Category Archives: gospel

The Greater Progress of the Gospel

Tomorrow morning I am bringing the message at Grace Baptist Church of Odenton. The text I have chosen to speak on is Philippians 1:12-20. The reason I have chosen to preach from this text is partly due to the recent events that have occurred in the City of Houston. Mayor Annise Parker issued subpoenas against five Houston pastors who filed a lawsuit against Mayor Parker’s HERO law. It is time that the Church rejects societies attempt to marginalize our message and exclude us from public discourse. With that in mind I am including in this post the beginning of tomorrow’s message.

As a Reformed Baptist Church we believe that the Word of God, the Bible, is “the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience[1]”. It speaks with authority to all matters of faith and practice. We also believe that the truth and authority of God’s Word extends beyond just the preaching of the Word on the Lord’s Day. It applies to society as a whole. Just as the Old Testament prophets proclaimed the Word of God in the public square and before the government leaders of their day, so too the Church is to speak on the issues of the day in order to give God glory by calling sinners to repentance and faith in Christ. Society has convinced, even some churches, that they should not take a public stand on controversial issues like abortion or the redefinition of marriage. But this is not what I see in the Bible. Today’s message has a dual-purpose. First, to draw the Church’s attention to the fact that we must engage in society, not just among ourselves. Second, the Church must remember that we engage in society “for the greater progress of the gospel[2]”. With those two things in mind I want to introduce the facts surrounding a recent attack upon the Church that occurred by an elected official from the 4th most populous city in the United States. Then we will go back 2000 years to unpack the events that the Apostle Paul wrote about in Philippians 1:12-20.

The city of Houston passed a controversial law in May of 2014 commonly referred to as HERO (Houston Equal Rights Ordinance). The law was the invention of Mayor Annise Parker. The law would allow any man who was dressed like a female to use a female-only restroom at any public restroom within the city of Houston. This means that sexual predators could dress like a female and have access to female-only restrooms. The law was never voted on by the residents of Houston. It was passed by the city council and signed into law by the mayor. Almost immediately a petition drive was launched, led by a coalition of pastors from the city of Houston. The petition was to place the new law on the ballot and to allow the residents of Houston to vote on it. The mayor and council knew that the HERO law was not supported by the electorate and would be voted down. For that reason the city claimed there were inconsistencies in the petition and rejected it. The coalition of pastors filed a lawsuit to force the City of Houston to place the HERO law on the ballot. In response to the lawsuit Mayor Parker directed the city attorney to file a subpoena against selected pastors involved in the lawsuit asking that any sermons and speeches that had to do with herself or the HERO law be turned over to the City. The pastors refused citing the 1st amendment of the Constitution.

The backlash against Mayor Parker’s unconstitutional overreach was considerable. The story went national. Christians from across the nation came to Houston and stood in solidarity with these pastors for the sake of the Gospel. Eventually the negative press against the Mayor and Council was so strong that Mayor Parker finally rescinded the subpoenas. But even though the subpoenas were rescinded the damage had been done. The 1st amendment had been assailed without apology. A precedent had been set by the City of Houston that government would move against the Church when it deemed it necessary. What Mayor Parker did against the pastors of Houston is not unique to that city. Christian business owners; whether they are bakers, florists, or national chains, have been under assault. But make no mistake. The issue is more than freedom of religion or freedom of speech. As Christians we answer to a higher authority. When the laws of man are in conflict with the Word of God, we are bound to obey the Word of God. Such obedience may come with a cost, and we must be prepared to pay such a cost. What Mayor Parker and the Houston City Council really tried to do through their subpoenas was to shut the mouth of the Church when it comes to social issues and to hinder the preaching of the Gospel. Praise God that these men, yielding to the Holy Spirit, resolved to stand strong. Praise God that because of their brave stand others were given confidence to do the same thing. The example they followed can be traced back to the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi nearly 2000 years ago.

[1] 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1.1

[2] Philippians 1:12 (NASB)

To offend or not to offend, that is the question.

