"Never Forget" - to what end?

Ten years ago today the United States was attacked by Terrorists. The destruction of the two towers of the world trade center are vividly remembered. Today many had as their Facebook status and tweets "Never Forget". Why?

Before I jump into that, this morning's sermon was on the text of 2 Samuel 1. David has just learned that Saul, the king who had been pursuing him to death, and Jonathan, the king's son who was also David's great friend, have died in battle. How did he respond to the death of his rival?

"Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!" - 2 Samuel 1:19 (c.f. 27).

David mourns the fact that Saul, the anointed of the Lord and leader of His people Israel, has died. Why? Personally, Saul's death will be very advantageous to David. Why doesn't he rejoice?

This topic then leads the Christian to the following passages: Romans 12:15 and Matthew 5:4.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

David didn't rejoice because he mourned the loss to the people of Israel. His mourning with them put him closer to them. We, too, should mourn with those who mourn... not that we should be lost in a world without hope, but that like Christ we should bring the hope of Christ to a world that is lost.

So, back to "never forget". Is the desire to "never forget" an excuse to never forgive? Does our grief lead us to become mongers of hate against the Muslim extremists? If so, what will happen after years of dehumanizing a faceless enemy? We would likely become the terrorists.

If "never forget" is to remember the sacrifice of first responders who put themselves in harm's way to protect others, this is worthwhile to remember. The selfless acts of such men and women should draw our eyes to the One who put Himself in our place.

I think the part I hope to "never forget" is how the nation was humbled and turned to God in repentance and faith. Are we still humbled? Or have we grown proud once again? God brought Israel down from their pride by conquering them by a pagan king - Nebuchadnezzar. God then humbled Nebuchadnezzar, the height of human power of his day. God can and will humble us. Let us repent and turn to Him. As we remember the loss to this nation of 10 years ago, let us weep with those who still hurt. But let us bring them the hope of Jesus Christ.

The Songs of Jesus

I'm about to begin reading Singing the Songs of Jesus by Michael Lefebvre. Though I haven't read past the cover yet, something already stands out to me. Have you ever thought about the songs Jesus sang? What words comforted Him when He was sad? What poetry did He meditate on? The Psalms aren't just songs about doctrine, about theology, or even about Christ. They are more. They are also Christ's songs. He sang them. He meditated upon them. He lived them.

There are two passages that have made me think about this. One is Matthew 26:30.

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

What song did they sing after the first Lord's Supper? There can be little doubt that they sang from one (or more) of the Psalms. Many of the Psalm headings in the Septuagint use the word "hymn". And what would be better fitting for Jesus and his disciples to sing during the Passover season than the songs that feastgoers had sung for generations?

The second passage is Hebrews 2:11-12.

11 ... That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."

The "he" in this passage is Jesus. The quotation is ascribed to Jesus. It is something Jesus is "saying". But notice the words... it is Psalm 22:22. The writer to the Hebrews is saying that Psalm 22:22 is Jesus' words. Now notice what Jesus says, "in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise". Jesus sings with the congregation! He sings the Psalms in the midst of His people. This is what excites me about "the songs of Jesus". They are His songs, but because we are His they are our songs, too.

Have you never read?

In my reading for my upcoming gospels class I came across the parable of the tenants. This parable of Jesus is recorded in parallel accounts in Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, and Luke 20:9-18. In the story a king is away and leaves his vineyard to tenants. He sends servants to gather the harvest from the tenants but they are beaten, dishonored, or killed. The landowner then sends his son whom the tenants kill. The part of these passages that struck me, though, was the passage Jesus ends with. He quotes from Psalm 118.

22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

It is obvious that the Pharisees and the chief priests were among those that heard these parables because they knew that it was them that Jesus was speaking against. These were the people who took pride in their study of the scriptures. Surely they had read this Psalm. Doubtless they had chanted or sung this Psalm as it is the last of the Psalms sung during Passover, the great Hallel. Notice how Jesus introduces it, "Have you never read...?" Notice the irony. Of course they've read it! They've sung it. They should know it. And yet what Jesus is pointing out is that they missed the point of it.

