Posted in Gospel
Okay, so in our last post we looked at how the phrase "gospel-centered" gets used frequently these days . It is a wonderful phrase, and because of that we want to understand it and use it intentionally. Otherwise it will lose whatever usefulness it has. We also saw that "gospel-centered" means the gospel message is at the center—the message about Jesus Christ and his life, ministry, death, resurrection, and we could even add his ascension and the pouring out of the Spirit to this "good news" (what the Greek for "gospel" means).
Today's question is a critical one, Should the gospel be at the center of our thinking and living and even interpretation of the Bible? That is, should we place the gospel at the center of our lives, our ministries, our families, our...everything? The answer is, "Yes!" Let's think through this a bit.
First, the gospel truly is at the center of the Bible. Other things like the glory of God have a place at the center as well, but the gospel belongs here. The "Law" and the "Prophets" foretold the good news of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:1-2; 3:21), the four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, John – record the inspired biographies of Jesus, the epistles reflect on the impact of the gospel, and Revelation shows us what the final accomplishment of Jesus's work will be.
Further, when New Testament authors consider how we are to think, act, and speak, they often use Jesus' life, death, and resurrection to do it. Husbands are to love their wives "as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her" (Eph. 5:25). Jesus' suffering is to be an "example for you to follow in His steps" (1 Peter 2:21). We are told often that "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24; e.g., Rom. 6:1ff.).
So, the birth, life, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ are laced throughout all of the Bible's writings. From Genesis to Revelation we can find clear references to Jesus and his work. Even the commandments come to us in the context of the good news of God's saving grace. Thus, we are on safe ground in calling the Bible "gospel-centered."
Second, once we accept that the gospel is the central message of the Bible (or at least part of that central message), then we realize we are on solid ground in bringing it to the center of our ministry and discipleship. The gospel can't be the only thing we teach, but it needs to have a recurring place in our sermons, counseling, children's ministry lessons, messages to college students and singles, and in our personal walk with the Lord. As Jeff Purswell has said, teaching the Bible accurately means that we emphasize what it emphasizes, and it emphasizes the gospel message.
The good news about Jesus and his redemption (the gospel!) must also find a place at the center of our discipleship. Discipleship has to do with our obedience to Jesus as Lord, God as our King. It is to sin less and obey more. The gospel meets us here with its forgiveness and its power.
When we become aware of our sinfulness in a particular area, we look to the Bible and read the good news that Jesus made the "once for all" sacrifice for all of our sins for all time (Heb. 10:10-17). There is no penalty left to pay, no sacrifice left to offer, no judgment left to receive. When Jesus said, "It is finished! (John 19:30), this is what he meant. So, I find forgiveness for my sin. Of course, we could even back up a step and say that the gospel points out first that I am a sinner whose sins deserve eternal judgment.
Forgiveness is only part of my need, however. I also want to obey Christ. Here the gospel meets me with its power. Above I quoted 1 Peter 2:24, "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness." Do you see how Peter tells us that Christ's cross means we are able to "live to righteousness"?
Paul will state this even more explicitly in Romans 6:4, "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." My union with Christ means that I am joined to Christ in his crucifixion, death, and burial. But I am also joined to him in his resurrection. Because of all this, I can now "walk in newness of life." This is obedience. The gospel brings me forgiveness that I desperately need, and it brings me power to obey.
This is why we want keep the gospel near at hand when we challenge one another in obedience. Whether it's a father leading his family, a single struggling with purity, an employee struggling to honor Christ in the workplace, or a believer trying to evangelize a neighbor, at some point we want to remind each other that our disobedience is covered by the cross of Christ, and there is hope to obey in the work of Christ. I don't have the power on my own, but I know where to find it!
So, the Bible is gospel-centered and we want our discipleship to be gospel-centered. This means, as we said, that the answer to the question, "Should we be gospel-centered?", is, "Yes!" But there's a caveat we need to add. We'll look at that in our next post.