A Gospel-Centered Community
What makes the gospel such good news? Explore the transformative power of God’s grace, its implications for our lives, and how it frees us to live boldly in Christ.
Christ Methodist New Vision Statement
In Fall 2024 we entered a teaching series on the new Christ Church Mission Statement:
Christ Methodist Church exists to glorify God and make disciples of Jesus Christ among all peoples.
However, we have also adopted a new Vision Statement. What’s the difference between a mission statement and a vision statement? Our mission statement is the cutting edge of what Jesus has called us to do. A Vision Statement is what we aspire to as we live into our mission.
The Christ Church Vision Statement is:
By the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be a gospel-centered community who magnifies Jesus Christ as we worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly while serving the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized, spreading scriptural holiness in our city and to the nations for the spiritual awakening of all.
Previously, as we expand upon the sections of our Vision Statement, we covered “By the power of the Holy Spirit,” so in this blog, we’ll examine “we will be a gospel-centered community.”
Why is the Gospel Good News?
There are many places where one can find community. You can find community at the Lion’s Club and Rotary Club, in a duck blind, and in a bar. While friendships can be found and community can be forged in those venues, it’s not the same as a Christian community.
Authentic Gospel-centered community is birthed out of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
But there is confusion around what Christian community is because there is confusion among some as to what the Gospel is:
Some people say the Gospel is everything Jesus said.
Some people say the Gospel is four books of the Bible.
Some people say the Gospel is the whole New Testament message.
Some people say the Gospel is the truth that “God loves everybody.”
The word “Gospel” means “good news.” But if we define the Gospel, we must answer: Why is it “good news”?
Let’s first remember that we did not make Jesus up as a new religion. He came to us; We did not “make up” the Gospel. But fruitful ground for the Gospel, for it to be “good news” for you, begins with you being honest with God and being honest with yourself.
In his book, The Gospel, Ray Ortlund shares how dishonesty paralyzes our relationships. For instance, a friend wrongs you and then pretends it never happened. As a result, the friendship cools, the distance between you grows, and soon, there is guardedness, whereas before, there was spontaneity. At some point, you realize that what makes the relationship impossible isn’t the original wrong but the denial of wrong. Our willful denial of God and what He has revealed is the mega-offense above all our other offenses that God challenges by his massive love in Christ.
In Western culture, we love our labels. However, if I say it’s 40 degrees outside, and you say, “No, it’s 63,” then one of us is wrong. Objectively, we can’t both be right. In our postmodern Western culture, we often develop labels that hinder us from seeing things objectively, yet labels don’t change reality. The power of gravity doesn’t cease operation because you think you see it differently.
This is partially why A.W. Tozer once said:
“A widespread revival of the kind of Christianity we know today in America might prove to be a moral tragedy from which we would not recover in a hundred years.”
There has never been a spiritual awakening that has touched nations without a reawakening to the Gospel, as it is clearly found in Holy Scripture. Ray Ortlund’s father, Ray Ortlund Sr., once said, “Only an awakened church…only people in a revived condition are going to make a dent on this society.”
We also see in Scripture, in Romans 1:16, the Apostle Paul shared, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power of God for salvation for the Jew and Gentile.”
Why would there be a vulnerability to shame? Because the Gospel of Jesus Christ begins with news, that’s deeply disturbing. After reading this blog, you may say, “I’ve never heard the Gospel put that way.” However, if we’re faithful to the Scriptures, then the Gospel was never put in another way to begin with.
In our Christ Methodist Church aspirations to be a gospel-centered community, the logical and first question we must ask is, “What is the Gospel?” We have to examine why it’s good news, and by reviewing our passage, Ephesians 2:1-9, we see why the Apostle Paul teaches that this is the good news.
What is the Gospel? (According to Ephesians 2:1-9)
1) We Were Dead
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked.” Ephesians 2:1
When the Apostle Paul says, “We were dead in our trespasses and sins,” he is describing our previous state of alienation from God. The word trespasses draws attention to acts of sin, and in this context, the word sin is a comprehensive account of all of us missing the mark of God's will.
We were in a wretched state. In Ephesians 4:18, the Apostle Paul writes: “We were excluded from the life of God.” We were cut off from the source of life. We had no hope in this life. John Piper said, “We were not in the doghouse because of our trespasses and sins; we were dead because of our trespasses and sins.”
2) We Were Disobedient
“In which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.” Ephesians 2b-3b (NIV)
In this verse, we see Paul describing the disobedience before we knew Christ on three levels.