The point of Psalm 118:22 is that Jesus is the cornerstone, or the head of the corner. He defines where the boundary of the walls will be. He was rejected, though, by the Jewish leaders of his day and sent to death by them.

There were two things that struck me as I was reading this parable of Christ. First, this Psalm is about Him. It had always been about Him. It was about Him for the many years that the Psalm was sang during Passover. It is about Him as Christians sing it today. Second, we need to remind one another that this Psalm is about Him. Just as the Pharisees and chief priests may have read the words but failed to see the Christ standing before them, we can have hearts that are hardened to the true Christ who is revealed in the Psalms. But for those all who have hearts that have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we can sing in this Psalm of Christ, the cornerstone, but also the rejected one; the sufferer.

For further study, see how the Apostlic writers continued to preach and write about Psalm 118:22. Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:7.

"Save Yourself and Us!"

"You can't have your cake and eat it, too."

I heard a great sermon this morning from the Independent Reformed Church which has been recently formed in Columbia, MO (http://independentreformedchurch.org/). A point which particularly caught my attention was that Jesus had to die in order for us to be saved. He could not have saved himself and us.

Luke 23:

32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. ... 39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, [4] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

Jesus came to earth to do God's will, and it was God's will that Jesus should die for the sins of His people. When this dying thief said, "Save yourself and us", it was not a mere plea of a dying man. Consider the implications of what he said: 'If you are the Christ, you can save us however you want... it doesn't matter what God has willed... just save us and you could save yourself, too.' To do such a thing would, perhaps, save the lives of the thieves. Jesus could raise people from the dead physically, surely he could 'save' many people from dying at all. But to do so would be to deny the true salvation that Jesus came to provide. He does not save people in the flesh. He saves them to an eternal life. We will die (even Lazarus later died). Jesus had to die in the flesh to give us eternal life. The pleas of the dying thief were truly the mocking of Satan. Consider a similar dialogue Jesus had with Peter:

Matthew 16:

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! [5] This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance [6] to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Jesus would not be tempted by the suggestions of Satan. He knew that to save His people, He would have to do so as The Father had commanded. To attempt to do so and still save his own life would have failed. He would have sinned against God. In sinning He would have been unable to fulfill God's righteous requirement. We would be without a savior.

Am I tempted by Satan's words? Do I attempt to follow Jesus' footsteps but still keep some vestiges of sin alive in my body? Do I try to save myself? I pray that God would give me strength to follow in Jesus, who has saved me, who has fulfilled God's requirements on my behalf when I never could. Praise be to God the Father and our Lord, Jesus Christ!

The gospel of ... linux?

My wife and I recently purchased a new laptop. It came with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic. I had decided a while back that I would stop purchasing software from Microsoft when other better (or, more importantly, free) alternatives were available. So, I decided to try linux. I planned to install it in parallel with Vista to allow use of either operating system. Long story short, the install was easy and painless and Ubuntu (the version of Linux I chose) has been pretty easy to use so far.

Once Ubuntu was installed, I wanted to take my nerdiness to the next level. I started looking at the Ubuntu forums. I downloaded a Ubuntu pocket guide and reference by Keir Thomas. It's a fun read, really, but one thing I noticed in the first few paragraphs irked me a bit:

The fact you’re reading this book might mean you already know about Ubuntu, but one or two readers might have bought the Print Edition of this book (or downloaded the PDF) on a whim to see what the fuss is all about. These people might lack specifics, and remain unconvinced of the benefits of Ubuntu. So, I’m going to burn through some precious pages of this slim volume to evangelize and explain just a little.

The author wants "to evangelize" his readers. The root of the word evangelize is the greek word for gospel or good news. He wants to share the good news ... of Ubuntu linux? I realize that linux is good news to a lot of people. It is free. That is great news. It is constantly being made better, has a spirit of community in people that use it, works right "out of the box", is powerful for accomplishing lots of things, and did I mention it's free? This is not the gospel. This, in fact, is terrible news next to the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news that Jesus has come to Earth and become human so that He would save His people from their sins is the best news ever. Literally. Ever.

