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“A church with the truth of the gospel in its theology can produce the opposite of the gospel in its practice.” Ray Ortlund Jr., a former member of our church family, made this observation in his book, The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ. However, as he points out, the gospel should create “a culture of grace where good things happen to bad people.” Today I’d like to share some of Ray’s wisdom, because I love his vision for the way the gospel should shape the culture of the church. But first, let’s remind ourselves what the glorious gospel is. According to 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, it is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised to life. Christ’s death and resurrection accomplished God’s glorious victory over the powers of sin and death and made it possible for us to be rescued by faith alone in Christ alone.
Unfortunately, as Ray observes, “A gospel culture is harder to lay hold of than gospel doctrine.” The reason for this is a barrier every church faces. Ray explains: “The primary barrier to the ministry of the gospel through your church is not out in the world; the primary barrier is within your church itself. Every church, to some extent, clogs and hinders the gospel, even as we intend to advance the gospel.”
Yes, the fact is that churches are full of sin. That’s why the Apostle Paul, in his letters, keeps challenging us to let the gospel shape the way that we live and treat each other. To believers struggling to get along, he writes: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-- even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:3-8). Similarly, in Ephesians 4:32, Paul says: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Then, to believers struggling to control their passions, Paul writes: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2:11). It’s clear, then that the gospel of Christ should inform how we live as the church.
Allowing the gospel to shape our church’s culture is a huge challenge. Ray Ortlund says: “It requires more relational wisdom and finesse. It involves stepping into a kind of community unlike anything we’ve experienced, where we happily live together on a love we can’t create. A gospel culture requires us not to bank on our own importance or virtues, but to forsake self-assurance and exult together in Christ alone.” I can assure you that our elders and our ministry are constantly wrestling with what adjustments we need to make so that our church is more aligned with the gospel. We cannot advance it if we are not practicing it and living out its values. May the gospel shape us into a church of what Ray calls “bright, resilient, rugged hope”—a church that faces life as it is and is not defeated.”
This Sunday, August 27, I look forward to preaching Matthew 18:1-14. This is the second message in our Kingdom Character sermon series, and the title is “What Jesus Said about Humility.” Also, I’m making a quick trip to Portland, Oregon to speak at Western Seminary’s faculty retreat. I’m scheduled to deliver the plenary address on Monday, August 28, at noon (Chicago time) on “The Transforming Power of the Gospel.” So I would appreciate your prayers. I consider this opportunity as an extension of our church’s ministry to the larger body of Christ.
Our family is in the “back to school” mode. Priscilla is back at her job running the lunch program at Adler Grade School, and our grandson, Blake started first grade at Copeland Grade School. On the lighter side, our daughter Erin, who lives in southern California, told us a funny story about our one-year old grandson, Madden. Recently, Manny (Erin’s husband) went to their church’s nursery to pick up Madden after a recent worship service, and he found Madden going up and down a slide. The nursery worker said that every time Madden got to the bottom, he would point to the top. He wanted the worker to carry him and put him on top of the slide so he didn’t have to crawl the three feet and climb the two step. Erin said, “It looks like we have a lazy one.” Alright, thanks for reading. I’ll see you on Sunday!