A Gospel Confession for 2008

Or, why the description “The (2008) Confession of a materialistic, hypocritical, narcissistic, egotistical, proud, cynical, ignorant, lazy, apathetic, Pharisaic, rebellious, syncretistic, moralistic and addicted; sinner” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
In many ways, this year has been a painful year. I've been rejected by several women, I've been caught in sin, I've been almost kicked out of school, I’ve been dismissed as a musician and through it all I've proven myself a sinner over and over again. In many ways this year has taught me a lot about myself. I learned that I want a Godly wife, I learned that I'm capable of serious sin, I learned that I’m not the man I’m supposed to be, I even learned that I'm the most self-centered person I know.
As I contemplated this year and I relived the many painful moments of 2008, I began to see a cycle. I went through periods of great renewal, followed by painful crashes that left me feeling guilty, depressed and hopeless. I created alternative realities all around me, where I was the good-looking one, or where I was the talented one. As each cycle progressed, I saw my sin, the alternative realities I had created for myself, and I repented and turned toward a new path.
In many ways, this year has been a pendulum swing for me. I went from justifying myself through moralism, to taking journeys of “self discovery” in hopes of not needing to be justified . But no matter where I turned, my sin kept finding me out.
I tried making shortcuts for myself, and wound up in a meeting with the threat of being kicked out of school. I took a break from life for a semester, and ended up barely passing four classes. As I swung back and forth between the two poles of self justification, I kept seeing my own sin repeating itself. Through it all, I turned to many different forms of self-help, but I never turned to Christ.
As the most recent semester ended, I took some time to listen to some teaching by Tim Keller, out at Redeemer Church, NYC. His messages relating to Jesus and the gospel struck a chord in my life. The more I listened to Keller preach the gospel, the more I began to see myself in stories like the prodigal son. Which brings me back to that description of myself that doesn’t even begin to cover it. This year has taught me something invaluable. I’m a colossal screw-up. And before you tell me I’m “being too hard” on myself, I think it might be wise to point out that I would know.
But that’s not the point. Because as big a screw up as I am, there is a bigger solution to my life problems than anything I could ever attempt to do on my own. As Keller puts it, Jesus saves both self-righteous moralists, and self-discovering rebells, he died for both. And that means that screw-ups like me are given hope for the future. Because of Jesus, and what he did in dying for my sin and rising from the dead to give me new life, I don’t have to worry about being a screw-up, because there is nothing I have to do to be loved. And that’s why this is a Gospel confession, because the Gospel is the only hope I have for the future.

The Glory of the Incarnation

The Almighty Infinite God humbled himself and entered into human history. The Glory of the Incarnation is indescribable.
Remember what it means with me:

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

A Bried Overview of Eschatology

The Doctrine of Eschatology has two important components. On the one hand, eschatology is very broad, dealing with the eventual fate of the present world. On the other hand, eschatology is very personal, dealing with our own future, including our eternal destiny and eventual death. These two aspects of eschatology work hand in hand to give the Christian a well-rounded view of the Christian Hope.
All eschatology must begin in Genesis. Genesis one and two lay the foundation for all study of the future, where God created a perfect world for his own glory. Genesis three tells the story of humanity’s rebellion against God, and God’s coming rescue plan. (Genesis 3:15) Eschatology then, is the story of God’s redemption plan for humanity. The climax then of Eschatology is Jesus Christ. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christians find all future hope. (Galatians 3:16)
The tension of Christian hope comes in the pronouncement of Christ, “the Kingdom of God is at hand.”(2 Peter 3:13) To fully understand the Christian Hope, you must understand that the Kingdom of God is already present in human history, in the person and work of Jesus, but that it will be consummated in the New Earth. (Romans 5:12-19)
Before the New Earth begins however, there is the unpleasant business of judgement. The Bible clearly illustrates that those who have not repented of sin and placed faith in Christ will be judged according to their sins and sent to an everlasting, literal hell.(I John 3:8) God’s wrath will be poured out against all the remaining evil corrupting this world, resulting in the purification and recreation of this world.
The New Earth will be perfected, in that the city of Heaven will descend, and the New Heaven and Earth will be one. This recreated state will serve as the eternal home of all those who follow Christ. In the new order, all God’s people will have resurrection bodies, perfected much as Christ’s was after his resurrection. (Revelation 21:2)
In the present, while Christians wait for the return of Christ, and the New Creation to begin, there is an intermediate state prepared for both the damned and the redeemed. The damned reside in a place the Bible refers to as Sheol, a place of pain and torment, where they await the final judgement and the continuing torment of the final Hell. Simultaneously, those Christians who have died await the final judgement, when their souls, which currently reside with Christ in Heaven, will be reunited to their remade bodies for the wedding supper of the Lamb.
That intermediate state is of pressing concern to many people today. Individually, every person can expect an eternal life to come. For those who have rejected Christ, their place has already been prepared in Hell. For the believer, God has prepared a place in the New Creation. Until that time, every believer is being made more Holy, in preparation for the new order. Though death is an enemy, it is important to remember that death has been defeated and a New Creation is at hand. (I Cor. 15:55)