Gospeltygoop

Is there too much gospel-talk these days? too much cross-talk? I have seen and read some discussion about current Christianity's use, or perhaps overuse, of terms that involve gospel and cross and the like.

My first thought when I read these articles, blog posts, and various other forms of communication is: what is the alternative? Should we not be talking about the cross and the gospel? Should these things not be the focus of our conversations and communications? Unlikely.

What I think concerned Christians are getting at is the idea that it seems easy these days to talk about the gospel, to fit gospel into a catchy title for a conference, or liberally season our writing with related phrases and vocabulary. And when it is easy and hip and cool to speak/write/think a certain way, it can often be done so in a less than genuine way.

And I think the more important issue in this case is the integrity with which we use the words as opposed to the frequency with which we use them.

J. C Ryle wrote on this many years ago in his classic book on sanctification called simply Holiness:

True sanctification then does not consist in talk about religion. This is a point which ought never to be forgotten. The vast increase of education and preaching in these latter days makes it absolutely necessary to raise a warning voice. People hear so much of Gospel truth that they contract an unholy familiarity with its words and phrases, and sometimes talk so fluently about its doctrines that you might think them true Christians. In fact it is sickening and disgusting to hear the cool and flippant language which many pour out about “conversion - the Saviour - the Gospel - finding peace - free grace,” and the like, while they are notoriously serving sin or living for the world. Can we doubt that such talk is abominable in God’s sight, and is little better than cursing, swearing, and taking God’s name in vain? The tongue is not the only member that Christ bids us give to His service. God does not want His people to be mere empty tubs, sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. We must be sanctified, not only “in word and in tongue, but in deed and truth.” (1 John iii. 18.)

As is evident, Ryle played hardball. But again, he is not condemning the accurate and honest use of the words. What he contends against is the "cool and flippant" employing of phraseology that sounds Christian when there is a lack of Christian sanctification evidenced in the life.

So, I say keep using the words. Let our speech be seasoned with talk of the cross and let our writing be permeated with gospel this and gospel that. But let our words, whether in our mouths or on our screens, be spoken with authenticity.

Edwards defines the Gospel

In Charity and Its Fruits, Jonathan Edwards defines the Gospel:

The gospel, above all things in the world, holds forth the exceeding condescension of God. No other manifestation that ever God made of himself exhibits such wonderful condescension as the Christian revelation does. The gospel teaches how God, who humbles himself to behold things that are in heaven and earth, stooped so low as to take an infinitely gracious notice of poor vile worms of the dust, and to concern himself for their salvation, and so as to send his only-begotten Son to die for them, that they might be forgiven, and elevated, and honoured, and brought into eternal fellowship with him, and to the perfect enjoyment of himself in heaven for ever.

Gospel going, gospel baptizing, gospel teaching

This is a great excerpt from Gospel Centered discipleship, a superb book by Jonathan K. Dodson that I have posted about before here and here. This passage looks at the Great Commission and considers the implications it makes in regards to the gospel. Dodson suggests, helpfully and correctly in my opinion, that the Great Commission is really a gospel commission. And he emphasizes that this commission is not just to make disciples, but also to baptize them and teach them, And this making, baptizing, and teaching is all in reference to the gospel, and thus is centered on the Person of the gospel, Jesus..

"At the risk of oversimplification, we could say that the Great Commission commands us to learn the gospel by the gospel. We learn the breadth and depth of the good news by continually situating ourselves in it, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Jesus is the gospel of our teaching and observing. It is this understanding of the gospel that makes disciples, which is why it would be better to refer to the [Great] commission as the "Gospel Commission." The Gospel Commission sends us to teach and observe the gospel.

With this all too brief explanation of the Great Commission directives, we must conclude that the gospel isn't just for evangelism, the initial making of disciples. It is also for discipleship, the continual making of disciples. Jesus' view of discipleship is radically gospel centered. The gospel is for not-yet disciples and already disciples. The gospel people believe to be baptized is the same gospel people believe to be sanctified (through the work of the Spirit). Followers of Jesus make and mature disciples by going with the gospel, baptizing disciples into gospel community, and teaching the gospel. We are to go in the power of the gospel, baptize into the grace of the gospel, and teach the Person of the gospel. Jesus is the ground of our going, the goal of our baptizing, and the gospel of our teaching. Making disciples is radically Jesus centered. This is how we make disciples-gospel going, gospel baptizing, gospel teaching." (35)

Threats to the gospel by 9Marks

I like this post from 9Marks:

What are the most dangerous threats to the gospel today?

