In January, the elders presented the PBF Identity Statement. The statement expounds upon what it means that we are God-Centered, Bible-Focused, and Gospel-Driven. Our prayer is that everyone at Providence will take the time to familiarize themselves with the statement. As Pastor Greg said previously, “We want this statement to be well understood as it will serve to remind us who we are as a church, what our priorities are, and what we want to be about. It provides both a sense of identity and direction for the church.”
This is the third installment of a series of posts meant to flesh out the components of that statement. If you’ve not read the first two posts, I’d encourage you to do so. You can read them here and here.
We are Gospel-Driven because we are Bible-Focused. In the Bible we find the gospel story of God’s work in Christ on our behalf for His own glory. The Father, being rich in mercy and love, sent His sinless Son to redeem those who hate Him from the just condemnation of their sins. All who turn from their sin, surrender their lives to Christ, and trust Him to save them, are adopted by the Father, inhabited by the Holy Spirit, and made fellow heirs with the Son. This glorious gospel is the power of all God’s saving work, from regeneration to glorification. Therefore, we proclaim the gospel to sinners and saints alike.
The entirety of the scriptures testify to man’s great need for redemption. From nearly the beginning of time, man has needed God to save him from the just condemnation he has brought onto himself. From birth, each of us lived in rebellion towards God and gladly worshiped anything but Him. We hated God and loved the things of this world. And although we deserve God’s wrath, “...God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us..” gave us His Son, Jesus. Jesus purchased our redemption. We have been raised to life in order to live for Jesus to the glory of God. The power of the Gospel certainly saved us, and now it continues to sanctify us.
So what exactly do we mean at Providence when we say we are gospel-driven? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines driven as “propelled or motivated by something”. What we mean then is that our aim as a church is to be propelled by the Gospel; motivated by the reality of its beauty and power. A couple of examples might be helpful to illuminate this further.
The Bible teaches that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), so we faithfully proclaim the gospel. We don’t tamper with it because we know we can’t add anything meaningful or effective to it. We communicate lovingly and honestly about man’s great need for Jesus to everyone in our lives.
The scriptures testify to the truth of the Gospel’s power—not just in others’ lives, but also in ours. Thus we indulge ourselves in the beauty of the Gospel and work to make sure that the gospel permeates everything we do at Providence. Our teaching, our singing, our conversations, our fellowship and anything else we engage in ought to be saturated with the Gospel. The Gospel, in its power, spurs us to live lives of holiness. Man’s insights and worldly wisdom are incompetent to bring eternal joy and real satisfaction in this life. The beauty of the Gospel compels us to strive to be like Jesus.
The Bible teaches we were loved by God even when we hated Him. So—being motivated by this Gospel truth—we love the loveable and the “unlovable”. Regardless of one’s state in life, we want to see human beings for who they are: people made in the image of God who need Jesus Christ. We move toward others in love because God moved toward us in love.
The Bible teaches that we are recipients of God’s grace, mercy, and compassion. Driven by these realities of the Gospel, we likewise seek to serve others in their hurts, pains, and struggles. The brokenness of this world is often revealed in the hardships we and others bear. We should see these afflictions as opportunities to minister to others as we've been ministered to by our Lord.
The great storyline of the Bible is about God’s work in Jesus Christ to bring redemption to those who desperately need it. As Christians who have experienced the reality of this Gospel story, we are compelled to live all the more for Jesus, and to proclaim the salvation only He provides to believers and non-believers alike.
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