Why must Christians be continually educated in the Gospel? Part 3

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:

Not the labor of my hands can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
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;

Further comment, we think, is needless. The Gospel as sung in hymns like this moves us endlessly to wonder and adore.

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.

Why must Christians be continually educated in the Gospel? Part 2

I continue my series of posts from Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way by J.I. Packer and Gary Parrett with Part 2, letters I-P [read Part 1]:

I— Intimacy Through the Gospel we are invited into a living relationship with the living God. In the love proclaimed at the heart of the Gospel God has adopted us into his family. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God, and that is what we are” (1 John 3: 1). The Holy Spirit empowers us to believe the Good News and is sent into our hearts, enabling us to cry, “Abba, Father” (Gal. 4: 6). Rehearsing the Gospel in our worship, teaching, preaching, fellowship, and service helps us to nurture and celebrate this unfathomably intimate relationship.
J— Jealousy We learn and teach the Gospel because we are called to be jealous for those we serve. The apostle Paul declared to the Corinthian believers, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” (2 Cor. 11: 2). If we think jealousy is unbecoming in the apostle, we should remember that God himself is a jealous God (Exod. 20: 5). True love that is covenant based is properly jealous concerning the parties in that covenant. We must keep the true Gospel before the eyes of those whom we teach and serve so that they will avoid what Paul feared for the Corinthians— that is, that they should “be deceived by the serpent’s cunning” and “somehow be led astray from [a] sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11: 3). Deeper acquaintance with the true Gospel will help believers recognize and reject the preaching of “another Jesus” and “a different Gospel” (2 Cor. 11: 4).
K— Knowledge We continually learn the Gospel, even as believers, because the Gospel is the revelation of the knowledge and wisdom of God. Though the message of Christ crucified seems foolish to many in this age, “to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1: 23– 24). The Gospel is “a message of wisdom among the mature” (1 Cor. 2: 6), a message that is “God’s secret wisdom” that has been hidden for ages (1 Cor. 2: 7). But “God has revealed it to us by his Spirit” (1 Cor. 2: 10). “‘ Who has known the mind of the Lord that he would instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2: 16). Would we grow in the knowledge of God’s wisdom? Would we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Then let us remain steadfast in the Gospel.
L— Love The Gospel is the revelation of God’s abounding love: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5: 8). We do well to immerse ourselves and the saints we serve in that Good News. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, for example, is an ongoing, multisensory reminder of Christ crucified (1 Cor. 11: 26). God’s Gospel love also calls forth love as response. The Lord’s Supper both declares God’s love and demands that we love one another in turn (1 Cor. 11: 27). John, “the beloved apostle,” makes these truths very clear. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4: 10– 11). And again he writes, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4: 19). Would we see love grow in the hearts of God’s people and reach to their neighbors— both saints and sinners? Then we must school them continuously in the Gospel of love.
M— Mission And why must we continually learn and teach the Gospel? We do so that we may not lose sight of the great work that God is doing in our day. God is actively engaged in the wondrous work of reconciling all things to himself. It was for this that the Son of God came forth. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5: 19). And this work continues in and through us, the body of Christ, gathered and dispersed throughout the world today. The very work for which the Father sent the Son, the Son has now sent his church to continue (Matt. 28: 18– 20; John 20: 21). And he promises to be with us always. Being in his presence must be taken as seriously as doing the work of true mission, for mission can only have power and a cutting edge when Christ is indwelling us and we him.
N— Narrative We must ever study the Gospel because it is the apex and summary of the great narrative of God’s redemptive activity in the world. As we saw in chapter 4, it is into this Story that we have been called. In an age when many deny the existence of a single metanarrative that applies to all persons it is more critical than ever that we know the biblical narrative and tell it faithfully to others, asking God to convince hearers as we do so that this is their Story as well.
O— Obedience The Gospel calls forth obedience (Rom. 1: 5) in at least three ways. First, we must obey the Gospel by believing and receiving this Good News (John 6: 29). Second, the faith that saves works itself out in obedient living by God’s empowering grace (Phil. 2: 12– 13). Third, we are to obey Jesus’s command to bring this Gospel to the nations (Matt. 28: 18– 20). In our ministries of teaching and formation these calls to obey the Gospel must be clear and unequivocal.
P— Passion Passion comes from the Latin passio, meaning “suffering.” We celebrate each year the passion of our Lord when we attend to the historic remembrance of Holy Week. Likewise, whenever we partake of the Lord’s Supper together we “proclaim the Lord’s death till he comes.” It is given to us not only to believe in Christ the Suffering Servant but also to suffer for him ourselves (Phil. 1: 29). Paul saw his own suffering for the Gospel and for the building up of the church as an active participation in the afflictions of Christ (Col. 1: 24; Phil. 3: 10– 11). We must be forthright in teaching our congregants, by word and by example, that this is part of our calling as well.

Why must Christians continually be educated in the Gospel?, Part 1

Luther wrote that the Gospel:

"is also the principal article of all Christian doctrine, wherein the knowledge of all godliness consisteth. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually." - St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (Smith, English & Co. 1860), p. 206.

