Comments on: Rediscovering The Gospel http://bretttilford.com/2008/01/rediscovering-the-gospel/ business. technology. theology. let's discuss... Sat, 14 Jan 2012 07:43:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Brittany http://bretttilford.com/2008/01/rediscovering-the-gospel/comment-page-1/#comment-53 Brittany Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:33:32 +0000 http://bretttilford.com/?p=9#comment-53 Oh, Kyle. You silly Calvinist, you. Oh, Kyle. You silly Calvinist, you.

]]> By: steve horvath http://bretttilford.com/2008/01/rediscovering-the-gospel/comment-page-1/#comment-36 steve horvath Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:52:27 +0000 http://bretttilford.com/?p=9#comment-36 To Rex: Welcome Blog virgin. You are amongst friends! Also in Lord of the Rings there is that hideous monster call "Balrog". Balrog, Blog...pretty close. You remember the scene right? "you shall not pass!!!!!" All that aside that for sharing your heart. Brett, Sorry! If I have hijacked the direction of this post you can delete me! :) To Rex: Welcome Blog virgin. You are amongst friends! Also in Lord of the Rings there is that hideous monster call “Balrog”. Balrog, Blog…pretty close. You remember the scene right? “you shall not pass!!!!!” All that aside that for sharing your heart.

Brett, Sorry! If I have hijacked the direction of this post you can delete me! :)

]]> By: rex mccully http://bretttilford.com/2008/01/rediscovering-the-gospel/comment-page-1/#comment-35 rex mccully Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:45:35 +0000 http://bretttilford.com/?p=9#comment-35 Hmmm....my first reply to a blog...ever. The word "blog" is uncomfortable...why do they call it that....sounds like a dirty monster. In addition, you have some pretty high level intellectuals replying on this site...a bit intimidating. Not sure I can keep up with the high brow-ness of it all! That being said, here I go. When we one speaks of "...what Jesus meant by this scripture is...(fill in the blank).", or "...what Paul was implying here is...(fill in the blank)', I want to SO believe the writer/speaker as having THE insight...like he/she just got a fax from heaven....or just got a confirmation in their text inbox... Frankly, I am repulsed by my history of laziness in this area. It is so easy to be 'told' what it all means. Recently, I am finding it ain't that easy. Maybe being 46 has something to do with it. I think that historically I have feared being accused of being 'luke warm', '....lost', '...insecure in the TRUTH', '...cheapening the Gospel', whatever. Not so much now. Actually, I think I am becoming more comfortable in my of my willingness to bend. Listen. See. Expand my incredibly narrow view of God. God is love. (I can't believe I just said that....Is Joan Baez in the house?...I am making myself sick). It seems that he wants us to love....all else is a clanging gong. The focus seems like it should be on doing it...loving....not so much on 'in who's name we are doing it'. Otherwise we are prone to performing in the King court vs. being the King in his village. Not sure any of this is relevant. Remember, it is my first post, EVER. Blog virgin if you will. All this 'love talk' makes me want to smoke pot. Love you Brett...thanks for making me think. Hmmm….my first reply to a blog…ever. The word “blog” is uncomfortable…why do they call it that….sounds like a dirty monster.

In addition, you have some pretty high level intellectuals replying on this site…a bit intimidating. Not sure I can keep up with the high brow-ness of it all!

That being said, here I go. When we one speaks of “…what Jesus meant by this scripture is…(fill in the blank).”, or “…what Paul was implying here is…(fill in the blank)’, I want to SO believe the writer/speaker as having THE insight…like he/she just got a fax from heaven….or just got a confirmation in their text inbox… Frankly, I am repulsed by my history of laziness in this area. It is so easy to be ‘told’ what it all means. Recently, I am finding it ain’t that easy. Maybe being 46 has something to do with it. I think that historically I have feared being accused of being ‘luke warm’, ‘….lost’, ‘…insecure in the TRUTH’, ‘…cheapening the Gospel’, whatever. Not so much now. Actually, I think I am becoming more comfortable in my of my willingness to bend. Listen. See. Expand my incredibly narrow view of God.

God is love. (I can’t believe I just said that….Is Joan Baez in the house?…I am making myself sick). It seems that he wants us to love….all else is a clanging gong. The focus seems like it should be on doing it…loving….not so much on ‘in who’s name we are doing it’. Otherwise we are prone to performing in the King court vs. being the King in his village.

Not sure any of this is relevant. Remember, it is my first post, EVER. Blog virgin if you will. All this ‘love talk’ makes me want to smoke pot.

Love you Brett…thanks for making me think.

