You may remember that Eric and I began 2013 at Highland with a series about challenges facing the American church. The series was called “Fault Lines.” We took up some of the latest studies detailing how the church in America is losing its impact and influence. Scores of books and articles are being published about this loss of impact and influence.
I was reminded about this a few months ago when I hosted an event for a ministry called Mission Alive. We reported these sober findings: 4,000 churches will close this year; and only 2.3% of churches are growing thru conversion. There’s little doubt that the church in America is losing its impact and influence.
The question is: what do we do about it? How can the church regain its influence and impact in the world? What is the solution?
These questions are not new questions. In the first century, Paul encountered similar problems in the first churches. Some were thriving. But others were dying. Some were fruitful. But others were fruitless. Thus Paul would write the those churches that were struggling. He would offer them a solution.
And though it may seem odd to us, Paul offered the same solution to every struggling church. No matter what was wrong in a church, Paul had the same recommendation. His prescription? The Gospel.
1. For example, the church in Rome was hindered in its mission by the disease of racism. And what did Paul prescribe? He prescribed a medicine called “the gospel”:
“So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” (Romans 1:15 ESV); “25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ …” (Rom. 16:25 ESV)
2. The church in Corinth was slowed in its mission by sexual sin. And what did Paul prescribe? The gospel:
“1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you…” (1 Cor. 15:1 ESV) “For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:4 ESV)
3. The church in Galatia was failing its mission due to legalism. Paul’s prescription? The Gospel:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel…” (Galatians 1:6 ESV)
4. The church in Colossae was weak in its mission due to the infection of pluralism. Paul’s solution? The Gospel:
“22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard…” (Col. 1:22-23 ESV)
There were different things keeping these churches from having greater impact and influence. But each time, Paul prescribed the same solution-the gospel. Anytime the church was in need of revival, Paul wrote to them about the gospel.
What’s needed inside the church, not just outside the church, is a gospel revival. When the church truly understands the gospel, it’s going to have influence and impact in the world. When the church genuinely begins living out the gospel, it overcomes all its hindrances to its mission. What was needed then is what is still needed today—a gospel revival within the church.
But what is the gospel? If there’s something wrong in the American church, and the cure is the gospel, we need to be clear about what the gospel is. What is the gospel?
One answer we might give is this: the gospel is the message of the cross. After all, Paul, writing to the church in the city of Corinth wrote, “2For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2 ESV). There is a sense in which we can say that what the church most needs is a deeper understanding of the message of the cross.
But there’s more to the gospel than the cross. Writing in the same letter, Paul goes on to say this: “1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” (1 Cor. 15:1-5 ESV).
Paul writes of a greater gospel here. Here gospel is not just the cross. Here gospel is also the tomb—that he was buried, and the resurrection and post-resurrection ministry of Jesus—that he was raised and that he appeared…
Elsewhere, in one of the most famous summaries in the Bible, Paul widens this even more: “6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:6-11 ESV).
Paul doesn’t use the word “gospel” here, but he clearly has it in mind. And here Paul includes all of the following: the birth of Jesus—being born in the likeness of men; the life and ministry of Jesus—taking the form of a servant; the cross—even death on a cross; the ascension—God has highly exalted him; and the return of Jesus—that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
What’s needed inside the church, not just outside the church, is a gospel revival. When a church truly embraces and lives the gospel, it has impact and influence. And when we’re talking about gospel, we’re talking about something even greater than just the death of Jesus. We’re talking about the entire story of Jesus: his birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, Pentecost, and return.
Why does that matter? Here’s why. When I have a narrowly defined gospel, I can make it all about me and all about heaven. If the gospel is just the cross or just the tomb, then I can make it all about my relationship with God and how Jesus makes it possible for me to get to heaven. But if the gospel is more than that—if it’s the birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return of Jesus—perhaps there’s more to it than just me getting into heaven.
N. T. Wright tells of a Bible study group he belonged to when he was a teenager. The group decided to do a study on five questions about Jesus: 1) Why was Jesus born? 2) Why did Jesus live? 3) Why did Jesus die? 4) Why did Jesus rise again? And 5) Why will he return? Wright was asked to study the question Why did Jesus live? He suddenly realized he had no idea how to answer that question.