I hope William doesn’t mind that I took poetic license with his soliloquy from Hamlet.

I have been numbered with the offenders in this area.  In our zeal to defend God’s holiness, and the veracity of His word, we sometimes allow our emotions to take over.  We become angry.  There is such a thing as righteous anger, but that is not the kind of anger I am referring to here.  Instead of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being the offense, we become the offense.  When that happens God is not glorified.

About the offense of Christ the Bible says:

1 Peter 2:6-8 6 For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”   7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,”   8 and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

The message of the cross offends.  It reveals the deepest hidden sin and lays a person bare before God.

Hebrews 4:12-13 12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.   13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

People will respond in all different ways when they are encountered with the piercing message of the Gospel.  Some, when faced with their sin and its consequence, will repent and come to Christ in faith, asking for forgiveness.  But many more will dismiss the Bible’s call to repent and believe.  Whether they dismiss is politely or viscerally, they will do so because they of the “STONE OF STUMBLING AND…ROCK OF OFFENSE”.  The stone of stumbling and rock of offense is Jesus Christ.

Seeing as though the message of the Gospel in the person of Jesus Christ is the offense, how should we behave?  What is required of us?  We should follow Jesus’ command in Matthew 5:14-16:

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;   15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.   16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

To offend or not to offend?  The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ already does that.  We need to take care that the Gospel of Jesus Christ remains the offense and not us.

You are NOT the Gospel!

James White calmly and systematically eviscerates Rob Bell on a number of points.  The two that stand out are Rob Bell’s assertion that there is nothing special about the resurrection of Jesus Christ; that every religion during the patristic age had resurrected God’s.   The second is Rob Bell’s statement that “you are the gospel”.

James White refutes Rob Bell’s downplay of Jesus’ resurrection by citing Acts 17:30-32:

“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”  Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.””

If Jesus’ resurrection was a garden variety religious belief during Paul’s time, why was it met with disdain by the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers?  Why did some of them say, “We shall hear you again concerning this?”  What was there to hear?  Weren’t resurrection theories on every street corner?  Or could it be that this was truly a new teaching that elicited as strong response?

Bell straddles, if not completely crosses, the blasphemy line when he says to his audience, “you are the gospel.”    The Gospel is two things.   1. The good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  2.  The proclamation of forgiveness of sins to all who will repent and believe.  Jesus said:

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies”

Jesus Christ is the resurrection.  Jesus Christ is the source of the Gospel message.  Jesus Christ is the One who offers forgiveness to all who will repent of their sins and believe in Him by faith.  You and I cannot do that.  We are not the good news.  We are not capable of forgiving sins.  At best we are conduits for God’s marvelous message of grace that is to be preached in all places and to all people.

What’s the Big Deal with being Reformed? Part 4

bigdealIn the continuing series, “What is the Big Deal about being Reformed” we will finish taking a look at Reformed Baptist distinctives.  The last distinctive that we will look at is evangelism.  Evangelism is the sharing of the good news – the Gospel – of Jesus Christ.  If you take a look across the evangelical landscape today you will identify numerous ways that Christians practice evangelism. The primary (or “ordinary”) means of evangelism is the proclamation of the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

There is not a person who comes to faith in Christ who does so apart from hearing the good news – the Gospel.  Indeed, the Apostle Paul wrote that the Gospel was nothing less than the power of God for salvation!

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also the Greek.

Reformed Baptists understand the importance of proclaiming the Gospel, so that sinners can be converted.  Some critics have charged Reformed Baptists of contradicting the command to proclaim the Gospel because Reformed Baptists are Calvinists.  This is a misunderstanding both of Reformed Baptist beliefs, and the nature of the Gospel itself.  As Calvinists, Reformed Baptists happily confess that God sovereignly calls His elect to salvation, but He does so through the proclamation of the Gospel.  Therefore the proclamation of the Gospel is the means God uses to bring sinners to Him.

