Question: Do we truly hunger for the Word of God? Or are we comfortable with knowing what we have already learned? Is there an innate sense to study and hear and learn truths from God's Word? What do you think would happen if we didn't offer any more programs, no more luxuries to church services, and all we provided was that the Word of God would be taught? What then? Do you think our people would still come?
Secret Church: The idea that we get back to the fundamental task of simply studying and learning the Bible. The question is "what is it about God's Word that creates a hunger to hear more? And not just hear the Word but to long for it, study it, memorize it, and follow it?" (28)
- Understanding the Gospel: Fundamentally, the gospel is the revelation of who God is, who we are, and how we can be reconciled to him.
- Who He Is:
- The Gospel reveals the glory of God (the full picture of God). Does God really love the sinner and just hate the sin? What verses/theologies do we tend to pick-and-choose from?
- "We are not ready to give him what he asks for because our hearts are set against him" (30)
- Who We Really Are:
- We are each born with an evil, God-hating heart (c.f. Gen. 8:21; Luke 11:13; Eph. 4:18; 2 Cor. 4:4).
- We have the truth, yet we constantly rebel against it (sometimes we don't know why)
- The Gospel confronts us with the hopelessness of our sinful condition (31). We love to deceive ourselves by thinking that we are better than we really are. We cannot saves ourselves, we cannot save others, and we cannot program it either. How does this change the Gospel presentation for CBC? How should this affect our evangelism strategy? How does this change the way we preach?
- What (Or Whom) we Really Need:
- "As long as you and I understand salvation as checking off a box to get to God, we will find ourselves in the meaningless sea of world religions that actually condemn the human race by exalting our supposed ability to get to God. On the other hand, when you and I realize that we are morally evil, dead in sin, and deserving of God's wrath with no way out on our own, we being to discover our desperate need for Christ." (34)
- To understand the Cross of Christ, one must understand the cup of God's wrath. It is in reference to God's divine judgment. God's wrath, since the beginning of the world, poured out on the holy Son of God. Why did God "turn"? God turned away because he could not bear to see your sin and my sin on his Son.
So what is the proper response to all of this?
- What does this mean for us personally?
- What does this mean for us sacrificially?
- How do we teach our church members these things?
- How do we teach our visitors?
- How should this change our prayers?
Note:
- Jesus confronts the religious person about his FALSE sense of security in religion.
- The danger of spiritual deception is real.
- Understanding this ought to radically shape the way we live, think, and have our being.
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