religion vs. the gospel

Yesterday Mark Driscoll spoke in chapel. I was really looking forward to it because I hear good things about his preaching. He spoke about the difference between religion and the gospel. Here are the nine points he made...and if you want to hear it for yourself check out the podcast. I highly recommend it!

1. Religion says if you obey then God will love you. The gospel says because God loves you, you want to obey.

2. Religion is prone to see good and bad people. The gospel sees bad people and Jesus.

3. Religion is about getting as much as you can from God. The gospel is about getting God.

4. Religion sees hardship as punishment. The gospel sees it as loving direction from a good dad. 

5. Religion is very aware of other people's sin. The gospel makes you aware of your own sin. 

6. Religion is focused on the external and visible. The gospel is primarily concerned with the heart.

7. With religion you're not certain about your salvation. The gospel is about certainty.

8. Religion is about self-righteousness. The gospel is about gifts-righteousness which leads to humility.

9. Religion results in pride or despair. The gospel leads to a holy happiness.

You should really check out the podcast to hear how he expands on each of these points.  He really is a great communicator and I really appreciated the message he had to give. 

Comments

[Merari]

sounds good!

I'm not a big fan of his just because i'm not into the whole yelling-like-i'm-going-to-murder-you-in-order-to-make-my-point way of preaching, but I do like the points of the sermons.

[alexita]

I thought it was a great message! A lot of times we can get so caught up in religion that we forget about the real reason we have been saved. I think the comparisons were right on

:)