Since the Gospel is the means of salvation, you will find that Reformed Baptist Churches place a great deal of emphasis on proclaiming the Gospel from the pulpit.  Reformed Baptist Churches typically take a minimalist or moderate position on contextualization.  Contextualization describes the degree to which an entity – in this case the Church – will adapt itself to the culture in order to get its message out.  Reformed Baptists that hold to a minimalist position believe the proclamation of the Gospel is contextualization enough.  Obviously I am writing from a minimalist point of view.  It is my opinion that anything that competes with the Gospel for attention actually detracts from the Gospel, and the greater the degree of contextualization the greater the competition and detraction.

In the first post in this series I said that I will be borrowing heavily from a sermon preached by William Payne on “What is a Reformed Baptist Church?”  With that in mind I am going to quote Pastor Payne on the subject of evangelism:

In the next place, we would like to affirm that Reformed Baptists believe in the necessity and responsibility of evangelism. We have no more liking for Hyper-Calvinism than we have for Arminianism.

We do not believe that there is an inconsistency between God’s sovereignty in the salvation of His chosen people and His command to us to preach the gospel to every creature. If there seems to be a difficulty in our minds reconciling any of the truths of His Word, we see it as the result of the darkness of our own understanding, and we believe that our duty is to obey the Word whether we understand it all or not. We believe in evangelism!

Now it is true that we do not believe in much that goes under the name of evangelism in this twentieth century. We believe that much that is called evangelism today is little more than psychology and salesmanship; we are appalled by the superficial work which goes under the name of evangelism; we are appalled by the pressures, gimmicks and schemes all calculated to produce “decisions” and impressive statistics but which work such havoc in the souls of men. No!

Because we believe in evangelism does not mean that we are going to cooperate with every scheme which bears that name. We believe that in evangelism as in everything else, as we said earlier, we must be governed by the Word of God. The message of evangelism must be according to the Scriptures, and the method of evangelism must be governed by the Word of God! Nevertheless, we repeat that we do believe in evangelism, and our prayer is that God would ever keep us mindful of the need to evangelize. May God ever give us a burden to evangelize, knowing that it is for His glory and for the salvation of men.

We believe that it is our responsibility to make known the gospel first in our own community, and in Canada at large, and indeed in all the world. We believe in missions, home and foreign and we believe that we ought to seek the souls of men in every way that is consistent with the Word of God.

So, what is the BIG DEAL about being Reformed?  That is exactly what we will discuss in the next entry in this series.

What are you most known for, your politics or your faith? Part II

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is Glenn Beck a Christian?  Interesting question to start off this article, isn’t it?

This morning I was driving in Montgomery County, Maryland when I came across Glenn Beck’s radio program.  I must admit that I’m drawn to some aspects of Beck’s political views.  Beck has been known to talk about religion on his program.  However, today he tackled a subject head on; a subject that many Christians have wondered about.  Beck responded to criticism from other Christians as to whether he, himself, is actually a Christian.  I don’t have access to Beck’s program transcript, so I’ll have to paraphrase his statements.  Glenn Beck said that he is both a Christian and a Mormon.  He tried to tie evangelical Christianity and Mormonism to the atoning work of Jesus Christ.  He said that he has placed his faith in Christ and the atonement that He accomplished.  Therefore, Beck is a Christian (according to him).  He then added a, “Now that that is settled, lets move on.”  But is it really settled?  Are we to accept Beck’s contention that his faith in Christ is the same as what the bible teaches?  Do Mormons believe in the same atonement that the vast majority of Christians do?  Seeing as this blog marches to a distinct Reformed drum, is the faith and atonement that Beck espouses in congruence with Reformed tradition?  The Christian Apologetics & Research  Ministry examines Mormonism in detail.  Since Beck spoke this morning about the atonement, let me share what CARM has to say about Mormonism’s view:

Mormonism and the atonement of Jesus

The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints does not view the atonement of Christ in the biblical and historical Christian manner. Instead of the atonement occurring on the cross, Mormonism teaches that the atonement occurred primarily in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus shed His blood. Please consider the following quotes from a BYU professor and the Mormon apostle Bruce McConkie.

