Today I conclude my series of posts from Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way by J.I. Packer and Gary Parrett with Part 3, letters Q-Z [read Part 1 and Part 2]:
Q— Quickening Though by nature we were dead in our trespasses and sins and were objects of God’s wrath, God quickened us— made us alive with Christ— through his love and grace (Eph. 2: 1– 5). This God did, and still does, as we believe the Gospel, putting our faith in Jesus Christ. Lutheran theology especially emphasizes the notion that the Gospel is God’s quickening word, spoken to us in infinite mercy. We need to hear this word continually for our own sakes and to speak it faithfully to others.
R— Righteousness In the Gospel “a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last” (Rom. 1: 17). Paul’s argument in the letter to the Romans is deep and complex, but we submit that the Gospel reveals God’s righteousness in at least these two ways. First, it is a declaration that God himself is just and righteous, for the Gospel teaches that in Christ our sins have been fully propitiated as a basis for his forgiving of us (Rom. 3: 24– 26; 1 John 1: 9; 2: 2). Then, second, through the Gospel God declares us righteous as we put our faith in Christ Jesus. Thus in the Gospel God demonstrates “his own justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3: 26). It is truly vital beyond words that we faithfully preach and teach this Gospel.
S— Salvation Intricately related to the above is the whole wonder of salvation. Scripture is quite clear that the Gospel “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom. 1: 16). As we have already noted, this is not a truth pertaining only to evangelism. The Gospel saves those who believe, from first to last, through and through. It includes all the wondrous doctrines of our great salvation, including election, regeneration, justification, sanctification, glorification, and much more. For this reason alone, the Gospel must remain central in all the ministries of the church.
T— Theology We saw above that both our doctrines and our manner of living must be in alignment with the Gospel. While errant theological thinking on a variety of issues can lead us to a twisted Gospel it is more to the present point to state that an errant Gospel can unleash a host of heresies. It is worth noting that Satan is a competent theologian with great skill in confusing and misleading with regard to God’s truth. We will explore this all further in the next chapter.
U— Unity A clear Gospel focus in our preaching and teaching has the potential to contribute to the unity of the church. In the latter half of the twentieth century one frequently seen example of this was the evangelistic campaigns of Billy Graham, which typically featured the cooperation of a great diversity of congregations and denominations. At the beginning of this century new movements are afoot for the sake of the Gospel that aim to be both evangelical and ecumenical. We never seem to achieve perfect consensus here because we need to constantly wrestle with variant details of conviction and, of course, with all kinds of intellectual spin-offs of our fallenness. But magnifying the Gospel as our central point of reference can help us keep a variety of lesser concerns in proper perspective (Phil. 1: 18).
V— Vision Keeping our minds focused on the Gospel can help us align our hearts to God’s own heart. We so easily fall into pettiness and needless division when we are not prizing the things God prizes. Jesus endured the cross and its shame because of the joy set before him (Heb. 12: 2), a joy which we take to refer to the fact that through suffering and death he would bring many children to glory (Heb. 2: 10– 18). Paul likewise endured all manner of things for the sake of the Gospel and in the furtherance of its saving ministry (1 Cor. 9: 23; Phil. 1: 12– 13; 2 Tim. 1: 11– 12). A clear vision of the goal imparts great fortitude in struggling toward it and great forbearance in the face of distractions from it.