But why do we need it "beat into" our heads continually? I came across this list in Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way by J.I. Packer and Gary Parrett. They wanted to answer the question of why Christians need to be continually educated in the Gospel. They expressed their answer in a very creative and helpful way. For us as Christians, the Gospel isthe entire alphabet of the Christian life, the A to Z, rather than just the ABC's of the Christian life. Here is Part 1, or letters A-H:

A— Alignment We must continually teach and learn the Gospel because it is to be the “plumb line” for our doctrine and our living. We are to measure all our teaching to ensure that it is in line with— that is, conformed to— the glorious Gospel of God (1 Tim. 1: 11). If our teaching about God, humanity, sin, salvation, the church, last things, and whatever other doctrines we may teach do not accord with the Gospel then they must be rejected. Likewise, our way of living must conform to the sound doctrines that flow from the Gospel. If, like Peter and Barnabas, we begin to act in ways that are “not in keeping with the truth of the Gospel” (Gal. 2: 14), may God raise up for us a Paul-like brother or sister to confront us and correct us.
B— Belief We must continually teach and learn the Gospel because even Christians struggle to truly believe God’s Good News. The message of the cross is both countercultural and counterintuitive. To the world it is foolishness and weakness. To our flesh it is simply too good to be true. And Satan, the devil— that accuser of the brethren— continually speaks a contradictory word to our hearts. He accuses us before God as surely as he accused Joshua the high priest (Zech. 3: 1). Hearing all this we, with full knowledge of our failings, struggle to believe the truth of the Gospel. To believe it at an appropriately deep level, with an appropriate appreciation of all that it presupposes and implies, is a lifelong task. We must hear it again and again and ask God to seal its truth in our hearts. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9: 24).
C— Contextualization Paul was determined to “become all things to all people” for the sake of the Gospel (1 Cor. 9: 19– 23). He knew that the Gospel could and should take on different cultural forms in different cultural settings. Yet when we export the Gospel to others, we may be guilty of confusing it with our own cultural trappings. For example, we know that some missionaries have been guilty of imposing their Western cultural forms on those to whom they carried the Gospel. Though this error could be conscious and express cultural imperialism, it is more often unconscious and reflects a lack of discernment about which aspects of our own Christianity are truly Gospel-driven and transcultural, and which are culturally driven and therefore variable. To help us avoid such an error, it is critical that we continually study the heart of the Gospel so that we may better distinguish the treasure we bear from the jars of clay in which we bear it (2 Cor. 4: 7).
D— Depth As we noted earlier, we do not move from the milk of the Gospel to the meat of something else, but from the milk of the Gospel to the meat of the Gospel. Even Paul, concluding his exposition of the Gospel and preparing to move on to its implications for life, closes his argument in awe and wonder: “Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Rom. 11: 33). The wonder of how deep and powerful the Gospel is— especially as it works its way into believing hearts— is well articulated in this Puritan prayer:

BLESSED Lord JESUS,
No human mind could conceive or invent the Gospel.
Acting in eternal grace, thou art both its messenger and its message,
  lived out on earth through infinite compassion,
  applying thy life to insult, injury, death,
  that I might be redeemed, ransomed, freed.
Blessed be thou, O Father, for contriving this way,
Eternal thanks to thee, O Lamb of God, for opening this way,
Praise to thee, O Holy Spirit,
  for applying this way to my heart.
Glorious Trinity, impress the Gospel on my soul,
  until its virtue diffuses through every faculty;
Let it be heard, acknowledged, professed, felt. 

E— Evangelism The Gospel is food for believers. But it is also the only saving medicine for those who have not yet believed. And we are compelled by the love of Christ to declare this Good News to all people. St. Francis of Assisi told his friars not to preach unless they had permission to do so. But, he added, “Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds.” Francis’s words have often been paraphrased along these lines: “Preach the Gospel always; use words when necessary.” The fact is that words are necessary, every time. We are always witnesses to the Gospel (Acts 1: 8) and, as witnesses, we shall be called upon to testify. When we are, we must be sure to get the message of the Gospel right for there are many counterfeit “Gospels” in the world.
F— Fidelity Faithfulness to the true Gospel calls for ongoing study and obedience. It calls as well for watchfulness, lest false Gospels be introduced. The battle against counterfeit Gospels has always been part of church life. Even in the first century Paul battled against such, as did Peter and Jude and John. Like Paul we must be resolved that we will tolerate no other “Gospel,” even if it comes from a heavenly angel or springs from our own imperfectly sanctified hearts, and we should expect the same fidelity from those with whom and to whom we minister (Gal. 1: 6– 9). Only a constant learning and reviewing of the Gospel can ensure that we will be astute enough to separate the chaff from the wheat.
G— Grace We need to continually learn and teach the Gospel because Gospel-centricity assures and propels us toward grace-centricity. When we swerve from the Gospel we lapse into either antinomianism30 or legalism. Neither can offer the true beauty or savor of Christ. To be in the presence of individuals or congregations who are not grace-centered is enervating and exasperating. Let us then learn and relearn the glorious Gospel that we may ever stand fast in the true grace of God (1 Peter 5: 12) and may indeed “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forevermore. Amen” (2 Peter 3: 18).
H— Hope We focus on the Gospel also because it is the source of our hope. In face of the brokenness that fills the world around us and rises up within our own hearts, what hope do we have? Apart from the Gospel we have none. But in the Gospel is a great and steadfast hope, and from this hope spring forth faith and love sufficient for each day (Col. 1: 5). Diminished “Gospels” may promote, on the one hand, easy believism or, on the other hand, may put the burden of salvation back on human shoulders rather than locating and leaving it in the hand of God. These deviations can offer no certain hope. The glorious Gospel is a blessed hope indeed (Titus 2: 13), an anchor for the soul (Heb. 6: 19). Christ in us is the hope of glory (Col. 1: 27). This is the hope held out in the Gospel (Col. 1: 23). With such a hope fixed within our hearts— based upon the certainty that God has made us his children and the confidence that we will be with Christ and like him forever— we long for and labor toward becoming more like him even now (1 John 3: 1– 3).