Philippians 3:
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Next to the news that Christ has come, the news that there is a free operating system is like trash... pungent trash. I think this fits with what Jesus said:

Luke 14:

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

I don't think Jesus is negating the 4th commandment, as He elsewhere affirms:

Matthew 15:

4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’

I think that Jesus wants us to love our fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers and sisters. The important thing here is the degree of love. Compared to one's love for God, these other loves should so pale in comparison, that they appear hate. Jesus is showing the degree to which we should regard the first and greatest commandment above the second:

Mark 12:

28 And one of the scribes came up and ... asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?" 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

So, I ask myself as I write this... Is my love for the one God primary to my being? Do I love God with all my heart? Do I love God with all my soul? Do I love God with all my mind? Do I love God with all my strength? Do I love my neighbor as myself? Is my love for God so strong that the love for myself and others like hate in comparison? Do I hate my wife in comparison to the love I have for God?

I have no problem saying that linux sucks in comparison to God. Am I ready, though, to tell myself that I suck in comparison to the God of the universe?

on the label "Calvinist"

A Calvinist is someone who agrees with John Calvin. Often, when someone speaks of being a Calvinist, they are speaking of someone who agrees with the "5 points of Calvinism". These points aren't actually written by John Calvin himself but are a summary of his views on salvation and the sovereignty of God. In this article, I'll introduce these points. I rely heavily on the book "The 5 points of Calvinism documented, defined, defended".

I'll start with a point which is foundational to all of the five: God saves sinners.

Psalm 118:

14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.

Matthew 1:

21 ... and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

From this premise all the five points of Calvinism find their meaning. These five points are easily remembered using the acrostic: TULIP.

Five Points - like amazon.com ratings... only not.

Total Depravity - All humankind are fallen because Adam sinned and they are descendants of Adam. Mankind will not choose God of his own power. This point proves that sinners cannot save themselves.

Unconditional Election - Because it is God who saves sinners, the decision of who He will save is entirely His. He doesn't save anyone based on anything in the person (neither inherent in them nor forseen response to His grace).

Limited (or Definite) Atonement - God chose who He would save. He sent Jesus to die for those people. This is a note about the intended scope/efficaciousness of Jesus' death, not it's value. If God had chosen to save everyone in the world, Jesus' death would have been entirely sufficient.

Irresistible (or Efficacious) Grace - Because God is the one who saves sinners, he acts in a way that the sinner cannot resist. He changes the depraved will to a regenerated will. Because God is sovereign, when he wants to change a person's will, their will is changed.

Perseverance of the Saints - Those whom God has chosen to save He will save. God's plan cannot be thwarted by the schemes of the devil nor the old flesh of a sinner whom He has chosen.

What the 5 points do not mean:

Some men have read the 5 points and concluded "If God saves men, He can do it without my help. I don't need to evangelize... in fact I don't need to do anything. If God is going to save me, he'll save me." This line of thinking expresses the thoughts of those that are known as hyper-Calvinists. This is somewhat of a mis-nomer, however, as this line of thinking is not only non-Calvinist, it is non-Christian. Recall that a Christian has Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If a person believes that their responsibility to evangelize (or even have Jesus as Lord of their life) is nullified, that person is not a Christian.

Some people take Calvinism to mean that they are robots and that people aren't able to do what they want to. I've heard that the expression "Damned if you do, damned if you don't" was first said by someone who disagreed with Calvinists for this reason. A common scenario is theorized where someone might really want to please God, but because they are not part of God's elect they will be eternally condemned. I can understand that this would be a very bleak picture of God. God, though, has not left us without light on this particular theorized scenario.

Romans 3:

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Fitting with the idea of Total Depravity, God tells us that no one seeks after Him. Apart from God regenerating a person's will to enable them to, "no one seeks after God." So, this hypothetical objection to Calvinism is proven to be invalid. I'll note that this may not match what we see. There are often many people who appear to want to please God, but for one reason or another, seem to fall away. I believe these people have these appearances but not true faith. Remember that men can see fruit and judge by appearances, but God judges the heart.

