Cong Fang

“Christians should not be optimists; we know too much about sin. We should also not be pessimists, for we know the living God.” – Tim Keller

The thing between optimism and pessimism is hope. Optimism is not the same as hope. 
Optimists say: “We are good.” 
Pessimists say: “We are bad.” 
Hope says: “We are not good because we are sinners, yet we should not lose hope, for we know the living God.”

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“God will only give you what you would have asked for if you knew everything he knows.” — Tim Keller

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Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

knowledge + evidence = truth
God’s words + no evidence = truth = faith

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If it is not explanatory, it is not expository.
If it is not about Christ, it is not Christianity. 

It is not about what the texts mean but what God means.
It is about how God wants to use these texts to tell you about Jesus Christ and the need for you to come to him. 

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2.2, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” He is saying, that is the only theme in the whole Bible. If you know the heart of God, you can be the mouth of God.

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— Tim Keller

Religion: I obey therefore I am accepted. 
Gospel: I’m accepted therefore I obey.

— 王怡 牧师

至于我，活着是为了三件事：跪着祷告，站着讲道，跑着宣教。
为此，主给了我三个锦囊：随时搬家，随时坐牢，随时回天家。

Creation is enough to tell that there is a Creator. The reason that the Bible is written is for Salvation. 

When Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:2, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” He is saying, the gospel is the theme of the whole Bible. The gospel is the content of Expository Preaching, yet, Jesus is the content of the gospel. 

Expository mean to explain the biblical texts. Preaching means to proclaim the biblical gospel. Expository Preaching is to preach the gospel by explaining the texts. The gospel is not just information. The gospel calls to action. In Acts 2:36-37, after Peter had preached about Jesus, the people were “cut to the heart” and asked for what to do, Peter said to them, “Repent!”

“Without explanation it is not expository; without application it is not preaching.” — Steven Lawson