a Christian college.

I'm not saved because I was raised in a town where most everyone goes to church.

I'm not saved because I can't remember when I gave my life to Christ.

I'm not saved because several of my family members are foreign missionaries.

I'm not saved because I won a memory verse competition in Sunday School in first grade.

I'm not saved because I was a Boy Scout (never made it to Eagle).

I'm not saved because I went to youth group some of the time (and survived).

I'm not saved because I went to Christian camps in the summer.

I'm not saved because I went to a Christian high school.

I'm not saved because I didn't get kicked out of my Christian high school.

I'm not saved because I attended a Christian college.

I'm not saved because I married a Christian woman who was an MK (missionary kid).

I'm not saved because we have more than two kids.

I'm not saved because we were Southern Baptists.

I'm not saved because I attended seminary.

I'm not saved because I'm ordained (or if I wasn't).

I'm not saved because we went to South Asia as missionaries.

I'm not saved because God healed our son from Lymphoma.

I'm not saved because I was a pastor.

I'm not saved because I resigned from being a pastor.

I'm not saved because I'm now part of a simple church.

I'm not saved because we reside in the "Bible Belt."

I'm not saved because I now work a regular job.

I'm not saved because of this blog.

I'm not saved because of any good works I've done.

I'm not saved because of anything I've done.

I'm not saved because of me.


I am saved because of the grace of God alone through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross alone. 


Praise the Lord!


My guess is that you have a list something like this. What's yours look like?

Cling to the Cross! A Message for Muslims

Thanks to James White for this video. Although this is directed to Muslims in particular, it really is a message for all people. It is the good news of Jesus Christ.

Great, Good, and Bad

Great:

Good:

Bad:

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ..." Philippians 3:20

On this Memorial Day, let us (those who are American citizens) be thankful for our political freedoms.

Let us (those who are citizens of heaven) be even more thankful for our spiritual freedom that we have in Christ Jesus.

Let us also, PLEASE, not mix the two. The cross is great. The American flag is good (in the sense that we should obey our governing authorities and enjoy our religious liberty). However, mixing of the two is simply bad. Nowhere in scripture do we see a mix of church and state. When this happens, it is always the church that suffers.

Don't minimize or trivialize Jesus' work on the cross by wrapping it in an American flag.

What Did Jesus Do on Friday?

Colossians 2:13-14, "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

"Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology"

I've mentioned before that my favorite doctrine is the atonement. I suppose that is a little silly since all the doctrines fit together in one master story. Regardless, I love to think and read about Christ's perfect work on the cross.

A few years ago the T4G guys published a book called Preaching the Cross. That book promoted the idea that the cross of Christ should be at the center of our preaching. I couldn't agree more.

I just recently stumbled upon a sequel to Preaching the Cross which is entitled Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology. Like the first book, this text focuses on the cross. The difference between the books is that this one focuses more on the importance of preaching and teaching a theology of the cross.

This book was a good read. If you love the atonement, you will enjoy it. In my opinion, the chapter written by R.C. Sproul, entitled "The Curse Motif of the Atonement," is the high point.

The cross is the center point of Christian theology. This book gets it right.

What Matters

Twin Symbols of Christianity

I love the cross of Christ. I also love the empty tomb. I love the gospel message these symbols remind us of. In particular, I love our Lord Jesus Christ who perished on the cross but rose from the tomb.

Let us always cherish them and teach them together. The cross by itself offers no hope. The empty tomb by itself offers no hope. However, the cross and the tomb together remind us that Jesus paid for sin and rose victoriously over death.

Keep these symbols together.

I Am Convinced...

Pierced for Our Transgressions

(Click on the diagram for a larger view.)


Isaiah 53:4-6 (NASB):

4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
and our sorrows He carried;
yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
and by His scourging we are healed.

6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
to fall on Him.