Unity in Mission in the Godhead

I am a Calvinist and I believe in the Trinity. I believe the 5 points demonstrate a unity among the 3 persons of God. Unconditional Election means that God the Father chose a people to love whom He would redeem unto Himself. Limited (or Definite) Atonement means that God the Son loved, lived for, and died for those same people. Efficacious Grace means that God the Holy Spirit draws these same ones to repent of their sins and have faith in Jesus Christ. There is profound unity in the Trinity. God is indeed the God who saves.

Imagine the alternative: If God chose men based on what he foresaw, or worse, did not choose men at all, he basically set out a way for men to come to Him and waited for them to do so. He would only love men when they first love Him. This seems quite the inverse of 1 John 4:19.

1 John 4:
19 We love because he first loved us.

Furthermore, if Jesus' death is for everyone, then what truly decides if they are saved is not what He has done, but whether they accept it or not. Instead of "Jesus saving His people from their sins" it would best be described as "Jesus enabling people who chose Him to save themselves from their sins".

Perhaps worst of all, if the Holy Spirit's job is to draw men to God, and He equally distributes grace to all men toward repentance and faith, then He is a failure. If God is trying to save all men, then either all men will be saved or God is failing. Now, God does tell us His revealed will that we are to evangelize to all men:

1 Timothy 2:
3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God's revealed will is that all men should be saved. This is the goal that we as men should shoot for because we don't know whom He has chosen. His secret will is to save those whom He has chosen.

Applying the Label

I am a five-point Calvinist. As a summary of reasons why and how predestination makes sense, and how to understand that God saves sinners, I think the five points are incredibly helpful. At the very core, Calvinism lets God be God. It elevates God in His supremacy. It also puts man in his place. It reminds me that I am ever a debtor to God and His grace shown to me. If I was once a child of wrath but now am a son of God, then I cannot point to myself and say, "look what a great person I am." God is the one who has made me who I am, and if he saved a wretch like me, then I can and will proclaim the gospel boldly to all men regardless of how clean or wretched they look on the outside. It will be for them what it has been for me: the grace of God alone that saves men from their sins.

on the label "Trinitarian"

Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). They are done so because they are baptized into the name of God. One might ask, then, why they are not baptized into the "names" of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This observation leads to the doctrine of the Trinity. Christians believe in the doctrine of the Trinity because it is revealed in the bible. Some have noted, however, that the word "Trinity" doesn't occur in the bible. Neither does the word "Sacrament". Words like these are used to describe an idea (indeed, all words follow this pattern). Rather than saying "the things instituted by Christ which are appealing to the 5 senses (taste, touch, sight,...) and communicate spiritual truths" we say the word "Sacrament". Indeed, we could say "The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" instead of "Trinity"... but why use the definition when the word is more convenient?

The Father is God. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God. These are three persons. These are one God. They are the same in substance (whatever the God part is in each is the same in the other two), equal in power and glory.

What does the doctrine of the Trinity do for us? A pessimistic person would say "it confuses us". It is true that this is a doctrine that is hard to fully understand. In the end, though we should expect doctrines of God to be beyond our full comprehension. After all, God is unlike us and also has attributes like omniscience and omnipresence. The doctrine of the Trinity helps believers to understand some things about God which would otherwise make no sense.

First, since God has always existed in three persons, it sheds some light on why God would have created the world. Some have presumed that God made the world and mankind because he was lonely. The doctrine of the Trinity helps us to see the error of this. God was not lonely, in fact, He has always been in communion: each of the three persons with each other. God the Father has always loved God the Son. The son is eternally begotten of the father and was from eternity past before the face of the Father. The Spirit has always bonded them in their love. Mankind was created to glorify God, yet this was not to give God a glory he was in some way lacking.

John 17:
17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ... 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Second, it tells us something of God's character. God exists in relationship within himself. When we think of relationship, like that of a husband to a spouse or a father to a son, we naturally have an emotional imprint of what that relationship means. Consider, though, that our human relationships are but a picture of what a true relationship is. When man was created in God's image, I wonder if it included the way man would have relationship with others of mankind. Perhaps human relationships are a part of being created in the image of God.