  • BYU professor Robert J. Matthews, who on page 282 of his book, A Bible! A Bible!, wrote, “It was in Gethsemane, on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, that Jesus made his perfect atonement by the shedding of his blood-more so than on the cross.”
  • Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie, stated, “Where and under what circumstances was the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God made? Was it on the Cross of Calvary or in the Garden of Gethsemane? It is to the Cross of Christ that most Christians look when centering their attention upon the infinite and eternal atonement. And certainly the sacrifice of our Lord was completed when he was lifted up by men; also, that part of his life and suffering is more dramatic and, perhaps, more soul stirring. But in reality the pain and suffering, the triumph and grandeur, of the atonement took place primarily in Gethsemane,” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, vol. 1, p. 774, emphasis mine).
  • For more quotes regarding the atonement and Mormonism please see Interesting Quotes on the Atonement from Mormon writings.

There is no biblical record of Jesus atoning for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Garden is where He suffered greatly in prayer because He did not want to go through the coming ordeal of His beating and crucifixion. The agony of the Garden was so intense for Him that He apparently sweat blood (Luke 22:44). But, the only references in the Bible dealing with Christ and the atonement are in reference to the cross, not the Garden of Gethsemane.

  1. Reconciliation is through the cross:
    1. “And might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity,” (Eph. 2:16).
    2. “And through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven,” (Col. 1:20).
  2. Our debt nailed to the cross
    1. “Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross,” (Col. 2:14).
  3. He bore our sins on the cross
    1. “And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed,” (1 Pet. 2:24).
  4. Reconciled through Christ’s death — which occurred on the cross.
    1. “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life,” (Rom. 5:10).
    2. “Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach,” (Col. 1:22).

Paul says, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified,” (1 Cor. 2:2). He does not mention anything, ever, about Jesus bearing our sins in the Garden. He only mentions sins in relation to the cross of Christ. Wherein did God purchase the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28)? It was the cross, not the Garden.

Propitiation

A propitiation is a sacrifice that turns away wrath. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was just such a propitiation. It was on the cross where Jesus bore our sins (1 Pet. 2:24) where he became a propitiation, the sacrifice for our sins. Notice that the sacrifice on the cross is a public event and it is this public display where propitiation occurred: “whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith,” (Rom. 3:25). When Jesus sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, that was not a public display. Therefore, the sacrifice of redemption, where Jesus bore our sins as the propitiation, did not occur in the Garden of Gethsemane, but in the public display of the cross. Thus, when we see the term propitiation referred to in Scripture, we know it is referring to the sacrifice on the cross. Let’s take a look at more Scriptures dealing with this:

  • “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people,” (Heb. 2:17).
  • “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world,” (1 John 2:2).
  • “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins,” (1 John 4:10).

Notice that Jesus, the high priest, was the propitiation for our sins. This means that He bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24), as a publicly displayed sacrifice (Rom. 3:25) by which we are cleansed from our sins (1 John 1:7). It is not the blood that He sweat in the Garden that cleanses us of our sins, but the blood that was shed in the public display of the propitiatory sacrifice on the cross that cleanses us. This is why the scripture says, “and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity,” (Eph. 2:16).

In Conclusion

There is so much wrong with Mormon theology to begin with (plurality of gods, goddess mother, becoming gods, keeping the commandments to be forgiven, etc.), that it is no surprise to learn that Mormonism lays the emphasis of the redemptive work of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane instead of the cross.

  • “Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind, even as many as will, shall be redeemed. The Savior began shedding His blood for all mankind, not on the cross but in the Garden of Gethsemane. There He took upon Himself the weight of the sins of all who would ever live. Under that [page 6] heavy load, He bled at every pore,” (Russell M. Nelson, “His Mission and Ministry,” New Era, Dec. 1999, p. 4, 6, emphasis mine).
  • “Jesus paid for all our sins when He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane,” (Laurel Rohlfing, “Sharing Time: The Atonement,” Friend, Mar. 1989, p. 39).

