Gospel faith is formidable, but not in itself. It is formidable because of its almighty object, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the Holy Spirit always points us towards the Lamb of God (John16:13-14), a spirit-filled church will be a gospel-filled church.
If the gospel is not central in the church, there will be no genuine exploits done for God. Without a Christ center, service in the Lord’s cause becomes a chore. The pastor will continually plead for volunteers to help with evangelism and other forms of service and yes, he’ll get plenty of ‘volunteers’ if he can make them feel guilty enough ... but what a mess they can make of the cause of Christ.
If the gospel does not hold first place in our churches, it holds no place. Unfortunately, in much of today’s church, the gospel is continually being given a subordinate role. Either it is misunderstood and presented as Christ’s work within the believer (a tragic error) or treated as useful only to get the lost saved (a huge mistake).
Like the ancient Christians at Corinth, many believers today are occupied with their experiences rather than by being captured with a love for Christ. The condition of the believer’s heart, like a spoiled child, is demanding center stage. If we are Spirit led, however, we will learn from Paul and his words of wisdom to the out of balance church at Corinth. They were in a mess because they were totally absorbed with their experiences. So then, because of this, what does Paul write to them? He writes,
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein you stand; by which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures”
1 Corinthians15:1-4.
Paul, like a wise Master-Builder brings them back to Christ. The Corinthians were wallowing in subjectivism. They urgently once more to be absorbed with Christ.
Is history repeating itself? I believe so. That which happened at Corinth is once more happening to many of our Churches today. Well-packaged false teachings have come among the believers,saying, "You have the gospel ... that’s fine ... just what the Doctor ordered to begin the Christian life. Now you must go on and rise higher in God. We bring to you the secret of the deeper life, the ‘full gospel’, the real secret of victorious living and the crucified life.
"In short, Jesus Christ, His person, His work and offices have now become too boring and unexciting for many Christians. Church services are held, and Christ Jesus is paid lip service only.
Have we lost the desire and the ability to gather unto Him? Instead of gathering unto Jesus,church meetings are now all about the believer and his Christian progress and about how good he can feel. This is the road to apostasy! The gospel has been demoted to something unimportant for the Church. Christ Jesus has been given a back seat and will shortly be assisted out the backdoor. But let Christ crucified be preached in His risen glory and the Church will undergo genuine revival and awakening. May the Lord visit us in genuine gospel power one more time before He returns.
He is returning!
And that’s the Gospel Truth!
Written By: Miles McKee
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