This morning I read The Gadarene to my kids. The Gadarene is a graphic novel written by John Piper and illustrated by Drew Blom . It’s an excellent first launch into an uncharted genre for DG books.

As I read through the book, I thought to myself: “This is believable and a good example of making great culture.” The design is excellent.

Piper’s theologically fictionalized account of a demon-possessed man brings into focus Jesus real concerns in his healing ministry—social restoration and divine reconciliation.

I’ll be referring to this novel this Sunday as I preach from Luke 8 and 9!

John Piper was recently presented with a festschrift called For the Fame of God’s Name, in which pastors and scholars contribute 27 chapters, totaling 508 pages, in honor of Piper’s God-centered life and ministry. New Testament scholar D.A. Carson made a considerable contribution in his chapter “What is the Gospel?–Revisited” (free by clicking on Sample Pages). This chapter will prove essential in clarifying positions and understandings of the meaning and scope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Though at times technical, this work is worth the read. After all, it doesn’t get more foundational or monumental than the Gospel!

Below I set up some important quotations from Carson’s chapter that help us clarify just what the Gospel is.

The Kingdom Gospel vs. The Salvation Gospel

Some have identified a “Gospel of the Kingdom” in contrast to a “Gospel of Salvation.” Carson explains why a distinction between the “individual” and “communal”, the saving and the kingdom gospel is artificial. His main point is that the Gospel of the Kingdom is something that is heralded by Jesus on his way to complete the Gospel Story. In other words, the Gospel of the Kingdom announced by Jesus in the Gospels can only be announced because of where Jesus is headed in the Gospels, namely to the cross and to the resurrection. To interpret it otherwise is backwards hermeneutics. He writes:

That is why it is so hermeneutically backward to try to understand the teaching of Jesus in a manner cut off from what he accomplished; it is hermeneutically backward to divorce the sayings of Jesus in the Gospels from the plotline of the Gospels. p. 160

Are the Narrow & Broad Two Gospels?

Carson then enters into a discussion of the narrower and broader foci of the Gospel. He points out that the narrower focuses on Jesus’ story (cross/resurrection) and the latter focuses on what Jesus’ story has secured (kingdom/new creation). Some have protested that there is too much focus on the former and that we need to focus more on the “gospel of the kingdom.” Carson points out that this reasoning assumes there are two gospels, to which he replies:

But this means that if one preaches the gospel in the broader sense without also emphasizing the gospel in the more focused sense of what God has done to bring about such sweeping transformation, one actually sacrifices the gospel. (emphasis added) p. 162

The Gospel is not Just for Non-Christians but for Christians

Preaching the gospel, it is argued, is announcing how to be saved from God’s condemnation; believing the gospel guarantees you won’t go to hell. But for actual transformation to take place, you need to take a lot of discipleship courses, spiritual enrich- ment courses, “Go deep” spiritual disciplines courses, and the like. You need to learn journaling, or asceticism, or the simple lifestyle, or Scripture memorization; you need to join a small group, an accountability group, or a women’s Bible study. Not for a moment would I speak against the potential for good of all of these steps; rather, I am speaking against the tendency to treat these as postgospel disciplines, disciplines divorced from what God has done in Christ Jesus in the gospel of the crucified and resurrected Lord. (emphasis added) p.165

With Calvin in the Theater of God Desiring God Conference starts tonight. You can participate through blog, video, and twitter here.

Here are some new and old great marriage resources:

BOOKS

What Did You Expect? Paul Tripp – A to Z gospel guidance on the whole gamut of marriage

This Momentary Marriage John Piper – setting your marriage in the larger context of the glory of God and the mission of the church

Love that Lasts Riccucis – marital wisdom for a lifetime. The Riccucis are transparent and helpful.

Sacred Marriage Gary Thomas – marriage as transformation

The Mystery of Marriage Mike Mason – an inspiring, philosophical reflections on marriage that show us it is more than we have imagined!

ARTICLES

“First Year Off” (of marriage)

“How Do Husbands Love Wives?”

“Marriage: Cynicism and Idolatry”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CWth5M8twY&feature=player_embedded]

On Sunday we examined the gospel doctrine of Justification. I mentioned that there are several perspectives on this doctrine that are worth considering when trying to answer the question: “How do unright people get right with a righteous God?” Here are a few resources for those interested in reading and studying more on this topic:

• Justification: A Reader (Oden) – helpful historical survey of positions on the doctrine.
• Christ, our Righteousness (Seifrid) � a more resurrection-focused interpretation of justification which significantly influenced Sunday’s message
• Counted as Righteous (Piper) – typical Reformed “imputed righteousness” view.

This Friday we remember the brutal, unjust suffering and death of our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Try not to treat it like any other day. Take some time to meditate on the cross. Consider God’s great cost in reconciling us to himself through the death of his Son. Consider the greatness of your sin that would require the death of God, but don’t stay there. Also consider and how much greater is God’s forgiveness, the triumph of his love…and anticipate his resurrection for your life.

