Gospel as Center: chapter 8

On "Christ's redemption" - definitely of central interest!

• What sets Christ-centered preaching apart from Jewish, Muslim, or even "cafeteria-Christian" preaching? It is Christ crucified.
• What is it about Christ crucified? That He loves us purely "because of who He is" (p. 136). It's incomprehensible, yet too good to not be true.
• We can view Christ's life in terms of His humiliation (God becoming man while remaining fully God, obeying the whole Law for our sake, and suffering and dying the basest of deaths of His own planning) and exaltation (descent into hell to proclaim victory, followed by His resurrection, ascension, and present reigning at God's right hand).
• All that needs to be demonstrated forensically is that "Jesus had been dead. He was now alive!" (p. 140)
• All He did, He did in our place - life, obedience (active and passive), death, resurrection, and ascension. Thus our record of sins is erased and replaced with His righteousness. This is, in C. S. Lewis's words, the "Great Exchange."
• The rock that offends so many is that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life. All else is dust.
• If we do not understand this, we do not understand any of the gospel.
• If salvation could come by another way, God is wholly unjust.
• The option of human morality earning heaven contradicts everything in the Scriptures (e.g. John 14:6 and 1 Timothy 2:5-6).
• Why would the old Adam in any of us want to go to heaven? The preoccupation there is praise and glorification of Jesus Christ, which is anathema to all who do not receive Him by faith.
• To make Christ our all, we imitate Him - emptying ourselves, and boast not in ourselves but in what He has done.
• Christ as the center = we worship Him, believe His words, obey His commands, treat God as our Father, further His kingdom, bear our cross, remain in the Church He has instituted, love others, glory in His cross, and rejoice in the promised resurrection!