Okay, so it’s been a week and a half since I returned from Advance09 and much of it has still been on my mind. I do still want to give some sort of rundown of just about of the talks from the three days; or at least share a highlight or a quote from it that stood out. I missed two of them and there was one that was good, but nothing that stood out as something that I needed to really write down. It was a good listen though.
So, I want to just share one quote from Bryan Chapell’s talk, “Communicating the Gospel through Preaching.”
The imperative is based on the indicative and the order is not reversible. You obey because you are a child of God, not the other way around.”
This idea about the Gospel is so true and has been communicated many different ways. What it points to is one of the beliefs that is central to the message of the Christian faith that has appeared to me to be unique among the world religions – you are not accepted based on your merits as a good person. On the contrary, the life of “holiness” is something that is an outpouring of worship and thankfulness to God. It’s not a response to an angry dictatorial Despot, but a King and Father who has already made us royalty and is constantly making us able to live lives of honor and nobility.
Our obedience flows out of who we already are, not from a need to prove ourselves.
