The vibe here at The Gospel Coalition Conference is very refreshing. I have never been to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School so it is a good time. It is an interesting thing. We are meeting in the chapel which is not overly spacious, but is pretty much packed, I’m guessing about 500 folks. The age and background of the attendees are varied. Walking around you have John Piper, Tim Keller, DA Carson, Ligon Duncan, Mark Driscoll and many other guys. Guys are very accessible and very kind, which is what you would kind of expect at a conference about the gospel. We also had pretty good seats, right behind Carson and Tim Keller (both pictured here)
Carson starting things out today by preaching a session that focused on defining the gospel. This message was what we have come to expect from Carson, a top notch message that exalts Christ and humbles pride.
Here is an outline according to my notes:
- The Gospel is Christological (that is it is “irrevocably Christ-Centered”, Carson called Jesus the “Mediatorial Monarch” great quote).
- The Gospel is Theological (the death of Jesus was to satisfy wrath and provide sufficient righteousness)
- The Gospel is Biblical (Christ died “according to the Scriptures)
- The Gospel is Apostolic (Jesus was revealed through the apostolic message: “whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed” 1 Cor. 15.11)
- The Gospel is Historical (part of the validity of the faith is the truthfulness of its object….Christianity is centered on the historicity of Jesus, this is over and against all other religions…the Bible never asks us to believe anything that is not true…and it uniquely aims to strengthen our faith by calling us to read it)
- The Gospel is Personal (not only is the gospel historical but it also comes to individuals)
- The Gospel is Universal (it does not save everyone but it does not discriminate against particular people groups, but rather comprehensively calls people from every tribe and tongue)
- The Gospel is Eschatological (we look forward to the final and full realization of the glorious transformation wrought by the gospel).
Five Clarifying Sentences
- The gospel is normally disseminated in proclamation (the evangel is disseminated in a heraldic ministry as the Scriptural norm)
- The gospel is demonstrated in authentic persevering faith
- The gospel is properly disclosed in the context of self-humiliation (proper application of the gospel makes a proud Christian an oxymoron)
- The gospel is rightly asserted to be the central confession of the church
- The gospel is boldly advancing under the reign and victory of King Jesus
Carson ended with a great closing. I know the manuscript and audio will be up eventually. I highly recommend it.