Matt Chandler @ RightNow

Friday morning and Saturday morning Matt Chandler was the featured speaker at RightNow. I enjoyed him because he speaks with authority. Listening to him reminded me of John Piper. He is also a Reformed Theologian (buying into at least some if not all of the points of Calvinism). What is remarkable about this, though, is that he isn't mean about it. Both of his messages were difficult, but filled with truth. This is an overview of both sermons.

We tend to present two sides of the gospel. One is very traditionally evangelistic. This says that God created man, man sinned thereby separating himself from God, God sent Jesus, accepting Jesus can restore our relationship to God. This is a very straightforward presentation of the gospel, ending with a moment of decision.

The other side is that God created the world, man brought evil into the world, Jesus came to rid the world of evil, we must continue the work of Jesus on earth. It is a very social presentation of the gospel. We must meet people's physical needs in order to restore justice to the world.

When we choose one of these camps or the other, we pervert and hinder the gospel. Traditional evangelism without meeting people's needs leads to rigid religion (an "I'm in, you're out" kind of mindset). The social gospel without the saving power of Jesus is simply doing nice things. We must have both! We must emphasize the saving power of Jesus while meeting physical needs and seeing justice done. It must be both. Faith without works is dead, but works without faith is futile.

Jesus' death is what paid the price for our sin. Jesus' resurrection is what paves the way for us to have a new life. Life begets more life. Jesus' new life at the resurrection told us there was more than just a sacrifice, there was a new way to live. Now we can fulfill our purpose in the world because we have the power of Jesus' resurrection. Paul emphasized the resurrection as what gave us power. We don't have to fear death because it is not the end. We are brought into new life in order to take this life to others, to leave our old lives behind and join with Jesus in his.

May we spend our lives in radical generosity because of the radical way He has been generous to us.