A. We Followed The World
The unsaved person is controlled by the world’s influences, which are comprised of the values of this age, which are contrary to what God values. The Apostle John would describe it this way: “The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle” (1 John 2:15-17).
B. We Followed Satan
Paul is not teaching that a person outside of Christ is possessed by Satan; rather, he is teaching that a person before knowing Christ is easily swayed by forces of darkness. Satan lays out the bait, and a person outside of Christ takes it and thus disobeys God. Ephesians 5:6 links the bait with sexual immorality, impurity, greed, and foolish talk associated with gossip and slander.
C. We Followed Sinful Desires
Paul calls these “fleshly desires” and “fleshly thoughts.” These would be described in Galatians 5:16 through sins like angry outbursts, sexual immorality, jealousy, sorcery (through things like horoscopes, Wicca, new age/new life thought), causing strife, (dissension between people, drunkenness).
Romans 8:8 clearly shows the result of pursuing fleshly desires: “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Paul’s not describing some dark segment of society, nor is he describing someone of immense evil such as Hitler or Stalin. No, he’s describing us—you, me, and humanity.
3) We Were Doomed
“(And you were) by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” Ephesians 2:3b
Have you ever heard someone say, “I like the God in the New Testament, but I don’t like the God of the Old Testament?”
Many professing Christians think God was a God of wrath in the Old Testament, but God is like Mr. Rogers in the New Testament. Have you read the book of Revelation? The coming wrath of God is worse than anything we see in the Old Testament! This is why the Methodist founder John Wesley would ask incoming members, “Do you desire to flee the coming wrath and be saved from your sins?”
Our condition could not possibly be more tragic and lifeless. We were under the judgment of God. However, as we see God more clearly, we see ourselves more clearly, and this is a change if it's channeled in a godly direction.
We were lifeless, hopeless, and under condemnation.
…But God
While our situation may sound hopeless, one of my favorite things about Scripture is where it reveals these holy unto moments. It’s where we see “but,” and we see one of the most profound “buts” in verse 4. Our condition has been described, but read what happens:
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved…” Ephesians 2:4-5
What prompted God to offer a Savior Who would deliver us from the consequences of our sin? The answer is rooted in His mercy, great love, and grace.
“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners (dead, depraved, and doomed), Christ died for us!” Romans 5:8
In Ephesians 1, Paul shared that our salvation was “(Our salvation in Jesus Christ is un-) to the praise of His glorious grace.” He’s describing what awakens a believer to become a worshipper, one who praises and adores God!
How Do You Get In?
“If any person is in Christ, they are new creations. Old things pass away, and the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
And that leaves every human being with one of the most important questions of their lives: Am I merely in church, or am I in Christ?
So, how do I get in Christ?
“For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
Years ago, I had a conversation with a woman and asked her, “How do you know you’re saved?” She immediately jumped into about the many good works she’d done. Frankly, the objective good she had accomplished in her life was admirable. However, she only mentioned the work she’d done instead of the work Jesus completed on the cross.
As the verse shares, it is by grace we have been saved through faith. This is not your doing but is the gift of God. This isn’t the result of your work, nor your good outweighing your bad. Instead, it’s about putting your faith in Jesus and His actions on a cross.
Saved from what? Saved from our condition: Dead, depraved, and doomed.
That’s why the Gospel is “good news.” This nuclear love of God is laser-focused with radiant beams of truth that convict, yet simultaneously, God offers the gift of grace that brings us to the Deliverer, Jesus Christ.
At the base of Lady Liberty, there is a broken chain engraved into the statue. The purpose is to symbolize that as people come from places of oppression and where governments persecute, liberty breaks chains.
Church, that's exactly what God holds out to you through the gospel. Through knowing Jesus Christ, His grace breaks the chains of your condition of being dead, depraved, doomed, and disobedient.
Through the gospel, a community is developed. This gospel-centered community is unlike any other because faith operates through love. This community labors to become more like her savior. This community burns with a white-hot love for Jesus Christ and reaches the unreached people groups of the earth with the gospel. This community is jealous of all who know and enjoy the grace she knows.
A gospel-centered community has been birthed by God's grace and models what God's grace is to the world, so they will be attracted to the city on the hill that was birthed by being a gospel-centered community.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, let us be a gospel-centered community.
TL;DR:
The gospel reveals a powerful truth: though we were spiritually dead, disobedient, and doomed, God’s grace has made us alive in Christ.
This unearned gift transforms not just individuals but entire communities, freeing us from performance-based living to embrace our true identity in Christ.
It calls us to worship, serve, and share this good news with others, reflecting the transformative power of grace in our lives and the world.