Here’s a great article called, “The_Centrality_of_the_Gospel” from Redeemer City to City. Just thought I’d share this powerful reminder that the Gospel of Jesus is a powerful truth that both moralistic and relativistic, or religious and irreligious people need to hear. What freedom we have in Christ!
What if…?
Ordinary people seeking God's transforming presence
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We're asking the big "What if...?" questions about the Synod of Alberta and the Territories in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. It's more than a conversation, we hope to be part of God's action!
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What if...? 
While this is an interesting article, is is distinctly Calvinist theology. From a Lutheran theological lens, I would say that Dr. Keller hardly mentioned the Gospel at all in 8 pages about the Gospel. Rather, he talked around the Gospel, and more about how we live in the world, which Lutherans say is distinct from justification. The Gospel is God’s action in relation to a sinful humanity. Where as living our faith is more appropriately called living out our Baptismal calling, not living the Gospel.
Here is an article from our very own Gordon Jensen about Law and Gospel in the context of preaching the reformation:
http://www.workingpreacher.org/theologypreaching.aspx?article_id=151
One hope of this blog is to help us take a peek through new lenses and perhaps discover new approaches to ministry. Keller’s Presbyterian lens intrigues me because it is resulting in some powerful action. Consider their church planting movement and urban ministry efforts, all tremendously inspiring.
This week I’m at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto and today alone I heard from a Celtic church leader from England, I spoke with a Chinese pastor, had supper with an Evangelical pastor from the United Church in Newfoundland, had lunch with a Armenian Orthodox Pastor, shared coffee with a Mennonite professor from Switzerland, and visited with an executive from Focus on the Family. Quite a mix of people who are passionate about being the hands and feet of Jesus in their own contexts! And I daresay that a few of them might be Calvinists, too. But each of them are showing me, through their own lenses, that the Holy Spirit is at work in remarkable places. So whether we are working to “live out our Baptismal calling,” or “living the Gospel,” my hope is that we as a Lutheran church will live and thrive anew in Christ.
I think you hit it there, “anew in Christ”; we can tend to get so caught up in labels we continue to subdivide ourselves into obscurity. But what if we actually came together as Christians, acknowledging how Christ has called each one of us with our own experience, understanding and talents, but each of us makes up a piece of the whole.
It is not a call for a whole Denom that matters, it is what each local community does to reach out, and those interconnect with the whole to make the body of Christ.
We have discussed, debated, and diversified over how we see justification for nearly 2000 years. It seems to me that if God has reconciled the world through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ it may be time for us to stop discussing the “how” of justification and to begin living lives of the justified. I know “how” my car works, but I don’t think about it each day as I get into it to use as a tool in my life of service to God and neighbour. It is time that we get on with the “doing”.
More and more as I read scripture and as I reflection on Lutheran Theology is seems the message is, “God Loves you, now Go on out there and start sharing the Love.” It is interesting how we have created so many ways to box this message. Box in terms of boxing in and to fight over. On this I go with Jesus, who invited people into a life, after all he said come and follow me. In the presence of Jesus we are Justified, In the invitation we live justified, in the following is where the fun is at. (and if we want to argue over definition as we go, why not, as long as we don’t get distracted.