It’s impossible to answer what’s “most” dangerous to the gospel today without God’s knowledge of everything. But here are some prominent threats that loom on the horizon:

1. The prosperity “gospel.” The belief that the gospel is about God making us rich is a lie. Jesus came to save us from sin and reconcile us to God (Rom. 5:10-11; 1 Pet. 3:18), giving us every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3) and promising us suffering in this life and glory in the next (Acts 14:22, Rom. 8:18).
2. The attack on penal, substitutionary atonement. Many people reject the idea that on the cross God punished Jesus for the sins of his people. But to reject this is to reject the heart of the gospel itself (Rom. 3:21-26).
3. The rejection of the wrath of God. People today are extremely uncomfortable with the idea of a holy God who will punish sin. But if we reject the wrath of God we lie to ourselves about the fundamental problem the gospel saves us from (John 3:36; Rom. 1:18; 1 Thess. 1:10).
4. The rejection of sin. Some argue that sin is just an idea that people in power use to make others behave the way they want them to. But the Bible presents sin—and especially God’s wrath against sin—as humanity’s fundamental problem. Reject sin and you’ve rejected our only Savior who “died for our sins” (1 Cor. 15:3).
5. A man-centered view of the universe. We like to think that we run things around here. We like to think that no one can tell us what to do or believe—after all, we have rights! But the Bible presents exactly the opposite picture: we live in God’s universe (Rom. 11:36). He made us (Ps. 100:3). He rules over us (Dan. 4:34-35; 1 Tim. 6:15-16). We either worship him or hate him—and face the consequences (Rom. 1:18, 25; 8:5-8). A man-centered view of the universe is the opposite of the gospel and leaves no room for the gospel.
6. “All paths lead to God.” People like to think that whatever anyone believes is fine so long as they’re sincere. People like to think that God will accept everyone in the end. After all, isn’t he a loving God? But the gospel is a radically exclusive message: Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, NIV).
7. Other threats: widespread belief in a brand of “tolerance” which, in fact, is not very tolerant but is fundamentally a rejection of universal truth; cultural materialism; nihilism/philosophical unbelief/radical skepticism; the ever-continual attacks on Scripture, even from within the church.

Victory never comes cheaply

Royce Gordon Gruenler, in his contributed chapter to the book The Glory of the Atonement entitled Atonement in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts, admonishes the reader in his concluding remarks with this:

It is a striking fact that while the fundamental atoning work of Christ was accomplished once for all in his faithful keeping of the law, both moral and sacrificial, he has nonetheless called us to partnership in fulfilling what is lacking in his atoning work ... Christ's atoning work continues in the world through evangelism and mission proclamation as the Holy Spirit continues to apply it to repentant sinners and to struggling and growing churches. It is fitting, therefore, to end our study by noting that the book of Acts ends with Paul faithfully proclaiming Christ and the kingdom in Rome (28:30-31), as a prisoner who continued to suffer as a witness to Christ until his execution under Nero. This reminds us that victory over apparent defeat never comes cheaply-not for the Son of God in his atoning ministry, not for us in our responsibility to proclaim the gospel of atonement in his name.

This is an encouragement to me to proclaim the gospel and to persevere irrespective of what trials our tribulations God may allow us to encounter. Take heart today.

Oliphint on the grotesque exchange

    For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:18-23 ESV)

Those who profess to have wisdom often turn out to be, for the most part, foolish ...

But it is how this foolishness arises that is of interest to us. It is not because they profess to be wise that they are fools. Professing wisdom may be boastful, but it does not automatically make one foolish. No, Paul says that foolishness comes about because of an exchange.

We some times speak of "the great exchange" of the gospel: Christ became what he was not,so that we might become what we are not. He became sin, so that we might become righteous in him. This is the glory of the gospel.

The exchange that Paul speaks about here is not glorious or great, but grotesque. It is the quintessential perversion. Those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness "exchange the glory of the immortal God for images" (v. 23). Suppression of the truth reveals itself as idolatry.

