Our family’s Memorial Day activities unfolded at four different locations: (1) Lackawanna State Forest; (2) Lackawanna State Park (State Forest and State Park are 40 minutes apart); (3) Manning’s Farm (where we enjoyed ice cream); and (4) our home at the end of the long day. We primarily did two things. First, we talked about the significance of Memorial Day (on our way to Lackawanna State Forest). Second, we had as much family-fun together as we could. Below you will find a few pictures and a video clip from our day together.

The video shows what happens when our 2-year old is confronted with water from a hose:

This pic of our daughter was taken at Lackawanna State Forest:

This one of Melissa and our two boys was taken at Lackawanna State Park:

This last pic was taken at our home at the end of the long day:

My daughter and I took our annual mountain (little “m”) hike this past weekend (Mt. Rainier would be a big “M” mountain). Our custom is to pick a different mountain to climb each year. This year we chose a mountain that we thought would give us a good overlooking view of the Lackawanna River Valley. Below is a video clip of what we saw from the summit. You will see Scranton, PA as the clip pans to the right.

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Tim Keller writes:

“When the early Christians chose the Greek term ‘ev-angelion’ they immediately distinguished the Christian message from that of all other religions. An ‘angel’ was a herald or messenger that brought news of some historical event that had already happened, and that had changed our condition. The most common examples in Greek literature are ‘evangels’ about a victory in war or the ascension of a new king.

When Christians chose evangelion to express the essence of their faith, they passed over words that Hellenistic religions used, such as ‘illumination’ (photismos) and ‘knowledge’ (gnosis) or that Judaism used such as ‘instruction’ or ‘teaching’ (didache) or ‘wisdom’ (Sophia). Of course, all of these words were used to describe Christianity, but none achieved the centrality of ‘gospel’. What does that mean? First, it means that the gospel is news about what God has already done for you, rather than instruction and advice about what you are to do for God. The primacy of his work, not our work, is part of the essence of faith. In other religions, God reveals to us how we can find or achieve salvation. In Christianity, God achieves salvation for us. The gospel brings news primarily, rather than instruction.

Second, it means that the gospel is all about historic events, and thus it has a public character. ‘It identifies Christian faith as news that has significance for all people, indeed for the whole world, not merely as esoteric understanding or insight.’ In other religions, the stories of miracles and other special events in the lives of the founder are not essential. Whether or not Buddha did Miracle X does not affect whether the 8-Fold path to enlightenment works or not. But if Jesus is not risen from the dead, Christianity does not ‘work’. The gospel is that Jesus died and rose for us. If the historic events of his life did not happen, then Christianity does not ‘work’ for the good news is that God has entered the human ‘now’ (history) with the life of the world to come.

This public, historical aspect of the gospel is especially seen when the term ‘the gospel of Christ’ or “of Jesus Christ’ is used. Often the word ‘gospel’ and the life and work of Christ are essentially synonyms. Particularly significant is how Luke links ‘gospel’ to ‘Jesus’. In Acts 5:42, it reads, literally, ‘they never stopped…evangelizing Christ Jesus’. Obviously, Jesus is not the object of their evangelism (they are not trying to convert him!). But the word ‘evangelizdomenoi’ means, all by itself, ‘to preach the gospel’ or literally ‘to gospelize’. So in the places in Acts where it says, literally, ‘they evangelized Jesus’, the English translations have to render it ‘they told the gospel about Jesus Christ’ or ‘they told the good news that Jesus was the Christ’ (cf. NIV Acts 5:42). But the Greek construction clearly has a stronger meaning than that. Its intentional redundancy aims to say that that the good news they preached was Jesus. His very life, and all his works, is what saves us. To declare Jesus and to declare the gospel is the same thing. Jesus does not bring the gospel—he is the gospel, because the gospel is that God has broken into history and accomplished everything necessary for our salvation.

Summary: The gospel is news that Jesus Christ’s life and death and resurrection in history has achieved our salvation. Unlike the founders of other religions, who could be said to bring good news, Jesus is the good news” (Preaching the Gospel in a Post-Modern World, 56-57).