Genesis 1:

26 Then God said, “Let us make man [8] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

Third, it tells us something of the unity which is desired among believers. Jesus himself prays for this unity. He does not compare it with a unity among any created thing... but instead he draws attention to the unity which exists within God. Jesus calls this unity as being "perfectly one". As the Father and Son are one, so should Christians seek to be unified. Jesus also prays a reason why such unity is sought. "That they so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me". Unity among Christians is a powerful witness for the gospel. This unity should be most clearly seen in the local body of believers. As a person sees a congregation (as a visitor or as a long time member), they should see the love of God in God's people.

John 17:
11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. ...
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

My Theology is Trinitarian. It is no small matter that God refers to Himself in the first person plural ("let us make man in our image"). If God so refers to Himself, we should take note. As this is the God whom I serve, it makes a difference in how I see and relate to other Christians. I believe that God the Father chose a people for himself. I believe that Jesus is God who became man to die for men and women whom the Father chose and gave to Him. I believe the Holy Spirit effectually calls men to Jesus as their savior and lord. If these believers are called by the same God I serve, and were made children of God through the same gospel, then I look upon them as brothers. I love God because of the amazing love that He has had within Himself. I marvel at the fact that He has shared this love with mere men, even me. This is the theology that drives me to love my church, which is but a part of Christ's Church universal through time and space.

A Word of Warning

In my Sabbath morning study through the book of James (and the commentary, 24/7 Christian, by Anthony Selvaggio), we covered James 3:1-12. There are words of warning... and as I've recently started this blog, I especially feel their significance.

James 3:

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, [1] and set on fire by hell. [2]

First, James charges that those who teach will be judged with a more strict judgment. Wow. It is not lightly that I started this blog, yet the magnitude of this is hitting home hard. These are words of warning to me. It is no small thing that God holds those who speak accountable. Consider Jesus' words:

Matthew 12:
36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

As I write blog posts (especially considering anyone in the world can read them) I need to be sure that I am speaking the truth. Concerning my readers, if I have any, do you consider my words in light of James 3:1-6? Do I steer the ship or control the horse? Both of these are positive in that they bring a large body under control. The last words are those that I want my readers to take as a warning: I may be the one who sets a forest ablaze.

How do I know if what I am saying is true? How would someone who reads my words know the same? I consider Jesus again:

John 5:

30 I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. ... 36 .... For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ... 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?

Jesus himself recognizes that his words aren't to be taken on only his own authority. He draws his audience to consider three witnesses: His Works, His Father, and The Scriptures. These three witnesses are connected. His works are those his Father has given Him to do. His Father has borne witness, and has sent the prophets and revealed in the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah. The last line is a serious charge to Jesus' audience, the Pharisees: "If you do not believe Moses' writings, how will you believe my words?". We should take seriously that if we do not believe the scriptures, we cannot believe Jesus. If we do not believe Jesus, we should have no hope of eternal life.

This is where I stake my authority: I have none in myself. The only authority I have is the degree to which what I say agrees with scripture. Hold me accountable. Search the scriptures, for these have eternal life as they bear witness to Jesus Christ.

on the label "Evangelical"

Evangelical refers to the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, which means "good message" or "gospel". Basically, Evangelicals are Christians who believe and proclaim the gospel. Jesus Himself proclaimed the gospel during His life:

Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

So, what is the gospel? As Jesus directed above, it is clear that the gospel is something to be believed. As context for why people should believe the gospel (and repent, or "turn away from their sin") is that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. These words would sound like, "You're out of time, Judgement awaits!". Belief in the gospel is associated to salvation from such a judgement as Paul notes in Romans:

Justified by Faith
Romans 1:16-17
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

Here Paul identifies the key of the salvation is faith. Faith is basically knowledge of a thing, assent that it is true, and trust/assurance that it is true for one's self. So, what is the thing which we must have knowledge of? What is the object of faith? What is it that Christians have faith in?

Faith in God
John 17:
17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Jesus, as he prays to God the Father, reveals that eternal life is through knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. Do you "know" Jesus Christ? The question implies relationship. I have already asserted that Christians know Jesus to be their Savior and Lord. Through knowing Jesus, they come to know God as their father, too. (See Matthew 11:27). But how can this happen? How can a sinful person come to be a child of God, who is just?