(Oliphint, K. Scott. The Battle Belongs to the Lord: The Power of Scripture for Defending Our Faith. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2003. Print. 134-5)

Though, by the grace of God, I have received the great exchange of the gospel, I still participate, at times, in the grotesque exchange of Romans 1.

I can be one who suppresses the truth of God while elevating myself, or some idol, in his place. Whenever I suppress the truth of the great and glorious gospel of God for the lies of sin, Satan, and this world I in fact exchange "the glorious exchange" for "the grotesque exchange".

And so I must continue to fight to behold the glory of God in the face of Christ that I might unmask this grotesque suppression of truth and lean into the glorious gospel and my great God.

The greatest act in the universe

George Smeaton, in his classic work on the atonement entitled The Apostles' Doctrines of the Atonement, addresses a passage of Scripture where Paul curses any who would come against the gospel either by changing it or denying it. The verse in question is found in Galatians. Chapter1 and verse 8 reads, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed."


Smeaton acknowledges the gravity of the issue writing,

Were the atonement not the principal matter of the gospel, and the highest exhibition of the united wisdom, love, and faithfulness of God, — in a word, the greatest act of God in the universe, — that terrible anathema on its subverters would seem to us something inexplicable, if not intolerable. But the doom is justified by the nature of Christ's death, and by the great fact of the atonement.

 The gospel-the life,death, and resurrection of Jesus-is of the greatest import and we need to come to terms with this even as Paul did.

Who is up for being demolished?

We all are, that's who.

Dr. Jim Hamilton explains in his book Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches:

How will you fare before the wrath of God? Do you think status or influence or wealth or greatness is going to help you on that day? There is only one shelter from the wrath of God on that day-the shelter of the cross of Jesus Christ. Only those who believed that Jesus died to pay the penalty for their sins, that he rose to conquer sin and death, only those who trust Jesus will be sheltered by Jesus from divine wrath on that day.

Interestingly, the gospel is the great leveler of humanity in the same way that God's wrath is. The gospel declares that only Christ can save and that nothing you bring makes you closer to God. Money doesn't put you closer to God. Power doesn't, influence doesn't, greatness doesn't, freedom doesn't. The only thing that brings you closer to God is faith in Jesus Christ. Your pride will be demolished one way or the other. Do you want it demolished right now by the cross and the gospel, or do you want it demolished on the last day of the wrath of the lamb. 

(Hamilton Jr., James M. Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012. Print. 185) 

The solution for feeling burdened

Maybe you feel that the things your church needs from you are a burden. Your turn in the nursery comes around so often. You keep waiting for someone else to wipe up the tables after the potluck lunch, but no one else steps forward.

The solution for these "problems" is not for the church to hire nursery workers so we don't have to be bothered with that problem. Nor, in my opinion, is it for us to stop doing those bothersome potluck lunches. The solution is for us to think on the gospel. When we meditate on the gospel, we become people who want to lay down our lives for others the way Jesus laid down his life for us. We become people who want to serve others the way the King served us.

Some day we will wish we served others more. Some day we will wish we had rejoiced at every opportunity to make sacrifices for the church's needs. The church is the discipleship program that God has given to his people. When the church meets, discipleship is happening as those who are farther along in Christlikeness act like Jesus on behalf of those who have farther to go. We all have a long way to go; so we should look around and observe the way other people are acting like Jesus, then imitate them. He didn't come to be served but to serve (Mark 10:45). He was the greatest and he was the servant (Matthew 23:11). The idea is for all of us to be living out Christlikeness for the benefit of others, so other people will see what it means to look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). The church lives out discipleship, and Christ is glorified.

(Hamilton Jr., James M. Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012. Print. 68-69, emphasis mine)

Well, this excerpt came with some conviction as I prepared this post. I hope it offers you some conviction if needed, some encouragement that is always needed, and a solution when the weight seems too heavy. Remember, think of the gospel.

Lloyd-Jones on the quest for truth

From Romans 1: The Gospel of God by D. M. Lloyd-Jones:

“We have heard so much about the ‘quest’ for truth, the ‘search’ for reality. Now that is the exact opposite of the gospel. The gospel is not something that invites us to join in a great search or a great quest. It is an announcement. It is a revelation. It is an unfolding, an unveiling of something.” (295)

This quote causes me to ponder how we use use words in our society and the often unnoticed effect those words have on our beliefs. As I read this quote I immediately thought of a popular label for non-believers; seekers.

