Hell, not so much the absence of God but His presence

R.C. Sproul (The Truth of the Cross) on hell -

"We need to realize that those who are in hell desire nothing more than the absence of God. They didn’t want to be in God’s presence during their earthly lives, and they certainly don’t want Him near when they’re in hell. The worst thing about hell is the presence of God there.

It is the absence of the light of His countenance. It is the presence of the frown of His countenance. It is the absence of the blessedness of His unveiled glory that is a delight to the souls of those who love Him, but it is the presence of the darkness of judgment. Hell reflects the presence of God in His mode of judgment, in His exercise of wrath, and that’s what everyone would like to escape."

The Gospel is Declarative and Doxalogical

I spent some time this morning listening to Tim Keller on the Gospel and Ministry Implications. Excellent thoughts. He speaks of the Gospel being historical and thus it is something that should be declared.

"If you believe that the Gospel is Good News then preaching, declarative preaching, verbally proclaiming will always be irreplaceably central to what we do. And if you really think that the Gospel is good advice on how to live a life that sort of changes people and connects to God, if you really lost your grip on the grace, then preaching then becomes less important and dialogue, stories, reflection, etc. would be alright."

The Gospel is also doxaological and therefore it is something that should move us to worship. After all it is Good News. Our expository messages are often too cognitive. Yes we must be precise but also vivid. More than working on emotions. We must proclaim in such a way that the preaching is "gripping", it must capture the imagination of the heart. It must move us to worship. "Preaching is to produce an impression." "Preaching is to make the knowledge live."

Lord, help me to preach in such a manner.