W— Worship We must continually teach and learn the Gospel because there is simply nothing else that evokes worship and adoration as the Gospel does. A quick survey of the hymnody of the church through the past twenty centuries makes this clear. The best hymns— ancient and contemporary— which have shown themselves to have staying power have always been Gospel-obsessed. God is glorified, Christ is exalted, and the cross and Christ’s atoning work are central. The same is true of the other key elements of Christian worship— our preaching, our confessions, our prayers, our sacraments. Take away the Gospel and Christian worship simply ceases. A sampling from the thousands of Gospel-centered hymns of the church will make the point:
X— Xenophilia The actual Greek word we have in mind here is philoxenia, which literally means “love of strangers, foreigners, aliens.” Our coinage, if such it be, means exactly the same. 33 In our English New Testaments, philoxenia is rendered as “hospitality” (Rom. 12: 13; 1 Peter 4: 9) and “to show hospitality to strangers” (Heb. 13: 2). Such love of strangers is a required attribute of church leaders (1 Tim. 3: 2). In the final judgment Jesus will either commend or condemn based upon whether or not people have welcomed “the least of these” (and thus welcomed Christ himself; Matt. 25: 35, 43). Jesus is the great model for philoxenia, as is indicated in the Gospel narratives as well as in the whole wonder of his incarnation and passion. Indeed, we were not merely strangers to him; we were God’s enemies when he died for us (Rom. 5: 8). In declaring such love, the Gospel also calls us to imitate it (1 John 4: 10– 11).
Y— Yielding The Gospel must be continually set forth before church members because it is in view of God’s mercy that we are provoked to yield our lives fully to God as living sacrifices (Rom. 6: 13; 12: 1). It is the kindness of God displayed in the Gospel that leads us to repentance (Rom. 2: 4) so that we no longer live for ourselves but for him who died for us and was raised again (2 Cor. 5: 15).
Z— Zeal May God stir both our own hearts and the hearts of those we are called to serve with an authentic zeal for the Gospel, and for the Christ of the Gospel. We have seen how fully this marked Paul’s life. We could certainly say the same of Jesus, whose first public words were a call to repent and believe the Gospel (Mark 1: 15) and whose entire ministry was Gospel. All that Jesus said and did and was, in life and in death, was a display of God’s Good News for humanity. In all the ways we have addressed throughout this chapter and more, may we and our readers never be lacking in zeal but keep our spiritual fervor as we serve the Lord (Rom. 12: 11) in and through this glorious Gospel, the Good News of Christ.
Q— Quickening Though by nature we were dead in our trespasses and sins and were objects of God’s wrath, God quickened us— made us alive with Christ— through his love and grace (Eph. 2: 1– 5). This God did, and still does, as we believe the Gospel, putting our faith in Jesus Christ. Lutheran theology especially emphasizes the notion that the Gospel is God’s quickening word, spoken to us in infinite mercy. We need to hear this word continually for our own sakes and to speak it faithfully to others.
R— Righteousness In the Gospel “a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last” (Rom. 1: 17). Paul’s argument in the letter to the Romans is deep and complex, but we submit that the Gospel reveals God’s righteousness in at least these two ways. First, it is a declaration that God himself is just and righteous, for the Gospel teaches that in Christ our sins have been fully propitiated as a basis for his forgiving of us (Rom. 3: 24– 26; 1 John 1: 9; 2: 2). Then, second, through the Gospel God declares us righteous as we put our faith in Christ Jesus. Thus in the Gospel God demonstrates “his own justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3: 26). It is truly vital beyond words that we faithfully preach and teach this Gospel.
S— Salvation Intricately related to the above is the whole wonder of salvation. Scripture is quite clear that the Gospel “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom. 1: 16). As we have already noted, this is not a truth pertaining only to evangelism. The Gospel saves those who believe, from first to last, through and through. It includes all the wondrous doctrines of our great salvation, including election, regeneration, justification, sanctification, glorification, and much more. For this reason alone, the Gospel must remain central in all the ministries of the church.
T— Theology We saw above that both our doctrines and our manner of living must be in alignment with the Gospel. While errant theological thinking on a variety of issues can lead us to a twisted Gospel it is more to the present point to state that an errant Gospel can unleash a host of heresies. It is worth noting that Satan is a competent theologian with great skill in confusing and misleading with regard to God’s truth. We will explore this all further in the next chapter.
