Early in my ministry, I preached a one-dimensional gospel - a gospel for the forgiveness of sin and entry into heaven, but not one for living this life post salvation. Over the last several years, we’ve heard a lot about being “Gospel- Centered”. It has become a buzzword much like “missional” was several years ago. Numerous articles, websites, and books have been produced focusing on gospel centrality. For example, just in the last few years several high selling books have been published concerning the gospel – The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler; The Gospel Driven Church by Jared Wilson; Gospel Centered Discipleship by Jonathan Dodson; Gospel-Centered Ministry by D.A. Carson and Tim Keller; Gospel by J. D. Greear, and The Gospel Commission by Michael Horton. These are just a sampling of the renewed emphasis on the gospel in Evangelicalism these last several years.
But far from being a fad, I believe that this is an essential development and a long overdue movement back to the centrality of the gospel in Christian life and ministry. The question that might be raised is: We as Baptist shave always kept the gospel as central. We preach that people need to get saved. We give invitations for salvation for every service. How could anyone ever say that the gospel is not central in Baptist life? The answer is that we have been very good at preaching and telling the gospel as a way to enter salvation, but not as a way to grow in our salvation; as a way for the forgiveness of our sins, but not as a way for the progressive overcoming of our sin; as an entry point into the Christian life, but not as the foundation that shapes all we do in the Christian life; as a fire that ignites our walk with God, but not the fuel that empowers our daily walk with God. In a subtle and often unnoticeable way, the gospel has become just another Christian doctrine to lay along side many others, instead of the central doctrine that connects everything in life to Jesus’ redeeming work.
The reason there has been a surge in Gospel- Centered thinking is because much of the church, especially in the West, has lost its focus on the gospel. It’s not that we have completely abandoned it. No, we’ve taught it and preached it, but often times without its fullness - as a way to the afterlife, but not much help for this life. It has been said that the first generation treasures the gospel, the second one assumes it, and the third one loses it. Some say we are in the transition from second to the third generation, where we are not teaching the gospel in all its life applications, and assuming the next generation already knows it.
What has replaced the gospel? Well in many cases it has been replaced with moralistic rules and man-centered pragmatism. It is almost like we implicitly teach new converts that once they enter into salvation through the gospel, now they need to start living a moralistic life with a whole new
set of rules like; attend church, read your Bibles, stay sexually pure, reject alcohol and drugs etc. All these things are well and good, but what we often do is that we disconnect these admonitions to moral purity from the centrality and the power of the gospel. It is almost like saying to the new Christian, “Okay Jesus got you in, now it is up to you...start living the Christian life.” And we might even say, “God will help you” or even, “You can’t do it on your own.” But we don’t continually point back to the gospel where they “died with Christ” and were “raised to walk in newness of life”. The gospel is assumed, but not explicitly applied to all of life as Matt Chandler has written. The emphasis on gospel-centeredness isn’t just some fad or craze that has come along. There is nothing new about what is being emphasized in myriads of books, articles and other publications. No, it is a return to a Biblical foundational focus that we have, generally speaking, missed over the last few years.
The CBA needs to be an association comprised of gospel-centered churches...we must be zealous to embrace gospel transformation rather than moral reformation. Richard Lovelace who wrote a book called Dynamics of Spiritual Life put it well when he wrote:
“Moralism, whether it takes the form of denunciation or pep talks, can ultimately only create awareness of sin and guilt or manufactured virtues built on will power. A ministry that leads to genuine sanctification and growth, on the other hand, avoids moralism, first by making clear the deep rootage of sin-problems in the flesh so that the congregation is not battling these in the dark, and then by showing that every victory over the flesh is won by faith in Christ, laying hold of union with him in death and resurrection and relying on his Spirit for power over sin.”
A gospel centered church brings everything eventually back to the gospel and that holiness is obedience to Christ procured by the Gospel, not from one’s mere moral effort. The gospel is not merely good advice about how to live, but it is Good News about what God has done to provide for our salvation, our sanctification, and ultimate glorification...true spiritual victory comes from abiding in, dwelling on, thinking about, and standing in awe of what Christ has done for us.
As pastors/leaders in the CBA, let’s lead our people to be a gospel-centered people that say with the Apostle Paul, “...I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation (Justification, Sanctification, Glorification) to everyone who believes...”
Your Partner in the Gospel,
Dr. Wes Rankin