I am spending a considerable amount of time this summer preparing to teach a class this fall on the book of Hebrews. I found myself reading a little of Leo Tolstoy in connection with my meditation upon Hebrews 2:14-18. If you want to set yourself up to see some of the gospel-beauty of Hebrews 2:14-18, first read the following lengthy quotation from Tolstoy and then read Hebrews 2…

“All this was happening to me at a time when I was surrounded on all sides by what is considered complete happiness: I was not yet fifty, I had a kind, loving and beloved wife, lovely children, and a large estate that was growing and expanding with no effort on my part. I was respected by relatives and friends far more than ever before. I was praised by strangers and could consider myself a celebrity without deceiving myself. Moreover I was not unhealthy in mind or body, but on the contrary enjoyed a strength of mind and body such as I had rarely witnessed in my contemporaries. Physically I could keep up with peasants tilling the fields; mentally I could work for eight or ten hours at a stretch without suffering any ill effects from the effort. And in these circumstances I found myself at the point where I could no longer go on living and, since I feared death, I had to deceive myself in order to refrain from suicide.

“This spiritual condition presented itself to me in the following manner: my life is some kind of stupid and evil joke that someone is playing on me. Despite the fact that I did not acknowledge any such ‘someone’, who might have created me, this concept of there being someone playing a stupid and evil joke on me by bringing me into the world came to me as the most natural way of expressing my condition.

“I could not help feeling that out there somewhere somebody was amusing himself by looking at me and the way I had lived for thirty or forty years, studying, developing, maturing in mind and body. And how no, with a fully matured intellect, having reached the precipice from which life reveals itself, I stood there like an utter fool, believing so firmly that there is nothing in life, that there never has been, nor ever will be. ‘And he laughs…’

“But whether or not this someone laughing at me really existed did not make it any easier for me. I could not attribute any rational meaning to a single act, let alone to my whole life. I simply felt astonished that I had failed to realize this from the beginning. It has all been common knowledge for such a long time. Today or tomorrow sickness and death will come (and they had already arrived) to those dear to me, and to myself, and nothing will remain other than the stench and the worms. Sooner or later my deeds, whatever they may have been, will be forgotten and will no longer exist. What is all the fuss about then? How can a person carry on living and fail to perceive this? That is what is so astonishing! It is only possible to go on living while you are intoxicated with life; once sober it is impossible not to see that it is all a mere trick, and a stupid trick! That is exactly what it is: there is nothing either witty or amusing, it is only cruel and stupid.

“The delusion of the joys of life that had formerly stifled my fear of the dragon no longer deceive me. No matter how many times I am told: you cannot understand the meaning of life, do not think about it but live, I cannot do so because I have already done it for too long. Now I cannot help seeing day and night chasing me and leading to my death. This is all I can see because it is the only truth. All the rest is a lie” (Leo Tolstoy, A Confession and Other Religious Writings, 30-32).

As I mentioned in part one, the writer of Hebrews is not so much thinking of believers approaching God privately in Hebrews 10:19-25 as he is about believers approaching God corporately. Evidently, there were some believers who were neglecting to meet together (Hebrews 10:25). So, he exhorts them to make it their habit to gather together given that they all have confidence or boldness to enter the sanctuary—the place where God is encountered (Hebrews 10:19). That in itself is a remarkable statement. The writer states that every believer has objective confidence or authorization to enter the sanctuary.

A question came to mind as I was studying these verses: What was hindering these believers from gathering? Why were some neglecting to meet together? I think Hebrews indicates what was hindering these believers from gathering with the Christian assembly, namely, reproach from outsiders. A few verses after this paragraph he asks that these believers recall former days when they were “publicly exposed to reproach” (Hebrews 10:32-33). In Hebrews 11:26, he tells them that Moses “considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. In Hebrews 13:13, he exhorts them “go to [Jesus] outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.”