The church has been using this term for quite some time now. And really, I think it is quite misleading in the sense that nobody, apart from God's gracious hand in their lives, seeks God. And though churches may understand this, I doubt it is ever explained to the ones they have labeled 'seekers'.

Thus, there are likely a whole whack of converts who, due to this term, understand themselves to have sought out God. And instead of realizing they were apprehended by God with the Gospel, they are under the impression that they sought and found the gospel. This can quite clearly lead to some theological errors.

Is this a big deal? Really? Is it really that problematic to call people 'seekers'? Well, yes and no. It is not a big enough deal to stop the progress of the gospel in those people's lives. But then again, nothing is in terms of God's sovereignty. But, it just may well get new believers off on the wrong foot and older believers going down the wrong path.

The gospel is not an invitation to join a journey. It is a revelation of the God in the face of Christ. We do not seek Him; He sought us.

Of Resolutions and Gopel

Over at Pressing Save, Carolyn Weber has a great post on resolutions and the gospel. Here is an excerpt:

God's Resolution for each of us is not just for a new year, but a New Life.

Because He fulfilled His resolution with His own flesh and blood. Because His Word is restorative beyond all our understanding – a Love that falls beyond the margins of our lists. The movement from womb to tomb, conception to epiphany, death to resurrection … quite the ambitious list. And yet everything on it has been crossed off (if you pardon the pun) and burned in our hearts, even the most doubting ones, for us to see.

Read the whole thing here.

Peter Cockrell, at Already Not Yet, touches upon the gospel as well:


C.H. Spurgeon:

We ought not, as men in Christ Jesus, to be carried away by a childish love of novelty, for we worship a God who is ever the same, and of whose years there is no end. In some matters “the old is better.” There are certain things which are already so truly new, that to change them for anything else would be to lose old gold for new dross.

The old, old gospel is the newest thing in the world; in its very essence it is for ever good news. In the things of God the old is ever new, and if any man brings forward that which seems to be new doctrine and new truth, it is soon perceived that the new dogma is only worn-out heresy dexterously repaired, and the discovery in theology is the digging up of a carcase of error which had better have been left to rot in oblivion.

In the great matter of truth and godliness, we may safely say, “There is nothing new under the sun.”
(HT: Trevin Wax)

Already in possession

Because of Christ’s finished work,

Christians already possess 

the approval, 

the love, 

the security, 

the freedom, 

the meaning, 

the purpose, 

the protection, 

the new beginning, 

the cleansing, 

the forgiveness, 

the righteousness, 

and the rescue

we intensely long for and, 

in fact, 

look for in a thousand things smaller than Jesus every day—things transient, things incapable of delivering the goods.

The gospel is the only thing big enough to satisfy our deepest, eternal longings—both now and forever. (77, line breaks mine)

Tchividjian, Tullian. Jesus + Nothing = Everything. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Print.

The encumberance of entitlement

Contrary to what I had thought, I did not need easing circumstances, relief from difficulty, and distance from pain in order to be free. I was learning that the freedom Jesus secured for me is not freedom from pain and suffering here and now. Rather, it’s freedom from bitterness, anger, fear, resentment, self-pity, offense, and hopelessness in the crucible of present pain and suffering; it is freedom from my burdensome sense of “I deserve better,” the encumbrance of entitlement. I was realizing that only the gospel can free us from the enslaving pressure to defend ourselves. That’s real freedom—God-sized freedom! (76)

It is funny what we often think is freedom in reality is just more bondage and servitude. Recently, while sharing a feast of fellowship and food with friends, we had a brief discussion of a concept and strategy of investment referred to as "Freedom 55". We mused that this might better be labelled "Servitude 67" and none of us knew of any 55 year old enjoying their retirement. The race for riches-no different than the sprint for success or the marathon for money-is ultimately unsatisfying and results in our hearts being imprisoned; this is not freedom. True freedom only comes from the gospel, the cross, the Redeemer.  

Tchividjian, Tullian. Jesus + Nothing = Everything. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Print.

