D. A. Carson authored a chapter entitled What Is The Gospel?-Revisited. It is from this chapter that I share the following passage:
The gospel is not a minor theme that deals with the entry into the Christian way, to be followed by a lot of material that actually brings about the life of transformation. Very large swaths of evangelicalism simply presuppose that this is the case. Preaching the gospel, it is argued, is announcing how to be saved from God's condemnation; believing the gospel guarantees you won't go to hell. But for actual transformation to take place, you need to take a lot of discipleship courses, spiritual enrichment courses, "Go deep" spiritual disciplines courses,and the like. You need to learn journaling, or asceticism, or the simple lifestyle or Scripture memorization; you need to join a small group, an accountability group, or a women's Bible study. Not for a moment would I speak against the potential for good of all of these steps; rather, I am speaking against the tendency to treat these as postgospel disciplines, disciplines divorced from what God has done in Christ Jesus in the gospel of the crucified and resurrected Lord.
The gospel is for believers every bit as much as it is for non-believers; an enjedifying reminder for us all.
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