My Favorite Illustration of the Gospel

I grew up in Southern culture that spoke of God’s grace, but practically acted as if God only wanted those who had been good enough.  The result of this was that those who were churched often looked down upon those who were not.  As I was awakened to the realities of the Gospel, the wrongness of this way of looking at those outside the church became readily exposed.

One of my favorite explanations of the Gospel comes from Matt Chandler’s sermon “The Shepherd and His Unregenerate Sheep” at the 2009 Desiring God Conference for Pastors.  In this short excerpt, Chandler tells the story of taking a single mom to a church service and hearing a message that spoke of legalism and shame rather than the Gospel.  He shares his response to what he heard and in doing so demonstrates the true heart of the Christian message.

Related Posts:
What does it mean that Jesus died “for us?”

For Further Reading
The Explicit Gospel