Let the Good News sink in

Gospel transformation

“The gospel transforms us in heart, mind, will, and actions precisely because it is not itself a message about our transformation. Nothing that I am or that I feel, choose, or do qualifies as Good News. On my best days, my experience of transformation is weak, but the gospel is an announcement of a certain state of affairs that exists because of something in God, not something in me; something that God has done, not something that I have done; the love in God’s heart which he has shown in his Son, not the love in my heart that I exhibit in my relationships. Precisely as the Good News of a completed, sufficient, and perfect work of God in Christ accomplished for me and outside of me in history, the gospel is ‘the power of God unto salvation’ not only at the beginning but throughout the Christian life. In fact, our sanctification is simply a lifelong process of letting that Good News sink in and responding appropriately; becoming the people whom God says that we already are in Christ.”
— Michael Horton
The Gospel-Driven Life  (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Books, 2009), 77

(HT: Already Not Yet via  Of First Importance)

Threats to the gospel

From the 9Marks websites comes a consideration of the threats to the gospel in our time. Well worth your contemplation.

What are the most dangerous threats to the gospel today?

It’s impossible to answer what’s “most” dangerous to the gospel today without God’s knowledge of everything. But here are some prominent threats that loom on the horizon:

1. The prosperity “gospel.” The belief that the gospel is about God making us rich is a lie. Jesus came to save us from sin and reconcile us to God (Rom. 5:10-11; 1 Pet. 3:18), giving us every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3) and promising us suffering in this life and glory in the next (Acts 14:22, Rom. 8:18).
2. The attack on penal, substitutionary atonement. Many people reject the idea that on the cross God punished Jesus for the sins of his people. But to reject this is to reject the heart of the gospel itself (Rom. 3:21-26).
3. The rejection of the wrath of God. People today are extremely uncomfortable with the idea of a holy God who will punish sin. But if we reject the wrath of God we lie to ourselves about the fundamental problem the gospel saves us from (John 3:36; Rom. 1:18; 1 Thess. 1:10).
4. The rejection of sin. Some argue that sin is just an idea that people in power use to make others behave the way they want them to. But the Bible presents sin—and especially God’s wrath against sin—as humanity’s fundamental problem. Reject sin and you’ve rejected our only Savior who “died for our sins” (1 Cor. 15:3).
5. A man-centered view of the universe. We like to think that we run things around here. We like to think that no one can tell us what to do or believe—after all, we have rights! But the Bible presents exactly the opposite picture: we live in God’s universe (Rom. 11:36). He made us (Ps. 100:3). He rules over us (Dan. 4:34-35; 1 Tim. 6:15-16). We either worship him or hate him—and face the consequences (Rom. 1:18, 25; 8:5-8). A man-centered view of the universe is the opposite of the gospel and leaves no room for the gospel.
6. “All paths lead to God.” People like to think that whatever anyone believes is fine so long as they’re sincere. People like to think that God will accept everyone in the end. After all, isn’t he a loving God? But the gospel is a radically exclusive message: Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, NIV).

Other threats: widespread belief in a brand of “tolerance” which, in fact, is not very tolerant but is fundamentally a rejection of universal truth; cultural materialism; nihilism/philosophical unbelief/radical skepticism; the ever-continual attacks on Scripture, even from within the church.

Clearly evidences itself

But the truth of the gospel so clearly evidences itself by its own light that, if people do not wilfully shut their eyes, or blind themselves by their own pride, and love their lusts, they would easily perceive that it is the truth of God, because the image of His grace, mercy, power, justice and holiness appears manifestly engraven upon it. - Walter Marshall, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification

A gospel-centered church is ...

Already Not Yet addresses what gospel-centered church is:

This statement is taken from the web site of Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma, where my good friend Sam Storms is the Pastor. I have adapted it to describe my own church (Bethel Evangelical Church), and dedicate it to the members there. I’m missing them!

What do we mean when we say that Bethel is a gospel-centered church? We mean that the gospel is not simply the entry point into the Christian life but that it is also the foundation and force that shapes all we do as followers of Jesus both in our daily lives and in our experience as the corporate body of Christ. The gospel is the gloriously great good news of what God has done in the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to satisfy his own wrath and to secure the forgiveness of sins and perfect righteousness for all who trust in him by faith alone. 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. The gospel is about divine achievement. The gospel is not a moralistic Do! The gospel is a merciful Done! We at Bethel believe that the gospel informs, controls, and energizes all we do. Our ministry values: mission, worship, discipleship, and community, are all the fruit of the grace that God has given us in Jesus.

