“The Gospel is not just the ABC’s but the A to Z of Christianity in life. The Gospel, biblically and richly understood, ought to shape everything we do in the local church.” — Tim Kell
er
I love that quote becauase it resonates with my own emerging understanding of the Gospel. In fact we never graduate from that God’s of Christ that God has shown to us in his scriptures. The Good news must relate to all of the Christian life or none of it at all. We, as Christians, never graduate from the Gospel in order to become self made people. We are as dependent on the Gospel now as we ever were. We must be Gospel Centered
What do I mean when I say that Middle River Baptist Church is a gospel-centered church? I mean that the gospel is not simply the entry point into the
Christian life but that it is also the foundation and power that shapes all we do as followers of Jesus Christ, both in our daily lives and in our experience as the corporate body of Christ.
The Good News of Jesus Christ is not only the fire that ignites the Christian life, it’s the fuel that keeps Christians going and growing each day.
The gospel is the gloriously great announcement of what God has done through the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to satisfy His own wrath (or settled opposition against sin which His holy nature requires) and to secure forgiveness of sins, the gift of eternal life, the gift of the Holy Spirit, a coming new creation free from decay, disasters, disease, evil, sin, and death and perfect righteousness for all who trust in Christ alone for salvation.
Therefore, the gospel is not what God requires. The gospel is what God provides! The gospel is not an imperative, demanding things you must do. The gospel is an indicative, declaring things that God has done. The gospel is not about human action, it’s about divine achievement. The gospel is not a moralistic “Do!” The gospel is a merciful “Done!” The gospel is not good advice – it’s good news! My ministry values: worship, connect, grow, and reach are all gospel-driven. I, as the pastor of Middle River Baptist Church, want the gospel of Christ to inform and empower all that we do to the glory of God.