The Great Exchange
2 Corinthians 5:
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

In this sentence the key of the gospel is expressed. Jesus was not a sinner (he knew no sin). God the father made him to be sin (imputed the sins of believers on him) so that we might become the righteousness of God (Christ's own righteousness imputed to those who believe). Through faith, all our sins are paid for by Jesus's death. Through faith, God sees us as if we were as righteous as Christ himself. Thus God is perfectly just to accept us, because in His sight, we are His son, thus he accepts us as adopted sons. When we are judged after death, we will be judged righteous and given eternal life through faith.

Evangelicals are very sensitive about the gospel and for good reason. Not only is it the only way to God (Jesus said, no one comes to the Father except through me John 14:6), but great punishment awaits those who would preach a false gospel:

Galatians 1:9
9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

Applying the Label
I am an evangelical. I love the gospel. I can have hope because of what Christ has done. This is the good news. There is hope. It reminds me of the bumper sticker. It has the phrase: "Know Jesus, Know Peace. No Jesus, No Peace." I think it would also apply to the idea of hope: "Know Jesus, Know Hope. No Jesus, No Hope." Jesus said firmly, "No one comes to the father except through me". It is not a mere dry theology to talk about the gospel. It is the only way to peace with God.

on the label "Christian"

"Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?"

It's a question that most people are familiar with. In some, it stirs up feelings of annoyance. In others, it stirs guilt or even anger. The question has been asked so much that it may have become cliché. Nevertheless, it is the most important question a person will ever answer. Christians are those who have personally accepted and ever seek to maintain Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Saved from what?
If every Christian believes that Jesus is their savior, then they must believe they were in danger of something from which they needed to be saved. What would be the purpose of a savior if there was nothing to be saved from? Christians are saved from their sins. Put simply, sins are bad things done or good things left undone. Ultimately, God defines what is sin and God hates sin. When Christians say that they are saved from their sins, they are usually referring to being saved from the punishment due their sins. Christians believe that sin is punishable by an everlasting sentence in hell. Literally. Christians believe they are saved from hell and saved to everlasting life. The way that Christians become saved is called the gospel. I'll cover this in detail when I talk about "Evangelical". For now, suffice it to say that a person is saved by Jesus. We see this clearly at the beginning of Matthew's account of the gospel: Matthew 1:21

...you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

What now, My Lord?
Christians have Jesus as Lord of their lives. This is not commonly used terminology today. When I was growing up, I recall hearing the phrase "what now, my Lord?" when I played "Lords of the Realm". In this video game, I would play the part of a ruler of several provinces. I would manage labor, raise armies, grow crops, and attack and conquer neighboring territories. (I was especially good at the conquering). I had control over my lands and the people that lived there. They did what I wanted them to (except when I didn't feed them and they rioted...). The point is, Jesus is Lord of the Christian's life. They do not make decisions for themselves without first seeking to know what Jesus would have them do. Consider this well known psalm:

23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

Most people who know this psalm know of the soothing phrases "he leads me beside still waters" and "He restores my soul". It is important to see these in context, though. The Lord is the Christian's "Shepherd". The Christian is led by Him in paths of righteousness. This is for his name's sake, the Christian doesn't do things from selfish motives, but for Jesus' sake. This is affirmed in the Great Commission at the end of Matthew's account of the gospel: Matthew 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

But wait... there's more!

There are other things, too, that are true among Christians. Christians hold the bible to be the word of God. Christians believe in the true and living God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (called the Trinity). Christians worship God. Christians are baptized. Christians are members of a local Church. Christians love one another. I'll explain what I mean with these in later posts as I am able. For now, I'll suffice it to say that Christianity is about Christ, what He has done to bring man to God and what He calls men to do in light of this.

Applying the label.
I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that he has saved and will save his people from their sins. I believe that he has saved me from my sins through his perfect life on earth, death, and resurrection.

If the above were a mere assent and ended here, it would be nothing but a dead theology. A living theology leads to change in a person's life.

I hold Jesus to be the Lord of my life. I'm in no way a perfect servant, but I seek to do his will in my life daily.