Releshing the goodness of the gospel

A mere recognizing of the veracity of the gospel is not saving faith. Simply believing the gospel to be factually true is not enough. Neither is believing for fear of punishment suitable for salvation. In this excerpt, Walter Marshall emphasizes the need for a love and desire and enjoyment towards Christ, as well as a relishing of the goodness and excellency of the gospel.

Our assenting to, or believing the gospel, must not be forced by mere conviction of the truth, such as wicked men and devils may be brought to, when they had rather it were false. Neither must our believing in Christ be only constrained for fear of damnation, without any hearty love and desire towards the enjoyment of Him; but we must receive the love of the truth by relishing the goodness and excellency of it; and we must 'account all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord, and count them but dung, that we may win Christ and be found in Him' (2 Thess. 1:10; Phil. 3:8, 9), esteeming Christ to be all our salvation and happiness (Col. 3: 11), 'in whom all fullness dwells' (Col. 1:19). And this love must be to every part of Christ's salvation - to holiness as well as forgiveness of sins. (The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification)

Assenting to the gospel

Most evangelical Christians would agree that we need to believe in and assent to the gospel. Bot HOW we assent to or believe in is of prime importance. Walter Marshall addresses this in the following excerpt from The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification:

Our assenting to, or believing the gospel, must not be forced by mere conviction of the truth, such as wicked men and devils may be brought to, when they had rather it were false.

Neither must our believing in Christ be only constrained for fear of damnation, without any hearty love and desire towards the enjoyment of Him;

but we must receive the love of the truth by relishing the goodness and excellency of it;

and we must 'account all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord, and count them but dung, that we may win Christ and be found in Him' (2 Thess. 1:10; Phil. 3:8, 9), esteeming Christ to be all our salvation and happiness (Col. 3: 11), 'in whom all fullness dwells' (Col. 1:19).

I found the idea that we must not believe in the gospel by 'mere conviction of the truth' quite shocking. My knee-jerk response would be "Why not?" As I considered it, I realized that this would be an assenting to the gospel in the same way that demons or evil men would assent to it; they are convinced of the truth of it, but do not love it.

Rather, we are called to lovingly embrace the gospel by 'relishing the goodness and excellency of it'.

Dane Ortlund on Gospel-centeredness and the Spirit

A very interesting post by Dane Ortlund:

Does Gospel-Centeredness Neglect the Spirit?

That's a criticism I hear from time to time. (By 'gospel-centered' I have in mind an approach to the Christian life that views the gospel of grace--perhaps crystallized best in 1 Cor 15:3-5--as not only the gateway into the Christian life but also the pathway of the Christian life.)

Isn't this whole way of thinking, the objection goes, focusing on the second Person of the Trinity to the neglect of the third? The objective to the neglect of the subjective? While taking nothing away from the gospel--what magnificent grace it is!--shouldn't we describe the 'center' of Christian growth, progressive sanctification, as the Holy Spirit?

Good questions!

Three responses--a tiny one, a small one, and a big one.

1. Tiny response

Yes, it is possible to neglect the Spirit.

2. Small Response

There is an appropriate multiperspectivalism to contemplating the 'center' of growth in godliness.

From one perspective the Spirit is indeed the center. From another perspective the gospel is the center. To use categories from historical theology, the Spirit is the center effectually. Yet the gospel is the center instrumentally.

To those who snort in response to such flabby/everybody-wins/postmodern 'multiperspectivalism,' may I ask a question--what is the center of the human body?

Answer: it depends on the perspective. From the perspective of geometry, somewhere around the belly button. From the perspective of neuroscience, the brain. From the perspective of biblical psychology, the heart. All are right. Complex realities such as the human body--or spiritual growth--will be greatly impoverished if only one 'center' is allowed, from only one perspective (along these lines see Vern Poythress' Symphonic Theology or John Frame's Doctrine of the Knowledge of God). This is not only a defense that gospel-centeredness is compatible with Spirit-sensitivity, but also a rebuke to some of us who have ourselves viewed growth monoperspectivally—only from the perspective of gospel instrumentality. I think I have fallen into this in the past.

