Heard Jim Cymbala at Crossing London yesterday.
I was very attracted to his humility and simplicity. In the morning he spoke powerfully from 1 Thessalonians on Church, the hope of the world. And how to grow it? 1. Preach the gospel. 2. Depend on the Spirit. 3. Love your people.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vo969NIcps]
No offense...but I thought it was dreadful.
Law. How we ought feel. How you ought feel. What we need to do.
I felt very low while hearing it. Inadequate.
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Now, maybe in realtime he offered up the gospel to all of us who just aren't up to the task.
I've heard lots of messages like that one. No thanks. Give me a law/gospel message, anytime.
If you leave the sanctuary feeling that there is now something that you should, ought, or must be doing...better...or for the 1st time....then you have just been fed a dose of the law. And the law kills, as St. Paul tells us.
theoldadam - there's no place for law then?
A pastor can surely address other pastors and say "Love your people", wouldn't you say? His first point was "Preach the gospel" - which, strictly speaking, again would be law. But saying "Preach the gospel" is a good thing to tell pastors to do isn't it? Isn't it the essence of what you're trying to do in this comment?
Crossing London sounds pretty exciting! But the website seems somewhat out of date/incomplete considering it's a 2013 project. Do you know any more about their plans/events and if they're still going full steam ahead?
Glen,
The law is there that we might live together, as best as sinners can, and to expose us, and drive us to Christ.
Christians don't use the law to make Christians better...they use it to kill. And then they announce the gospel, which gives them new life.
Pouring the law on people in church is like pouring gasoline on a fire, if you're using it to try and make them better. Even St. Paul said that when the law came in, sin got worse.
This is a very good class on how a preacher might better use the Law, in preaching and teaching:
http://theoldadam.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/using-gods-law-towards-greater-spirituality.mp3
Methinks.
Hi theoldadam,
What then do you make of Psalm 19 & 119? Now, you could argue that they are referring to Jesus, but Psalm 19v7 says that the Law is in the business of "making wise the simple" and Jesus is not among the simple, neither does he have transgressions to be forgiven (v13). Psalm 119 cannot be about him either because he has no sins to recount (v26).
So how do you deal with these scriptures (and many others) unless you will say "The way of Thy precepts cause me to understand, And I meditate in Thy wonders." (Ps 119v27)
The Law of God can bring life, if it comes with the Spirit of life. The Law is only death to those who are not in Christ. I know that the Law has no power to condemn me, so I am free to be lead by it into righteousness (though I am still a sinner).
St. Paul calls the law (the commandments written on stone), "the ministry of death".
There's no life in the law. It demands and never gives. The gospel, on the other hand, brings about new life.
You can find whatever you want in the Bible. We read the Bible through the lens of God's grace for sinners. To do otherwise will only bring about pride...or despair.
That's one perspective on the Law. But there are other, equally valid perspectives that need to be heard, otherwise you are just coming to every text with a preconceived 'law/gospel' hermeneutic. Can't you see the issue there? Of course the Law, considered apart from Christ and his grace is a ministry of death. But for a heart transformed by the Spirit, the Law can become good news. Otherwise why does Ezekiel talk about the Law being written on our hearts as a New Covenant blessing?
How do you explain these parts of scripture which I am referring to? And if you can't then aren't you essentially denying the authority of scripture by not paying attention to them?