Is the Gospel Working in Me?

I'm going to begin today's blog with an incredible quote from Tim Keller. A few months ago I read his incredible book "Prodigal God" and was blown away. I'm continually grateful that God allows me to find those whose ministries are saturated with the grace of God. May you be blessed.

"Perhaps the greatest dilemma of the pastor – or any Christian leader – is the danger of hypocrisy. By this I mean that, unlike other professionals, we as ministers are expected to proclaim God’s goodness and to provide encouragement at all times. We are always pointing people toward God in one way or another, in order to show them his worth and beauty. That’s the essence of our ministry. But seldom will our hearts be in a condition to say such a thing with complete integrity, since our own hearts are often in need of encouragement, gospel centeredness, and genuine gladness. Thus, we have two choices: either we have to guard our hearts continually in order to practice what we are preaching, or we live bifurcated lives of outward ministry and inward gloominess.

In this way, the ministry will make you a far better or a far worse Christian than you would have been otherwise. But it will not leave you where you were! And it will put enormous pressure on your integrity and character. The key problem will be preaching the gospel while not believing the gospel. As ministers, we must be willing to admit that ministerial success often becomes the real basis for our joy and significance, much more so than the love and acceptance we have in Jesus Christ. Ministry success often becomes what we look to in order to measure our worth to others and our confidence before God. In other words, we look to ministry success to be for us what only Christ can be. All ministers who know themselves will be fighting this all their lives. It is the reason for jealousy, for comparing ourselves to other ministers, for needing to control people and programs in the church, and for feeling defensive toward criticism. At one level we believe the gospel that we are saved by grace not works, but at a deeper level we don’t believe it much at all. We are still trying to create our own righteousness through spiritual performance, albeit one that is sanctioned by our call to ministry."

I believe that this article points to one of the greatest tragedies in the modern church: Pastors unable to find rest and security in their own relationship with Christ due to the standards of performance that is placed upon them or that they place upon themselves. The fact of the matter is that those who are seeking to touch the lives of others with God's message of reconciliation, redemption, and unconditional love, should be touched as well.

This message is not only true for the pastors but also for the church members. We must discover our identity in Christ. We cannot allow the message of the Gospel to become so commonplace that it no longer affects our lives. We cannot become so complacent in our Christian lives that we are no longer moved by its message. Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation." In other words: The Gospel is the power of God unto wholeness, healing, prosperity, preservation, and deliverance. This message isn't just a one time deal. This message must continually flow throughout our lives and into every relationship.

The Good News in your life should always be that in Christ...
There is more than enough Forgiveness
There is more than enough Grace
There is more than enough Love
There is more than enough Reconciliation

May this Good News be renewed in your heart today!!!