Error comes from error. If the Mormon church would only repent of its false doctrines and come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the true Jesus Christ, who bore our sins in His body on the cross and redeemed us freely, then the Mormons could also enjoy the free forgiveness of sins earned by Christ. Instead, because of the error of Mormonism regarding God and salvation, Mormons are still under the law and are required to obey all the commandments in order to receive the atonement work of Christ.

  • “We accept Christ’s atonement by repenting of our sins, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and obeying all of the commandments,” (Gospel Principles, Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979, p. 68, emphasis mine).

Nobody can obey all the commandments and to try in any way is to take on an impossible burden of guilt: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all,” (James 2:10). And, “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified,” (Gal. 2:16). Therefore, not only is the Mormon position dealing with the atonement false, but so is its doctrine of salvation. Mormons are, unfortunately, still dead in their sins.

The True Gospel

The true gospel is that Jesus Christ, who is God in flesh, obeyed perfectly all the Old Testament laws. He fulfilled everything and never sinned. It was necessary that He do this because we could never do it. Because our works are filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6), there is absolutely nothing we have to offer God. The only thing we have is what Christ has done and the only way to be forgiven of our sins is to trust in Christ alone. But in Mormonism, Christ is the brother of the devil begotten through sexual relations between God and his goddess wife who both came from another planet. This is not the Jesus of the Bible. This is critical because the object of the Mormons faith is false. And since we have seen that their doctrine of the atonement is also wrong, we can now recognize more easily that they are lost.

Salvation, complete forgiveness of sins, does not come through obedience to the laws and the commandments. Complete forgiveness of sins comes by faith in Jesus Christ, the Jesus of the Bible, not the Jesus of Mormonism.

It is clear that Mormonism has a different view of the atonement than biblical Christianity.  Unless Glenn Beck is willing to repudiate the Mormon view of the atonement we must conclude that he agrees with it.  Mormons do not look to the cross where the propitiation (satisfaction) for sin was accomplished, by Christ.  Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is not God the Son, part of the Holy Trinity.  They believe Jesus and Satan are physical sons of God the Father.  These are not just minor points of doctrinal disagreement.  If you get the Son of God wrong you get the Gospel wrong.  If you get the Gospel wrong there is no hope of salvation.

Is Glenn Beck a Christian?  Not if he holds to Mormon orthodoxy.  What does this have to do with Christians and politics?  Be careful of who you choose to be your political heroes.  I have run into Christians who are willing to dismiss Beck’s Mormonism for the greater good of his politics.  The greater good of his politics? How about dismissing his politics for the greater good of the true Gospel?  There is to be no compromise when it comes to the Gospel.  There is to be no compromise when it comes to true biblical faith.

Matthew 16:6  And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

An Inadequate gospel (John MacArthur and Todd Friel)

An oldie but a goodie from John MacArthur and Todd Friel.  Rick Warren does not present the Gospel that saves sinners in his book, “The Purpose Driven Life.”  What Warren presents is a gospel that lacks power and leads to a false hope and security.  Oh, that pastors will preach the true Gospel in power and with boldness!

 

One Gospel or Many?

How many ways are there to God? Post-Modernism would have us believe there are many ways to God. It doesn’t matter which path you choose so long as you’re sincere. For those who believe that the bible is the authoritative Word of God, is this post-modern spiritual plurality acceptable? Consider the words of Al Mohler from his book, “He is Not Silent.”

“Little imagination is needed to see that this radical relativism is a direct challenge to the Christian gospel. Our claim is not to preach one truth among many, one Savior among many, or one gospel among many. We do not believe that the Christian gospel is a socially constructed truth but the Truth that sets sinners free from sin — and is objectively, universally, historically true. As the late Francis Schaeffer instructed, the Christian church must contend for “the truth.”

Jesus, himself, eliminated a plurality of paths to God. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Many paths?  To hell, yes.  But only one path to God.

Leading People to Hell

Today at the 2010 Washington, DC Ligonier Conference, Burk Parsons said, “If we give up the gospel, we not only become susceptible to the teachings of hell, we lead others there.”

