David Nicholas' book, Whatever Happened to The Gospel? begins with the results of an evaluation of 500 sermons preached in evangelical churches.
He states, "94% of pastors are presenting an incomplete picture of God's work on our behalf through Jesus. Instead, they are presenting a garbled and sketchy 'gospel' which is no gospel at all."
According to Nicholas, preachers are failing to completely present the bad news and the good news which together form a complete Gospel message. The fruit of this neglect is clearly seen in the breakdowns and disconnections in relationships that have become prevalent in the Church and in the home.His book is refreshing in its call to return to preaching a complete Gospel which seems rather hard to believe as the Gospel was the sum-total of the Apostle Paul's message and passion. I believe Nicholas' call which is most exclusively focused on the evangelistic role of the Gospel to the greater neglect of the Gospel's role in discipleship actually misses a crucial and vital opportunity if there is to be the turn-around that Nicholas seeks through his book.
Paul was not passionate about the Gospel merely because it was the proclamation of our justification. Paul understood the Gospel to be the source of the entirety of our "salvation" which includes justification, sanctification, and glorification (See Romans 1:16) which makes a full Gospel. It includes the bad news and the good news always kept together.
Consider that the reason that many pulpits don't preach a full Gospel is that the Church has forgotten how to apply it to life (sanctification) through God's ordained means for doing so: covenantal relationships. The Gospel is not mere "fire insurance" (which is how it is viewed by most Christians). The Gospel is also the way we grow.
Tragically, the Gospel has become one-dimensional, not the all-encompassing rubric through which God's Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ. Everyone (men, women, children, youth--and most especially--elders and Heads of household as they are the ones whom God has called to oversee the transformation process in those under their care) must understand how to apply the Gospel to the whole of the Christian life; from start (justification) to the process of transformation (sanctification) to the final perfection of that transformation when we get to heaven (glorification).
Everyday, not just Sunday morning, is to include an intentional recounting to ourselves of the bad news and good news of the Gospel! Ephesians 4:15-16 tells us to speak the truth to one another in love. The truth is the Gospel.
Do fathers (and single mothers) see that their primary responsibility is to help those in their home to apply the Gospel each and every day? Are they being equipped to do so? Or is the Gospel something that only the pastor does on Sunday morning, or what a few people with the gift of evangelism do on Wednesday night? For sure it is both of those, but it is far more as I have stated.
If everyone saw the Gospel as what they needed for all of life, everyday, I don't think there would be the problem that there is in churches where a complete Gospel is reduced to a mere piece.
Eric,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this good article. We need more Gospel-centered churches encouraging Gospel-centered homes where Gospel-centered people take the Good News to their neighbors in word and deed. The simplicity of this approach stands in sharp contrast to the "big program" and "big event" style of evangelism seen in most mainstream Evangelical churches. Recently, I was shocked to learn that "crucicentrism" (or cross-centeredness) was one of the ingredients in Bebbington's Quadrilateral of essential Evangelical conviction. Having grown up in Evangelicalism throughout the 80's, this is not what I saw. The Gospel was, as you note, mere fire insurance.
Blessings,
Derek Ashton
Orange Park, FL