Wonder what Jesus looks like? We don’t know. One day we shall see Him as He is, and become like Him (1 John 3:2). (Doubt He looks like the blue-eyed, blond-haired version sold here in the States as “Jesus junk,” that is, as trinkets.) Yet, we do have some clues as to what He is like. His character shines through brighter than His physical appearance. He’s full of compassion (Matthew 9:36: σπλαγχνίζομαι = moved with compassion), which is much deeper than mere emotion. More broadly, He’s full of grace and truth. He is the living embodiment of Grace, and...

The Gospel is enough, because Jesus is enough. His infinite love and beauty, His sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection are all-sufficient for the Christian life. God came near and rescued us. This one event changes everything, and without it nothing matters. Timmy Brister, a pastor at Grace Baptist Church pointed this out in a recent post . He notes that C.J. Mahaney, in the concluding chapter of his book, Living the Cross-Centered Life , talks about the centrality of the gospel and how you never move beyond your need for the gospel.  When asked, “But don’t I need more than the cross?”...

Gospel-centered. Gospel-driven. That is what I hope to always be, from now through eternity. The Gospel is all about Jesus. We must see all things through His worth, work, words and ways, and be driven by His Gospel. (These are not terms I’ve invented. Nor did Tim Keller, but he has been so instrumental in our day on reminding us that every problem in our lives is really a Gospel problem.) In this audio message from the 2007 Gospel Coalition, Pastor Tim Keller speaks on "Gospel-centered ministry" from 1st Peter 1-2. Listen up, it’s well worth your time. [download mp3] In...

“As God, Christ is the destination to which we move; as man, the path by which we go.” - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion , 3.2.1 (via OFI ) SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Journey: our destination + path", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2008/12/09/journey-our-destination-path/" });

A couple conversations yesterday got me thinking how Christians ought to be the happiest people on the planet. The first was an afternoon idea-ing and planning session talking about our church’s Advent series coming up the few weeks before Christmas. One theme will be JOY … and how much Joy there was when Christ came the first time, how much there shall be one day when He returns in the fullness of His glory, and the unending pleasure to be found as subjects and sons and daughters in His Kingdom. Being forgiven and right with God on the basis of nothing we have done in and of ourselves...

"Before you can ever make a clean and unamended confession of your sin, you have to first begin by confessing your righteousness. It’s not just your sin that separates you from God; your righteousness does as well. Because, when you are convinced you are righteous, you don’t seek the forgiving, rescuing, and restoring mercy that can be found only in Jesus Christ." (p. 22) “Grace is for the willing and we only become willing when we confess not only the gravity of our sin, but our inability to deliver ourselves from it. Then our willingness opens to us all the sustenance...

“All that may be known of God for our salvation, especially his wisdom, love, goodness, grace and mercy on which the life of a soul depends, are represented to us in all their splendour in and through Christ. No wonder then that Christ is glorious in the eyes of believers!” - John Owen, The Glory of Christ (Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth Trust, 1994), 20. [HT: Of First Importance ] SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Christ is glorious", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2008/07/23/christ-is-glorious/" });

“God did not create us to get the cosmic, infinite joy of mutual love and glorification, but to share it. We were to join in the dance. If we center our lives on him, serving him not out of self-interest, but for the sake of who he is, for the sake of his beauty and glory, we will enter the dance and share in the joy and love he lives in. We were designed, then, not just for belief in God in some general way, nor for a vague kind of inspiration or spirituality. We were made to center our lives upon him, to make the purpose and passion of our lives knowing, serving, delighting, and resembling...

Today at Cornerstone School of Ministry we are studying perhaps the most important paragraph in all the Bible. It’s truths are so compellingly beautiful I can hardly contain myself; teaching God’s Word ignites my soul. Romans 3:21-26 is the paragraph in view, and verse 20 sets the stage. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Romans 3:20-26", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2008/04/17/romans-320-26/" });

“It is radically humbling to confess that the source of all our joy resides outside ourselves.” —John Piper, Future Grace, p. 88. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Source of all joy", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2008/03/19/source-of-all-joy/" });