The Gospel is the good news of abundant life in Jesus Christ if we submit to Him as Lord before Savior in the relationship of covenant through His Church. 1. All People All people need God the Father’s abundant blessings of forgiveness and righteousness, earthly provision and purpose, eternal salvation and life. (Romans 3:10-12, 23; […]
Sound Gospel: Abundant Life in Jesus Who Saves
Humanity loves her heroes. We write about them, sing songs about them, and even fantasize about being them. And that because, at our deepest sociological level, we all realize we need them. This means also that we realize there are problems in this world which are bigger than our abilities or resources. And such is […]
The Fall: Our tragic beginning, but not our end.
As discussed in the previous lesson, the Creation account found in the first chapters of Genesis provides us with not only the answer to how everything that exists came into being, but also why. It was all created to serve as the striking motif of and motivation for what would prove to be every human […]
6 MORE Arguments for the Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ Examined and Refuted
In the last article on this topic, we dealt with six textual arguments that are meant to be in favor of the doctrine of the imputation of the active obedience of Christ (IAO). The source of these arguments was an article written by Phil Johnson and posted at Pyromaniacs a couple of years ago. Today, […]
6 Arguments for the Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ Examined and Refuted
On a couple of occasions, we have stated that the doctrine of the Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ (IAO) has no textual support. Obviously, proponents of IAO disagree with that assessment and to be fair, we have spent little or no space on this blog dealing with the textual support that is […]
What about the glory of God?
According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, God’s goal for man is not abundant life. Rather, Man’s chief end is to glorify[1] God, and to enjoy him forever. Last week’s article, “The Goal of God” might not resonate with some, especially those trained in the Reformed Tradition because it seems to be in opposition to the […]
Sound Gospel: The Goal of God
Indeed man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible. -St. Augustine All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended […]
The ‘obedience of faith’ according to Paul
The following quotes are from ‘The Obedience of Faith’ A Pauline Phrase in Historical Context by Don Garlington. The work of Garlington and others like him has proven invaluable in determining the structure of the Christian faith and covenant by providing a historically accurate picture of Second Temple Judiasm. This picture shows that Judaism was […]
Prayer According to Jesus
Here is the outline of a recent message presented by Pastor Scott at Christ Covenant Church’s annual July camping trip. The text is the Disciple’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:5-15: And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, […]
The believer and Friday the 13th
All kinds of superstitions surround the calendar event that occurs when the 13th day of a month falls on a Friday. Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number “13” and friggatriskaidekaphobia is specifically related to the fear of Friday the 13th. One of the blessings of knowing Christ is in realizing that this day is no […]
The pure grace of the gospel . . .
Richard Lusk writes: The pure grace of the gospel is not threatened by a call to obedience. Indeed, the gospel, properly preached, understood, and embraced, demands and promises obedience, In the Scriptures, heralds of the gospel essentially interchange faith and repentance as appropriate responses to the message (cf. Acts 2:38; 16:34). In other place, Scripture […]
The Gospel begins with Life
Christ Covenant Church is in the midst of a Sunday morning study of the Sound Gospel as found throughout the Bible. The study has been divided into the three main parts or building blocks of the Gospel. Those building blocks are: Abundant Life, Lord before Savior and Covenant. We recently completed the study of Abundant […]
“Life Reformed” means that the Gospel starts with life
The term “life reformed” describes Christ Covenant Church. The reason this term is so important is because the Gospel itself begins with a presentation of Life. Listen and watch as Pastor Scott discusses how the designation being “life reformed” will make our presentations of the Gospel more biblical, more hopeful and more complete:
Christ Covenant Church is Life Reformed
CCC members get this question a lot: what kind of church do you attend? In this video, Pastor Scott explains that CCC (formerly Denver Sound Church) is a reformed church, but there is at least one key area where we differ slightly from the major reformed creeds. This difference is what makes us “Life Reformed.” […]
It’s a good thing that babies don’t weigh 200 lb.
In a 1950 Minnesota Crime Commission report we find this statement: Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it: his bottle, his mother’s attention, his playmate’s toys, his uncle’s watch, or whatever. Deny him these and he seethes with rage and […]
What is the true Gospel?
The message of the Gospel is the good news of abundant life in Jesus Christ if we submit to Him as Lord before Savior in the relationship of covenant. Fallen and depraved men who deserve only death can have Life through Jesus Christ. He said, “I came that they may have life and have […]
J.I. Packer on the Gospel
Here is a statement that shows a desire to earnestly contend “for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3): If, ten years ago, you had told me that I would live to see literate evangelicals, some with doctorates and a seminary teaching record, arguing for the reality of […]
One Word Way of Life
There is a word in Scripture that is critical in demonstrating to us the true nature of the Christian’s identity. This word does not just explain one aspect of godly living or merely nudge open the door to understanding. Rather, it throws the door wide open and even though the implications of the word are […]