Gospel Centered
It is good every now and then to stop and think about the meaning of the words we use. At Christ Church we often use the term "gospel" to describe what we are passionate about in relationship to the story of the Bible, just as we frequently use the terms "gospel centered" to describe our ministry. As many of you know, gospel translates the Greek word euangellion, which literally means "good news." But what specifically do we mean by using this language to describe our ministry? This week I thought I would highlight some core features of what we mean when we talk about a gospel centered ministry.
- Gospel Centered Ministry is Scriptural. The gospel is the "pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 1:13). In other words, the holy, inspired scriptures which are able to make one wise for salvation contain the truths necessary for life and discipleship. A gospel centered ministry is saturated in the study of the word.
- Gospel Centered Ministry is about Jesus. Secondly, the gospel is about the finished work of Jesus. Again Paul puts it clearly, "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Tim. 1:15). Any ministry, any message, that does not have this truth as a hinge wanders off into moralism or a liberal swamp of license.
- Gospel Centered Ministry Highlights the Work of God. Third, the gospel not only declares that Jesus is the answer to our deepest human need, it also reminds us that the work is of God from beginning (justification) to the end (sanctification and glorification). Paul once more makes this clear when he says things like, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12–13) or "I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me" (1 Cor. 15:10). While not lessening any call to obedience, critically, this truth reminds us that true discipleship is aimed at learning to stand in the finished work of Christ.
- Gospel Centered Ministry is to be Heralded. The last thing we will say here is that the gospel is to be told out. God's people are called heralds of the gospel. We are not writing an opinion piece with our lives, but reporting world altering facts that have taken place. It is our privilege and our responsibility to share this good news. Mark describes the Great Commission with these words of Jesus, “Go into all the world and proclaim (lit. - herald) the gospel to the whole creation. (Mark 16:15)"
Of course there is more to nuance and fill all of this out, but this "core four" captures the heart of what we mean by a gospel centered ministry. If we were to put it into a sentence we might say something like this, "The gospel is God's revealed content, unfolding the work of Jesus, which the Father and the Holy Spirit is working into our lives, to the end that we might know God and make him known."
Our passage for Sunday covers the event commonly known as Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21). As we make our way through Acts 2 these next two weeks you will see the above four principles played out in bright lights: a fulfillment of the scriptures (vv. 16, 25, 34), centered on the ministry of Jesus (vv. 22-24), which leads to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on each individual (v. 3), with the end that the good news is heralded (v.11). It is indeed a gospel centered passage!