$3 Worth of Gospel, Please

This short passage was highlighted recently on Justin Taylor’s excellent blog, Between Two Worlds. The passage is taken from D. A. Carson’s Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians, penetrating to the heart of what has infected much of Christianity today, much less Adventism and Former Adventism:

“I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please.

Not too much — just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted.

I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust.

I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture.

I want ecstasy, not repentance;

I want transcendence, not transformation.

I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don’t want to love those from different races — especially if they smell.

I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged.

I would like about three dollars worth of the gospel, please.” (pp. 12-13)

These are penetrating words. May they lead us to greater self-examination so that we desire repentance, transformation, and gospel truth in Jesus at the expense of worldly security and comfort. In short, may we desire much, much more than $3 worth of gospel.