Archive for February 24, 2017


Feb 24

Session 2 Recap: Dever, “Hypocrisy”

2017 | by Michael Kelshaw | Category: Clarus 17

Editor’s Note: Michael Kelshaw is the Head Minister at Trinity at the Marketplace, Albuquerque, NM. He is a member of the Albuquerque Chapter of The Gospel Coalition. This post is a summary of Mark Dever’s message from Friday evening at Clarus, February 24, “Hypocrisy,” from Romans 2.

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Tonight Mark Dever showed the great dangers of hypocrisy from Romans 2. In Chapter 1 we see that Paul pursues open depravity—the clearly immoral. In Romans 2, Paul goes on to pursue hidden depravity—those who appear moral but in reality are not. He exposes their hypocrisy all the way through the chapter. This passage reveals our guilt and our need for grace by showing us that hypocrisy is inexcusable, pointless, and blasphemous.

  1. Hypocrisy is inexcusable. Dever explained how Paul goes at self-confidence by addressing those who would condemn others for their sin and then do the very same things themselves. Paul shows how the judgment of God is upon such people. The reality is that hypocrites are just calling for God’s judgment on themselves. Every time they are criticizing someone else they are simply giving God one more piece of evidence that they know full well how they should live and are piling up the evidence against themselves. So the person that does not repent and trust in Jesus alone remains under the right and righteous judgment of God. There is no excuse for hypocrisy because the judgment of God rightly falls on people who practice such things.
  2. Hypocrisy is pointless. Hypocrisy is pointless because God will judge according to deeds anyway. God’s judgment is according to what a person has done, and it will be righteous and seen as such. Ethnicity will not shield anyone from God’s judgment; He does not show favoritism and His judgment is impartial. Hypocrisy is a pointless illusion because God will judge men’s secrets through Christ and all will be revealed in the end. Hypocrisy will not shield anyone from the Lord’s righteous and impartial judgment. Christ is the only hope of salvation for sinners like you and me.
  3. Hypocrisy is blasphemous. Dever explained how the circumcised lawbreaker—the one who is Jewish in name only—stands condemned as breaking the third commandment. Men such as these had taken God’s name publicly upon themselves and then lived contrary to it. So do we, when we bear Christ’s name and then act in contradiction to His commands. Those who do so blaspheme God’s Name. They misrepresent God’s name to the world. Hypocrisy is blasphemous and a misrepresentation of God, and it will not vindicate you on the last day.

Dever concluded that hypocrisy will not save us. Paul assaults shallow self-righteousness and shows us that our hypocrisy actually exposes our need for Christ. Everything that we would trust in other than Jesus has been burnt to the ground, and it calls us to repent of our sin and trust in the sinless Savior. The good news is that a person is only ever justified by faith in Jesus, so rely on Him alone!

Feb 24

Session 1 Recap: Gilbert, “Unashamed”

2017 | by Grant Blankenship | Category: Clarus 17

Editor’s Note: Grant Blankenship is the Preaching Elder at Cedar Springs Church, Cedar Crest, NM. He is a member of the Albuquerque Chapter of The Gospel Coalition. This post is a summary of Greg Gilbert’s message from Friday evening at Clarus, February 24, “Unashamed,” from Romans 1:16–17.

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Greg Gilbert opened our conference with three reasons we can have unshakeable confidence in the gospel:

  1. Because it has massive power. Paul does not say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel because its message is very powerful,” but rather because it is the power that saves! The same power that resurrected Jesus from the grave is the same power that brought dead souls to life and is at work in others to bring them to life as well. Gilbert challenged us to, “Stand back for a minute in a little bit of amazement that you are a believer at all… The same word of God that was powerful enough to bring the universe into existence, brought you from death to life.” You don’t have to be ashamed to talk to others about this Good News because this message is backed up by the massive power of the God of the universe. We don’t find confidence to share the gospel because of our ability to persuade and convince people, but rather in the Spirit’s power to bring about life.
  2. Because it offers an awesome gift. The righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. The gift of salvation is a gift based entirely on faith. It “begins and ends with faith; it is faith from top to bottom.” Martin Luther called this an “alien righteousness” because it comes from outside of us. The problem for humans is not just the absence of good works, but the presence of sin. We cannot blot out those sins no matter how hard we try to cover them with good works. The heart of the gospel is that we cannot save ourselves, and yet we need to be declared righteous by the Holy Judge of the universe. It is only through “The Great Exchange,” as Luther called it, that we can be saved. Jesus’ righteousness is given to us, and in exchange the wrath we deserved was poured out on the Son, satisfying the requirements of our Holy Judge.
  3. Because it is a wide open invitation. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most universal invitation in the world. But it’s an invitation, so it must be accepted. You must come to the source of living water if you want it. This awesome gift is not found with any other god. It is only available in Jesus Christ.