The church abandons the gospel to it’s own peril. Pastors and elders need to resolve to preach the gospel no matter what. There can be no rationalizing, capitulation, or compromise. Either we believe Romans 1:16 or we don’t.

The Plain and Simple Truth of the Gospel.

A friend posted this quote by Charles Spurgeon on a blog that I frequent.  Considering that I preached on the topic of the Gospel for the past two weeks this quote is apropos.

On whatever subjects I may be called to preach, I feel it to be a duty which I dare not neglect to be continually going back to the doctrine of the cross,— the fundamental truth of justification by faith which is in Christ Jesus. This topic is essential to the life of the soul. Men are not saved, otherwise than by faith in Jesus; and, therefore, to this great central point we must return again and again and again, hoping that God will bless his own Word to those who hear it proclaimed. I notice that some of our friends, who are bakers, have in their shop-windows divers articles of confectionery, and I suppose they have their set days for making their various kinds of cake and sweetmeats; but one thing I know they never forget to do, and that is, to bake every day a batch of bread; because, if their customers do not want this or that confectionery, they always want bread; and what is the good of a baker if he has no bread? I wish that every preacher felt that, albeit there are certain things which are sweet and toothsome, which some mouths are alrways craving, yet the chief business of the minister, like that of the baker, is to have a constant supply of good bread. It may be a very ordinary kind of food; some may even call it commonplace; and what a mercy it is when bread is a commonplace thing! I have known some people who would have been glad if they could place it in common upon their tables; but they have not been able to get it, and the necessity has grown into a luxury. And what a mercy it is when the gospel is a commonplace thing,— when you have so much of it that you really understand, it, and enjoy it, and feed upon it! It is then as it ought always to be with the true ministry of the gospel. So, preacher, whatsoever thou dost choose to neglect, never neglect to preach Christ crucified, and the simple, soul-saving precept, “Look and live.” What if there be some prophetic passages which thou canst not understand? The day shall declare them. What if there be certain deep doctrines that are too profound for thee? Thou and thy people shall learn them in eternity, if you learn them not in time. But as for this doctrine, that he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life,” it must be learned now or never; and if it be not learned now, men will be shut out of heaven eternally. Therefore, let this truth be proclaimed again and again and again. Let it still be preached, even though some who have itching ears weary of it, for there is an urgent necessity that it should be made known whether men will hear or whether they will forbear. Better that the sun should not rise than that Christ should not be preached. Better that the wheels of time should stand still than that the name of Jesus should not be sounded forth. Better that the dews be withheld, and the rain fall not again upon the earth, than that the glorious gospel of the blessed God be hidden from the sons of men.

There is a time and place to preach some of the most profound doctrines in scripture.  After all, it is the job of the preacher to proclaim the full counsel of God (Acts 20:27 KJV).  But nothing is needed as much as the pure Gospel.  It is appropriate for saint and sinner.

The Importance of the Gospel

What the church most desperately needs is a return to gospel-centered preaching.  If all programs and ministries in the church were taken away, and all that remained was gospel preaching, the church would not be poorer for it.  From Genesis to Revelation, the gospel is intricately woven through every word.  Even when the topic is not the gospel, it is the gospel.  The whole point of the bible is to point men to Christ and teach those men about the Christian life.  The atonement was God’s central plan for the redemption of his elect.  The Old Testament points towards it, and the New Testament reveals it.  No preacher worth his call is able to deliver a message without it being saturated with the gospel.  If you do not hear the gospel from your church pulpit each Lord’s Day, than either your heart needs examining or else your choice of a church home does.  The point is not being made that ministries other than the preaching of the gospel are worthless.  Nor is the point being made the there are not other biblical commands that we are bound to observe, such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and church discipline.  The point is that gospel centered preaching is the basis for all our understanding.  We are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection.   We sup with him during the Lord’s Supper.  It is the mercy of Christ that calls us to repentance when we sin. Christ is at the center of all we do, and nothing drives that point home as much as gospel-centered preaching.