As you meditate on the cross, consider reading some of the brief chapters in John Piper’s booklet 50 reasons Jesus Came to Die. You can download the whole book for free here. Here is a reprint of

For the Forgiveness of Our Sins:

When we forgive a debt or an offense or an injury, we don�t
require a payment for settlement. That would be the opposite
of forgiveness. If repayment is made to us for what we lost,
there is no need for forgiveness. We have our due.
Forgiveness assumes grace. If I am injured by you, grace lets
it go. I don�t sue you. I forgive you. Grace gives what someone
doesn�t deserve. That�s why forgiveness has the word give in it.
Forgiveness is not �getting� even. It is giving away the right to
get even.

That is what God does to us when we trust Christ: �Everyone
who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name�
(Acts 10:43). If we believe in Christ, God no longer holds our sins
against us. This is God�s own testimony in the Bible: �I, I am he
who wipes out your transgressions for my own sake� (Isaiah
43:25). �As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove
our transgressions from us� (Psalm 103:12).
Christ Suffered and Died . . .

But this raises a problem. We all know that forgiveness is not
enough. We may only see it clearly when the injury is great�like
murder or rape. Neither society nor the universe can hold together
if judges (or God) simply say to every murderer and rapist, �Are
you sorry? Okay. The state forgives you. You may go.� In cases
like these we see that while a victim may have a forgiving spirit,
the state cannot forsake justice.

So it is with God�s justice. All sin is serious, because it is against
God (see chapter 1). He is the one whose glory is injured when we
ignore or disobey or blaspheme him. His justice will no more
allow him simply to set us free than a human judge can cancel all
the debts that criminals owe to society. The injury done to God�s
glory by our sin must be repaired so that in justice his glory shines
more brightly. And if we criminals are to go free and be forgiven,
there must be some dramatic demonstration that the honor of God
is upheld even though former blasphemers are being set free.
That is why Christ suffered and died. �In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses�
(Ephesians 1:7). Forgiveness costs us nothing. All our costly obedience
is the fruit, not the root, of being forgiven. That�s why we
call it grace. But it cost Jesus his life. That is why we call it just.
Oh, how precious is the news that God does not hold our sins
against us! And how beautiful is Christ, whose blood made it right
for God to do this.

It’s an interesting providence that I had planned a message on money and the gospel for this Sunday. With the sharpest NYSE drop in history occuring today, and unemployment numbers coming out on Friday, people are going to have more questions about how to theologically and practically navigate these troubled financial times. Should we continue to give to the Lord? How much? How should I respond to lay offs and unemployment? I hope to address these questions this Sunday.

Until then, an excellent resource on developing biblical discernment on matters of faith and money is Randy Alcorn’s web page devoted to what he calls The Treasure Principle. He provides a general theology of wealth, spending, and giving. Check out the following:

• Money, Possessions and Eternity
• An excerpt of his brief book on giving The Treasure Principle
• Free MP3s and handouts from his Theology of Money course

While you are at it, you may want to consider John Piper’s reflections on Some of God’s Purposes in the recession:

1. He intends for this recession to expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing.
2. He intends to wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world where there is always and only recession of the worst kind.
3. He intends to relocate the roots of our joy in his grace rather than in our goods, in his mercy rather than our money, in his worth rather than our wealth.
4. He intends to advance his saving mission in the world�the spread of the gospel and the growth of his church�precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it. This is how he guards his glory.
5. He intends for the church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love.

I’ve found myself recommending a number of good books to people recently. The fact is that we can glean a lot of wisdom and encouragement from authors who have walked in our shoes and done so very thoughtfully. On these topics, the shoe fits!

Step by Step: Decision Making and the Will of God

Becoming A Dad: An Emotional, Spiritual, Practical Guide (on sale for $5.53!)

Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God (free online)

1. Make a serious beginning on a longer book on divine providence, perhaps called something like Sightings of the Sovereignty of God. The idea here is to encompass all of Scripture and show from it the hundreds of ways God reveals his absolute sovereignty over all things. This would probably take more than one writing leave.
2. Write a shorter book called perhaps Reasoning with Jesus: Thinking for the Glory of Christ.I have most of the raw material for this already on paper in several messages. The idea would be to provide a plea, perhaps especially to younger people, to devote their best mental efforts to understanding and living out the Christian faith.But it would be for everybody and would be different from lots of books about the intellectual life in that it would be largely expositions of Scripture. What does it mean to love God with our minds? How important is education (which is not the same as �school�)? What are people doing with their minds today that makes Jesus angry?
3. Preparing the Ruth cycle of Advent poems for publication without Christmas endings so that in the next year we can put together a suite of materials on Ruth including the book I just finished (Ruth: A Sweet and Bitter Providence) and a set of video messages on the book to be recorded next December.
4. I dream of writing a children�s book. It may be as small as one of the old Arch Books, retelling biblical stories in poetry form. Or it may be a little longer and more substantial in parabolic form.
5. There is churning in me a book on issues of race and ethnicity in the church and in America. If I live, it will be done. It�s a matter of timing. I never feel qualified to write it. But, as with marriage, I may just have to do it anyway and let the chips fall where they may.
6. I might be stirred to do one more book on justification.What needs to be done to complete the picture I have drawn in the first two books (Counted Righteous in Christ and The Future of Justification) is a biblical exposition of how �works� function in relationship to justification. This would involve a treatment of the nature of the faith that justifies, and how it relates to works.
7. Make a serious beginning toward publishing the Romans sermons in four volumes, possibly editing one volume per year for four years.

Read the whole thing here.