U— Unity A clear Gospel focus in our preaching and teaching has the potential to contribute to the unity of the church. In the latter half of the twentieth century one frequently seen example of this was the evangelistic campaigns of Billy Graham, which typically featured the cooperation of a great diversity of congregations and denominations. At the beginning of this century new movements are afoot for the sake of the Gospel that aim to be both evangelical and ecumenical. We never seem to achieve perfect consensus here because we need to constantly wrestle with variant details of conviction and, of course, with all kinds of intellectual spin-offs of our fallenness. But magnifying the Gospel as our central point of reference can help us keep a variety of lesser concerns in proper perspective (Phil. 1: 18).
V— Vision Keeping our minds focused on the Gospel can help us align our hearts to God’s own heart. We so easily fall into pettiness and needless division when we are not prizing the things God prizes. Jesus endured the cross and its shame because of the joy set before him (Heb. 12: 2), a joy which we take to refer to the fact that through suffering and death he would bring many children to glory (Heb. 2: 10– 18). Paul likewise endured all manner of things for the sake of the Gospel and in the furtherance of its saving ministry (1 Cor. 9: 23; Phil. 1: 12– 13; 2 Tim. 1: 11– 12). A clear vision of the goal imparts great fortitude in struggling toward it and great forbearance in the face of distractions from it.
W— Worship We must continually teach and learn the Gospel because there is simply nothing else that evokes worship and adoration as the Gospel does. A quick survey of the hymnody of the church through the past twenty centuries makes this clear. The best hymns— ancient and contemporary— which have shown themselves to have staying power have always been Gospel-obsessed. God is glorified, Christ is exalted, and the cross and Christ’s atoning work are central. The same is true of the other key elements of Christian worship— our preaching, our confessions, our prayers, our sacraments. Take away the Gospel and Christian worship simply ceases. A sampling from the thousands of Gospel-centered hymns of the church will make the point:
Not the labor of my hands can fulfill Thy law’s demands;Further comment, we think, is needless. The Gospel as sung in hymns like this moves us endlessly to wonder and adore.
Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Naked, come to Thee for dress; helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die.
Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling;
X— Xenophilia The actual Greek word we have in mind here is philoxenia, which literally means “love of strangers, foreigners, aliens.” Our coinage, if such it be, means exactly the same. 33 In our English New Testaments, philoxenia is rendered as “hospitality” (Rom. 12: 13; 1 Peter 4: 9) and “to show hospitality to strangers” (Heb. 13: 2). Such love of strangers is a required attribute of church leaders (1 Tim. 3: 2). In the final judgment Jesus will either commend or condemn based upon whether or not people have welcomed “the least of these” (and thus welcomed Christ himself; Matt. 25: 35, 43). Jesus is the great model for philoxenia, as is indicated in the Gospel narratives as well as in the whole wonder of his incarnation and passion. Indeed, we were not merely strangers to him; we were God’s enemies when he died for us (Rom. 5: 8). In declaring such love, the Gospel also calls us to imitate it (1 John 4: 10– 11).
Y— Yielding The Gospel must be continually set forth before church members because it is in view of God’s mercy that we are provoked to yield our lives fully to God as living sacrifices (Rom. 6: 13; 12: 1). It is the kindness of God displayed in the Gospel that leads us to repentance (Rom. 2: 4) so that we no longer live for ourselves but for him who died for us and was raised again (2 Cor. 5: 15).
Z— Zeal May God stir both our own hearts and the hearts of those we are called to serve with an authentic zeal for the Gospel, and for the Christ of the Gospel. We have seen how fully this marked Paul’s life. We could certainly say the same of Jesus, whose first public words were a call to repent and believe the Gospel (Mark 1: 15) and whose entire ministry was Gospel. All that Jesus said and did and was, in life and in death, was a display of God’s Good News for humanity. In all the ways we have addressed throughout this chapter and more, may we and our readers never be lacking in zeal but keep our spiritual fervor as we serve the Lord (Rom. 12: 11) in and through this glorious Gospel, the Good News of Christ.
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