Over the last 16-months we’ve talked a lot about being gospel-centered as a church. What does that mean? What does it look like? Here is a brief explanation…
The Gospel
In the simplest of terms the gospel is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that accomplishes redemption and restoration for all who believe.
- In His life Jesus fulfilled the law and accomplished all righteousness on behalf of sinners who have broken God’s law at every point.
- In His death Jesus atones for our sins, satisfying the wrath of God and obtaining forgiveness for all who believe.
- In His resurrection Jesus’ victory over sin and death is the guarantee of our victory over the same in and through him.
This is the gospel, the “good news,” that God redeems a fallen world by His grace.
To be gospel-centered means that the gospel – and Jesus Himself – is our greatest hope and boast, our deepest longing and joy, and our most passionate song and message.
Gospel-Centered: The Big Picture
Therefore, to be gospel-centered means that the gospel – and Jesus Himself – is our greatest hope and boast, our deepest longing and joy, and our most passionate song and message. It means that the gospel is what defines us as Christians, unites us as spiritual family, changes us as sinner/saints, and sends us as God’s people on mission. When we are gospel-centered the gospel is exalted above every other good thing in our lives and triumphs over past and present sin, sinful tendencies, and emotional woundedness.
The Gospel-Centered Life
More specifically, the gospel-centered life is a life where a Christian experiences a growing personal reliance on the gospel that protects us from depending on our own religious performance and being seduced and overwhelmed by our own (selfish) desires. The gospel centered life produces:
Confidence (Heb. 3:14; 4:16) When the gospel is central in our lives we have confidence before God – not because of our achievements, but because of Christ’s atonement. We can approach God knowing that He receives us as His children. We do not allow our sins to anchor us to guilt and despair, but their very presence in our lives compels us to flee again and again to Christ for grace that restores our spirits and gives us strength.
Intimacy (Heb. 7:25; 10:22; James 4:8) When the gospel is central in our lives we have and maintain intimacy with God, not because of our religious performance, but because of Jesus’ priestly ministry. We know that Jesus is our mediator with God the Father and that he has made perfect peace for us through His sacrifice allowing us to draw near to God with the eager expectation of receiving grace, not judgment.
Transformation (2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:13) When the gospel is central in our lives we experience spiritual transformation, not just moral improvement, and this change does not come about by our willpower, but by the power of the resurrection. Our hope for becoming what God designed and desires for us is not trying harder, but trusting more – relying on His truth and Spirit to sanctify us.
Community (Heb. 3:12, 13; 10:25; 2 Tim 3:16, 17) When the gospel is central in our lives we long for and discover unity with other believers in the local church, not because of any cultural commonality, but because of our common faith and Savior. It is within this covenant community, if the community itself is gospel-centered, that we experience the kind of fellowship that comforts the afflicted, corrects the wayward, strengthens the weak, and encourages the disheartened.
At Sunridge we are committed to doing whatever is necessary to help people FIND and FOLLOW Jesus.
The Gospel-Centered Church
A gospel-centered church is a church that is about Jesus above everything else. There are really only two options for local churches; we will be gospel-centered or issue driven.
Issue-driven churches can be conservative or liberal, and come from any denominational tribe. A church can get the gospel “right” on paper or even “share the gospel” weekly and still not be gospel-centered in practice.
Churches are “driven” by many different things:
- Doctrinal purity
- Numbers/Attendance
- Being culturally relevant
- Being culturally distinct
- Social justice
- ?
Gospel-centered churches do not forsake these things, but they are not “driven” by them. They are driven by a love for Jesus and His work on our behalf. Therefore gospel-centered churches are so focused on Jesus and the hope of redemption that they are passionate and articulate about their theology.
When the gospel is central in a church it leads them out into the world on mission, while preserving their counter-cultural character as the people of God. The gospel-centered church is driven by love (for God and others) and this leads to joyful obedience that points back to God.
At Sunridge we are committed to doing whatever is necessary to help people FIND and FOLLOW Jesus.
*Adapted from an article by Joe Thorn
That is indeed the Gospel I have been taught for the last 12 years. The last couple of years however, God has led me to Scripture that has prompted me to ask some questions. For instance, the Gospels are full of references to Jesus preaching the “Good News” of the kingdom of God to the people (Luke 4:43). What was the “Good News” He was proclaiming (and modeling) before the cross if He wasn’t proclaiming His death? When He was telling people that they just needed to repent and believe to be saved (Mark 1:15), what did He mean? Believe what? If His death was the only thing that satisfied God’s wrath against us for our sins and paid the debt owed, how could Jesus forgive sins and save people because of their faith before the debt was paid (Luke 7:48, Luke 7:50, Matthew 9:2)? What was their faith in? When Jesus told the parables of the Unmerciful Servant and the Prodigal Son, didn’t both the king and the father show mercy and forgive the debt/trespass without payment? Why did Jesus tell these parables if God still demanded payment and the law still had to be fulfilled? Did Jesus really come to rescue us from a wrathful God or did God come to rescue us from the evil in this world and in our hearts that holds us captive?
In a nutshell, Jesus established the kingdom of God when He came the first time. When He comes second time He will consummate the kingdom of God (see 1 Cor 15:24). We have the privilege (and responsibility) of living in the in-between time. The kingdom of God can be defined as the dynamic reign of God – the assertion of God’s authority over the evil one and his deeds. Jesus lived a perfectly obedient life and His death and resurrection make a way for us to join the family of God. Think of a judge pronouncing our innocence (because of what Christ has done) and then taking off his robe and adopting us into his family – with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities. Make sense?
Thanks Gregg for your response! Actually, I used to think that made sense until I started asking God to teach me about His grace. Since then He has had my eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and what He said and did. Jesus is teaching me to trust Him in a way I never have before and not only to believe IN Him but to BELIEVE Him. I used to believe that God was that distant, wrathful judge who pronounced us innocent only AFTER He demanded payment of the debt and poured out His punishment on Jesus. That portrayal of God leaves me with gratitude, yes, but keeps me from truly trusting because it means that God changes the way He feels about me. But Jesus and His grace tell me a different story. He shows me a loving Father who has been waiting with open arms to welcome me back (when I recognize my need) without punishment and without asking for repayment for the trespass (Luke 15:20-24), a compassionate Savior who forgives and saves people who will simply ask and put their faith (trust) in Him and who He is (Luke 7:48-50, Matthew 9:2), a forgiving friend who loves us even when we fall or fail (John 21:7-19), a Rescuer who comes to open our eyes to the truth of who our Father is (John 18:37) – to do battle against Satan (Genesis 3:15) and to free us from the evil of sin (Romans 8:3) that keeps us captive and blinded in the dark (Luke 4:18-20). I now know that He is my loving Abba Father and He always has been. I don’t need to fear Him. His Holy Spirit is powerful and lives in me – cleansing and transforming me into the person He wants me to be. I can trust that now and that truth has opened the door to an intimacy with God that I have never before experienced. I believe that if we want to know God – who He is, what He is like, how He feels about us – we just have to look at Jesus. He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. That is the Gospel I believe in and the one I want to share with the world. I know that these are deep theological beliefs and we all may have different opinions of who Jesus is and what He did. I appreciate your time and the discussion. Thanks!