Our Identity is that we are “Gospel-centered”
What does it mean to be “gospel-centered”? Being gospel-centered means that we turn to the gospel, by its content and implications, to shape the whole of our church life, activities and priorities. We seek to be a church that preaches the Gospel unashamedly and which finds our motivation for service and ministry in the Gospel itself. We believe that the Gospel is the basis for our salvation, the means by which we are sanctified, and the motivation for every action of the Christian. We do not believe that the Gospel is simply the first step into the Kingdom, after which it is quickly left behind. As a church we break bread every week, ensure that the Gospel is proclaimed in some way at every gathering we have, and long for people to be reconciled to God Himself, which is the ultimate outworking of the Gospel in our lives.
The all-encompassing nature of the gospel is revealed constantly in the Old and throughout the New Testament. In the book of Acts, Peter, the Apostles, and faithful Christians are constantly preaching the Gospel to everyone. In Romans 1:15, Paul writes to the Christians in Rome saying that he longs to come and preach the gospel to them. Do those who are already Christians need the gospel to be preached to them? Absolutely. The gospel is not just the doorway into the new life of Christianity. It is not just the first step on our journey of sanctification.
The Gospel-Centered Life
The gospel-centered life is a life that recognizes that the Gospel is central to all progress we make in our Christian lives (Gal 3:1-3). It is how we are renewed (Col 1:6) and how we overcome every obstacle (Rom 1:16-17). The Gospel-centered life thinks through the full implications of the Gospel, applies it to every part and every sphere of living and hungers for a deeper revelation, renewal and discovery of the endless implications, applications and meanings of the glorious Gospel.
It recognises also that the Gospel is a message that the world needs to hear and that Christians need to preach and proclaim (Mark 1:14; Acts 14:21; Rom 1:15; 1 Peter 1:12, 2 Cor 5). This proclamation is of God redeeming his fallen creation. It brings the good news that our creator and our God took action to overcome evil and to bring sinful people back to himself through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:1-12).
This gospel is directly opposed to religion or any form of works-based righteousness. Martin Luther observed that religion is the default setting of every human heart. We can actually continue to live with this mentality after conversion to Christ. Every single action we do can be out of pride, fear, or self-righteousness instead of a love and faith in Christ and in response to God. CS Lewis says that „the church is not a place, but a people – a community that is reformed and renewed by the transforming power of the Gospel (Col 1:6). the gospel is not simply a message or a power, but it redefines every aspect of our lives, including how we live.
This means that the main problem in the Christian life is a failure to comprehend the true implications of the Gospel and a failure to apply those implications to every aspect of our lives. To a certain extent, every single one of us fails to grasp the whole and complete essence of the Gospel although we are changed by it. The Gospel is central to everything we do as Christians. It is our conviction that all of life should flow out of our understanding of the gospel.
The Gospel makes us see God rightly in his person and supremacy: Jesus Christ reveals the Father. Through the Gospel we see His person – His holiness, love, mercy, grace, truth and justice all at the same time. We love Him because He loved us, trust Him because He is the perfect Father and obey Him because He is the Lord of all. We realise that God is supreme over all and is our supreme goal, prize and desire. We become God centered and recognize that the whole bible is about Him!
The Gospel makes us see ourselves rightly in our identity and in our purpose: The true gospel correctly identifies each one of us – God’s good, unique, beloved creation made fallen and worthless through our own willful sin. The gospel tells us that in spite of this we are precious – beloved enough to be redeemed at the highest price of God’s own life. In the light of the gospel we are neither too worthless, that God dismisses us, or too precious, that we would think we are worth anything on our own. This makes us humble yet confident, proud yet submissive, powerful yet reliant on an all-powerful God.
The Gospel makes us see other people rightly in their worth and in relation to the community of God: Not only does the gospel reform our view of God and of ourselves, it also conforms our view of other people to God’s view. We realise that He loves them deeply, even while they are His enemies, and the price He paid for us He pays for others also. So if we say we love God, then how can we not love those whom He loves so much?