Recently I heard Pastor Rick speaking about the importance of keeping the gospel central in who we are and what we do. That prompted me to think about that a good bit. I’d like to share some of those thoughts.
What is the gospel? The purpose of this article is not to explain or define the gospel itself. Rather, I’m seeking to address the issue of maintaining the gospel as the focus of a church. However, it would be ironic in any such article not to briefly sketch the gospel. The gospel is the good news of what God has done through the righteous person and atoning work of Christ to redeem sinners, to reconcile them to Himself, to transform them into saints, and to bring them to glory.
Why major on the gospel? Why emphasize the gospel as we think about who we are and what we do? There could be many good reasons. Here are four:
First, the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). This means that the gospel is not only God’s tool for conversion or justification, but for the totality of our salvation. That is, no gospel…no regeneration, justification, sanctification, or glorification. The gospel is how God takes us from death in sin to life eternal with Christ.
Second, the gospel is the central message of the Bible. To have something else in the center of who a church is or what a church does is to miss point of God’s revelation. Certainly, the Bible has much to say about many things. However, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the thread running from Genesis to Revelation.
Third, the gospel is the antidote both to legalism (Galatians) and to lawlessness (Romans 6). The gospel moves us both to trust God for salvation (Rom 5:1-2) and to strive for holiness unto His pleasure and glory (Titus 2:11-14).
Fourth, the gospel drives our mission to the lost and our ministry to the saved. Since God converts via the preaching of the gospel and sanctifies through the ministry of the gospel, its very message moves us to proclaim Christ to all inside and outside of the church.
Practically-speaking, what does it mean to "major" on the gospel?
First and foremost, it means making decisions about everything we are and do in light of the reality of the gospel. Because the gospel is true, how should we shape our Sunday morning worship and fellowship? Because the gospel is true, how should we spend our time and other resources? Because the gospel is true, what and how should we teach? These and many other questions keep our focus on what matters most. The other items below flow from this one.
Second, majoring on the gospel entails emphasizing the gospel in our preaching and teaching. This is a reason we teach primarily through exposition of books of the Bible. Because the gospel is the unifying theme of the Scriptures, teaching it book by book will naturally lead to a consistent, healthy diet of gospel truth. This is also a reason that we return to gospel themes so often in our Home Fellowship Group studies, Sunday School, and other small group studies.
Third, majoring on the gospel entails emphasis on the gospel in our formal and informal worship. Because the gospel is all the things above (power of God for salvation, central message of the Word, etc) it should receive priority in our minds and mouths as we interact with God. Corporately then, we pray, read, sing, and preach the gospel. Privately, we mine the word for gospel elements in every passage and allow those truths to shape our response in the form of praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition, and intercession.
Fourth, majoring on the gospel entails helping others grow and change via the message of the gospel. In other words, we employ biblical counseling rather than approaching life change through aberrant worldviews.
Fifth, majoring on the gospel entails talking about the good news in conversation with the lost and saved. If we are convinced that the gospel is the power of God for salvation, we should talk about it to the lost, and talk about it to the saved, knowing that gospel conversation stirs up the speaker and the hearer to greater love for Christ.
Sixth, majoring on the gospel entails keeping a watchful eye on where we devote our attention and energy as a church.
What might be signs that a church is veering from the gospel as the main focus?
One sign might be fascination with or emphasis on a particular political, social, or secondary theological issue. If one is picking up a theme in the teaching of a church’s teaching and conversation that is louder than the gospel, that may be a reason for concern. For example, does a church major on standing against changing attitudes/beliefs regarding sexuality and gender? Does the fight for civil liberties dominate the church’s calendar? Does a pastor talk about believer’s baptism every chance he gets? To be sure, these are not unimportant issues. However, majoring on the gospel will lead us to address each of them in proportion to their biblical significance. On the other hand, majoring on them will take our eyes off the gospel.
Similarly, if a church focuses primarily on one mode of ministry to the near exclusion of others that church may be losing their focus on the gospel. A diagnostic question: can any one or two ministries of the church be considered the identity of a given church? Can it be said, “we are a biblical counseling church. That’s what we’re known for”? Or, “we are an expository preaching church”? “We are a missions and outreach church.” “We are all about community among believers.” If the gospel is primary, a church will have all these ministries without being any one of these ministries. Majoring on the gospel simultaneously guarantees a place for all worthy modes of ministry and keeps those modes of ministry in balance with one another.
Ideally, we’ll be known as a gospel church…a church whose message, methodology, and mission are reflective of having the gospel as the main thing.
Crucial to remember is that a church is not the elders, the ministry leaders, the vision statement, or the by-laws. A church is the individual believers in Christ who have covenanted to live the Christian life together. Therefore, majoring on the gospel will depend upon the conviction, commitment, and intentionality of the members.
A helpful question for each of us to ask… “Am I contributing to keeping the gospel the main thing at PBF through my own thoughts, priorities, words, and actions?”
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