The question above was followed by another question: What hinders Western Christians from gathering with the saints? Why are some Western Christians neglecting to meet together? I don’t think, at least in my cultural context, that believers are hindered because of reproach from outsiders. So, I thought, if it is not external reproach that hinders, what does? Three quick answer came to mind (I’m sure I could think of several more if I took the time). First, I’m convinced that laziness hinders many. It takes hard work to gather in the way that Hebrews is calling on believers to gather. We are to make it our habit to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). Hebrews does not allow for spectator Christianity. Christianity, as Hebrews understands it, demands participation, and participation demands hard work. Second, I believe that some neglect to meet together because they dislike some of their fellow-gathers. Some people don’t regularly gather with the Christian assembly because there are certain people at the gathering that they just do not like. They might think something like, “I’m just tired of having to deal with this person week after week. His personality really rubs me the wrong way!” Third, others don’t gather out of fear. They are afraid that others will learn what’s really in their hearts or what they are actually like at home. “If they find out what I’m really struggling with, they’ll think this or that about me and my family.”

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I’m preaching from Hebrews 10:19-25 tomorrow on the necessity and privilege of the gathering of the church. My default mode is to read “enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus” and “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” from an individualistic perspective. I can read those words and think primarily about the great privilege I have to approach the Majesty on High (Hebrews 1:3) privately. But the writer of Hebrews is not so much thinking of believers approaching God privately as he is about believers approaching God corporately, that is, together. Just consider the repetition of “let us” in these verses (vv. 22, 23, & 24). The writer’s point is that believers are to enter the holy places together . He’s thinking primarily about believers drawing near corporately. Approaching the Majesty on High as a corporate body is the incomparable opportunity and privilege of the blood bought church.

What I find striking about these verses that call for believers to approach together is that the writer says that we together have confidence to do this. He writes, “We have confidence to enter the holy places” (Hebrews 10:19). He doesn’t say that some believers do and some don’t have confidence to enter based upon how they may or may not have lived the previous week. No, he just declares that believers have confidence period.

I find this striking for two reasons. First, if I’m not vigilant, I tend to base my confidence in drawing near to God on how I have “measured up” the previous several days. If I think I’ve lived up to a particular list of standards, I have confidence. If I consider myself to have failed in living as I believe I ought, I don’t have confidence. But the writer doesn’t appear to be thinking in these categories at all. He just says, “Brothers, we have confidence.” Second, if you read the accounts of Israel approaching God through the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, the word confidence is not what immediately comes to mind. Rather, “fear and trembling” comes to mind (cf. Hebrews 12:18-24; Numbers 4:20; 17:13).

So what accounts for this confidence? How is it that people who sin in word and deed can be said to have objective confidence to enter the holy places, a confidence that doesn’t dissipate in the wake of personal sin and in the contemplation of the God who is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29)? The writer answers this question for us? “We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh (Hebrews 10:19-20). Our confidence to enter is not based upon what we have or have not done but upon what Christ has done through the shedding of his own blood. It’s based upon the work of Christ. It is Christ who “entered once for all time into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12).

The implications here are many. Let me highlight just one. The work of Christ frees us to gather together not as those who have our lives together but as those who don’t. The fact that our confidence is based upon the work of someone else, namely, Christ, means that we all gather with the freedom to acknowledge our sin and not hide it from other believers. I have gathered with the saints with a plastic, “I’m-doing-well-spiritually-this-week” smile upon my face too many times. This smile is a sad attempt to feign confidence, to fake it, and it’s evidence that I’ve forgotten the gospel. Only when I gather with the saints knowing that I have objective confidence to enter by the blood of Jesus will I be free to acknowledge my sin of the previous week before others. Only when I approach in the truth of the gospel will I not have to conceal my sin from myself or from the fellowship of believers. The gospel frees us to gather as we really are, namely, as people who are in need of drawing near to God by the blood of Jesus. Ultimately, the only alternative is to gather with the saints in loneliness though we are surrounded by people who are just like we are. Dietrich Bonhoeffer understood this very well.