In brief: the answer to the objection, 'The Spirit, not the gospel, is the center of sanctification!' is: 'Yes--if we're talking about effectual empowering.'

2. Big response

The main way I would respond to someone who thinks that self-consciously centering on the gospel in sanctification neglects the Spirit is to ask: What does the Spirit do?

'Well,' you say, 'the Spirit animates us, impels us, transforms us.'

Yes and amen. And how does the Spirit do that?

The New Testament's answer is: By giving us eyes to see the beauty of Christ. By opening our eyes to the wonder of the gospel. The work of the third Person is to rivet our eyes, in increasingly joyful astonishment, on the second Person.

Several passages teach this. I'll briefly cite three and reference a few more.

1. Throughout John 14-16, Jesus comforts the disciples by teaching them, among other things, that it is good for them that he go away, so that the Spirit can come. And how does Jesus describe the work of the Spirit? The Spirit 'will bear witness about' Jesus (John 15:26). The Spirit 'will glorify' Jesus (16:13-14). The third Person spotlights the Second Person. The Spirit’s animating impulse is not a raw, faceless power. The subjective work of the Spirit works in tandem with the objective work of Christ.

2. The most startling passage to me is 1 Cor 2:12. 'We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.' Why do we receive the Spirit? In order that (hina) we might grasp what we have freely received--the phrase 'freely given' is one Greek word, the verb form of the noun 'grace.' The Spirit opens our eyes to see what we have been ‘graced’ with. And note further the strongly Christocentric context of 1 Cor 2, both before and after v. 12--the Spirit opens our eyes to see what we have been graced with in Christ.

3. The seeing-metaphor I'm using in this post is explicitly used by Paul in 2 Cor 3, where he speaks of 'beholding the glory of the Lord' (Lord = the exalted Lord Jesus--note also 4:3-6) as what transforms believers. And all this 'comes from the Lord who is the Spirit' (not a conflation of Christ and the Spirit, but simply a most intimate association--cf. Rom 8:9-11). In brief: the Spirit effectually causes us to behold Christ in such a way that transforms us.

I'll leave the textual evidence at that, though there are other texts that reinforce the notion that one major role of the Spirit is to rivet our eyes on the gospel of what Christ has done in our place. Note, for example, Gal 5:4-5; Eph 5:18-20; Phil 3:3; 1 John 4:2-3; 1 John 5:6; maybe also Rom 8:2-4.

It would be horrid to reduce the total work of the Spirit solely to opening our eyes more and more to the gospel. Even within the specific realm of sanctification, another major strand of NT teaching is the new impulses toward godliness that the indwelling Spirit gives believers. But as the Spirit relates to the role of the gospel in progressive sanctification, I believe the criticism that gospel-centeredness neglects the Spirit is wrongheaded and unbiblical.

Conclusion

In a single sentence, here’s what I am trying to communicate: Yes, the Spirit is the effectual cause of transformation, and a (the?) major way the Spirit transforms us is by opening our eyes more and more to the wonder of the gospel of grace. The Spirit applies what the Son accomplished. Yet in thinking of the Spirit 'applying' salvation we should think not only of how the Spirit joins us to Christ but also how he makes subjectively real to us what is objectively true of us by virtue of that participation in Christ’s death and resurrection. (You don’t focus on your brain when you look at your wife and ponder how beautiful she is. You focus on her, and enjoy her. Your brain is what effectually causes that enjoyment. But what would you say to someone who told you you’re neglecting your brain by being so wife-centered? You’d say—if it weren’t for my brain, I would not be able to enjoy my wife at all. Praise God for a brain. But I don’t look at my brain; I look with my brain. Yes, yes, in lots of ways the analogy breaks down, but I think you get the point.)

O to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. In working slowly through Lloyd-Jones on revival, just last night I read a sermon on what it means to live in a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. I want that. Take my degrees, I'd rather have 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.

But Christian growth in holiness is not a see-saw, one side representing the Spirit and the other side the gospel, such that if we put weight on one side then the other must necessarily go down in neglect. No, the two sides of the see-saw rise and fall together. Both or neither. To the degree that we are Spirit-filled, to that degree we will be gospel-centered. And to the degree that we are gospel-centered, to that degree we will walk in the power of the Spirit.