Insights on Church Revitalization

8. KEEPING THE GOSPEL CENTRAL (2)

Last week we began to look at the "first things" that a church has to do if it is to experience God's revitalizing power. The very first of these, we noted, was to restore the gospel of God's grace to the centre of its life. Every aspect of a church's life needs to be connected with and flow from the gospel in some way.

But what is the "gospel"? At heart it is the message - the good news - of God's gracious salvation in Christ. "Most Christians know this," says Harry Reeder, "but many do not understand how comprehensive this salvations is. It is not merely a 'ticket to heaven', but a package deal that includes much more than our eternal salvation." (p. 60).

What is involved in this "package deal" that Reeder speaks of? This is how he explains the wide significance of the gospel (pp. 61-64):

  • (a) It is salvation from the persuasion of sin - effectual calling. We are all naturally blind and deaf to the truth. Sin holds us tightly in its grip, deceived and beguiled by the lie of Satan. God's grace in Christ "gives us eyes to see and ears to hear," liberating us from the persuasion of sin (2 Thess. 2:14)
  • (b) It is salvation from the power of sin - regeneration. "Before we are born again, all we can do is sin. We are in slavery to it (Jn. 8:34). We do not commit every possible sin, nor do we commit them in the worst possible way... But though we are not as bad as we could be in our unregenerate state, we still are incapable of doing anything truly good for the glory of God." God in his grace, however, is able to give us new minds and new hearts, and enable us to do what pleases him. While we can never (in this life) escape struggle with sin, we can be set free from its control. Self-effort can never achieve this. It is only God's grace in Christ that allows it to happen.
  • (c) It is salvation from the penalty of sin - justification. "When God imparts to us a new heart, he also imputes to us a new record. He declares us to be righteous in his sight, simply because Jesus Christ lived a perfect life and died a sacrificial death as our representative... Everything in the gospel is 'good news', but this has to be the best news of all!"
  • (d) It is salvation from the position of sin - adoption. "When God calls us by his Spirit, gives us a new heart, and declares us righteous before him, he also brings us into a new family. Before, we were 'children of wrath' (Eph. 2:3) and our spiritual father was the devil (Jn. 8:44). But now God has become our Father, for he has adopted us as his sons (Rom. 8:15; Eph. 1:5). So I am no longer an orphan of sin, but a child of the King!"
  • (e) It is salvation from the practice of sin - sanctification. God not only deals with our sinful record and changes our family status, but also renovates our nature. From the time of our regeneration he works in us to make us like his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This too is part of the gospel. It is not just good news about "how we can come to Christ for the first time, but it also tells us how we can walk with Christ for the rest of our lives."
  • (f) It is salvation from the presence of sin - glorification. "One day the process of sanctification will be completed, and we will be given new bodies that are incapable of sin and pain (Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor. 5:1; Rev. 21:4)... We have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved - that is the good news that God wants us to proclaim as the foundation, the formation and motivation of all we do in the church."

    The gospel, seen in this light, is comprehensive. God's saving grace in Christ touches us in every part and at every point of our lives. Little wonder that churches (and Christians) lose their first love when they stray from it.

    ---oOo---

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