“He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their…service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break through to fellowship does not occur, because though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among them. So we remain alone with our sin, living lies and hypocrisy. The fact is we are sinners. But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great desperate sinner; now come as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you…He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. God has come to save the sinner.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Bonhoeffer describes what happens to us when our confidence is based not upon the work of Christ but upon our own attempts to measure up. So, the writer of Hebrews says, “since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:19-21). The confidence that Hebrews 10:19 says we have comes to us through the work of the Messiah. It is ours by the blood of Jesus. When the work of Christ is our confidence, it changes our mindset when we draw near to God and in how we relate to our fellow-gathers.

Our children could do this for endless hours if we let them. If I didn’t weigh 215 lbs., I’d join them in a second. Nevertheless, it is proof that “suitable-for-extended-outdoor-play-temperatures” have come to our little town.

That’s Mt. Rainier in the distance. I can’t imagine what it would look like on a clearer day.

I took this one on our way to Whistler, British Columbia. Hwy 99 North in Canada was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever taken. The scenery was dripping with the glory of God.

This is a picture of large moss covered rocks on the path toward Brandywine Falls off Hwy 99 between Vancouver and Whistler.

That’s the 211 feet of Brandywine Falls.

The next several photos were taken in Olympic National Park. The first was taken from Hurricane Ridge. Wow! “Your righteousness, O God, is like the great mountains” (Psalm 36).

That’s Marymere Falls in Olympic National Park.

Walking through this Olympic National Park forest gave me the opportunity to imagine I was in Fangorn Forest of Middle-Earth.

My tree-hugging self.

This was taken from a BC Ferry on our way back to Port Angeles, Washington from Victoria, British Columbia.

That is Vancouver out in the distance. We spent about 4 hours there. It is a wonderfully beautiful city in great need of many more gospel-preaching churches.

Last but not least…Scott Anderson of Desiring God (right) and Josh Etter (former intern at DG) overlooking Vancouver. Josh graciously gave us our brief tour of the city.

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I have found that the term “gospel-centered” often confuses and sometimes even offends people. Questions about the term and its implications abound.

“What does it mean to be gospel-centered? Aren’t all Christians gospel-centered?”
“Isn’t it arrogant to refer to one’s self or one’s church as gospel-centered? Doesn’t that imply that other believers and churches are not gospel-centered?”
“Why don’t you just say Christ-centered? Don’t they mean the same thing?”
“What distinguishes a gospel-centered person from a non-gospel-centered one?”
“What’s the big deal about all this gospel-centered talk anyway?”

I have heard questions like these fairly frequently. They are not hard to come by. Answers, on the other hand, can be very difficult to come by. So, what are we left with—a lot of questions about gospel-centeredness without any substantial answers? I hope not. Below you will find some lectures by Mark Lauterbach of Gospel Driven Life where he attempts to answer the “so what?” question of gospel centrality. The three-part series (plus a Q & A session) is entitled “Gospel Centrality…So What?” If you want to download each session, right-click on “download” and click “save as”.

Session 1 - listen / download
Session 2 - listen / download
Session 3 - listen / download
Q & A - listen / download

I’m back but only barely. I left my Seattle hotel at 5:45am and pulled into my driveway at 11:45pm. It was a long and interesting day. Here are a few picture highlights from the trip - few words, several pictures.

The Reform & Resurge Conference was at Mars Hill Church of Seattle pictured above.

Mark Driscoll introducing Tim Keller. Tim spoke three times. There was a 10 minute section during his first sermon where I found myself uniquely overcome with the beauty of Christ in the gospel. It was wonderfully convicting and encouraging at the same time. Powerful!

Keller again.

Keller on the big screen.

Josh Harris preached on Humble Orthodoxy. It was a strong reminder.

I’m taking a break from blogging this week. I should be back next week sometime when I’m attending Mark Driscoll’s Reform & Resurge conference in Seattle.