]]> By: Kyle http://bretttilford.com/2008/01/rediscovering-the-gospel/comment-page-1/#comment-34 Kyle Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:38:45 +0000 http://bretttilford.com/?p=9#comment-34 The Gospel is so many things, it seems a little weird to pare it down. The Gospel is good news, just as a cure for cancer is good news for those afflicted by the disease. On the cross, Jesus put an end to the sin of His children, reconciled them to the Father, and secured their salvation. Where once we were characterized by sin and death, now we hope in the resurrection and eternal life, all for the praise of His glory. If somebody thinks this is lame, the reason is simple. They left off the last seven words of the previous sentence: "all for the praise of His glory." The Gospel WOULD be lame if all it stated was that God is the means to human salvation. This stops short of God's ultimate purpose in creating the universe in the first place. Nobody says that God's ultimate purpose is to save sinners. Rather, God's ultimate purpose is to display His glory BY saving sinners. Heaven is not the end, but heaven is the means to the end. On the kingdom of God: A kingdom is the place where a king reigns. Profound, eh?!! But this little observation implies that when Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world, He meant his rulership is in the hearts and minds of his people, unbound by any geopolitical border. His rulership is in the heavenlies and the throneroom of God. All the angels and all His children do His bidding, though Greece and Rome and the U.S.A. may not. Yes, the kingdom of God is coming. But this may be a terrible, horrifying thing for alot of people, as most folks prefer their own sin to the rulership of Jesus in their lives. Because of this, the first message Jesus ever preached was in the style of John the Baptist: "The kingdom is at hand. Therefore, REPENT!" In this case, the gospel becomes an ultimatum. Which it totally is. The Gospel is so many things, it seems a little weird to pare it down.

The Gospel is good news, just as a cure for cancer is good news for those afflicted by the disease. On the cross, Jesus put an end to the sin of His children, reconciled them to the Father, and secured their salvation. Where once we were characterized by sin and death, now we hope in the resurrection and eternal life, all for the praise of His glory.

If somebody thinks this is lame, the reason is simple. They left off the last seven words of the previous sentence: “all for the praise of His glory.”

The Gospel WOULD be lame if all it stated was that God is the means to human salvation. This stops short of God’s ultimate purpose in creating the universe in the first place.
Nobody says that God’s ultimate purpose is to save sinners. Rather, God’s ultimate purpose is to display His glory BY saving sinners. Heaven is not the end, but heaven is the means to the end.

On the kingdom of God:

A kingdom is the place where a king reigns. Profound, eh?!!

But this little observation implies that when Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world, He meant his rulership is in the hearts and minds of his people, unbound by any geopolitical border. His rulership is in the heavenlies and the throneroom of God. All the angels and all His children do His bidding, though Greece and Rome and the U.S.A. may not.

Yes, the kingdom of God is coming. But this may be a terrible, horrifying thing for alot of people, as most folks prefer their own sin to the rulership of Jesus in their lives. Because of this, the first message Jesus ever preached was in the style of John the Baptist: “The kingdom is at hand. Therefore, REPENT!” In this case, the gospel becomes an ultimatum. Which it totally is.

]]> By: steve horvath http://bretttilford.com/2008/01/rediscovering-the-gospel/comment-page-1/#comment-32 steve horvath Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:23:24 +0000 http://bretttilford.com/?p=9#comment-32 Great post brutha. I Loved it. Also really enjoyed the Mclaren clip. Your a really great communicator...have you ever thought about being in ministry? :) peace out. SPH Great post brutha. I Loved it. Also really enjoyed the Mclaren clip. Your a really great communicator…have you ever thought about being in ministry? :) peace out. SPH

]]> By: Brett http://bretttilford.com/2008/01/rediscovering-the-gospel/comment-page-1/#comment-31 Brett Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:41:04 +0000 http://bretttilford.com/?p=9#comment-31 I'm so glad this was helpful Charles :) I’m so glad this was helpful Charles :)

]]> By: Charles Williams http://bretttilford.com/2008/01/rediscovering-the-gospel/comment-page-1/#comment-30 Charles Williams Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:10:48 +0000 http://bretttilford.com/?p=9#comment-30 Wow. This is incredible. It's interesting to see how something so fundamental can be overlooked so easily. To think a prayer uttered daily is never seen for what it truly is. I see myself a victim of this tainted perception of the gospel as well. This is the first time I've ever looked at in this light. Amazing. Simply amazing. Wow. This is incredible. It’s interesting to see how something so fundamental can be overlooked so easily. To think a prayer uttered daily is never seen for what it truly is. I see myself a victim of this tainted perception of the gospel as well. This is the first time I’ve ever looked at in this light. Amazing. Simply amazing.

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