He knew the answer, or at least he thought he knew the answer, to the other four questions. After all, that’s what the gospel was, wasn’t it? Jesus was born so that he could die on a cross. Jesus died on a cross so I could go to heaven. Jesus was raised so that death wouldn’t keep me from heaven. And Jesus will return to take me to heaven.
But Wright had never really considered the other question: Why did Jesus live? Why didn’t Jesus just go straight to the cross. Why all this good teaching? Why all this healing? Why all the acts of love and compassion? If that’s also part of the gospel, then maybe there’s a lot more to it than just getting me to heaven. Maybe it’s also about me sharing good teaching, healing, and doing acts of love and compassion. If the gospel is also about Jesus coming to earth and healing the sick, loving sinners, and serving those on the margin of society, then suddenly gospel is something that compels me to do the same.
I’m going to borrow a definition from an author named Richard Stearns. In his book The Hole in Our Gospel Stearns puts it this way: the gospel is not merely about my “personal and transforming relationship with Jesus” but about our “public and transforming relationship with the world.”
Gospel is too often framed in individualistic terms. We’ve forgotten the global and cosmic dimensions of gospel. Gospel becomes largely about me. It’s private. But biblically speaking, gospel is largely about us. It’s public. It’s as much about the restoration of the world as it is the restoration of my soul.
What kind of revival would this greater gospel bring? What would it look like if a gospel revival truly took place in a church? What would it mean to truly live out a fuller gospel? Let me unpack one part of this gospel—Jesus’ life. When the gospel includes Jesus’ life and ministry, it calls us to live by the following story:
1. We serve and sympathize with the lowest. In his life and ministry, Jesus experienced the lowest of our lows. He knew temptation, fatigue, hunger, betrayal, disappointment, and even spiritual pits. Thus, he sympathizes with us in our lowest moments. He walked in our shoes. In addition, he served the lowest of the low. He helped children, women, tax collectors, the poor, lepers, the lame and hosts of others on the margins of life. He walked beside those whom others had forgotten. And because this is gospel, it means that we too serve and sympathize with the lowest. As individuals and congregations, we seek to walk in the shoes of others in their lowest points. And we seek to walk beside those whom others have forgotten. We sympathize with and serve those on the margins of life and those in the pits of despair
2. We become good news through good words and good works. In his life and ministry, Jesus became the good news so desperately needed through his teaching ministry (good words) and healing ministry (good works). He did not emphasize one over the other. He brought both to a broken world. For example, in Matt. 5-7 Jesus brought the good words of his Sermon on the Mount-a life-changing teaching. He followed this in Matt. 8-9 with healing and help. And because this is gospel, we too become good news through good words and good works. There is a tendency for us as individuals or congregations to focus almost exclusively on one or the other. We either focus on bringing good words to the world (preaching, teaching, and writing). Or we focus on bringing good works to the world (serving the poor, digging water wells, and adopting orphans). The life and ministry of Jesus, however, compels us to bring both. We are to be known for both our good works and our good words.
3. We bring life before death not just life after death. Had Jesus only been interested in saving our souls and getting us to heaven, there would have been no life and ministry of Jesus between the manger and the cross. Jesus could have just arrived on the scene as an adult, walked to Jerusalem, and embraced the cross. Instead he spent three decades being present with people. He was just as interested in our here and now as he was our hereafter. And because this is gospel, we too bring life before death not just after death. Christianity in the Western world has gained a reputation for focusing almost solely on life after death. Preaching has emphasized heaven or hellfire. Ministries have focused on saving souls. The life and ministry of Jesus, however, calls us to also focus on the here-and-now of the people and communities around us. We are to be agents through which the kingdom of God breaks into the present.
That’s why our Outreach Contribution is so important. Our Outreach Contribution is one of the ways in which we live out the gospel. The Outreach Contribution is one way we live out a greater gospel. While Highland has many outward oriented ministries, a majority of them are funded directly through a bi-annual contribution called the Outreach Contribution. We’ve handed out a brochure called “Go” which lists these ministries and our financial commitments to them.
At the beginning of each fiscal year (July 1) we prayerfully make commitments to these ministries. We then collect money in December and May to fulfill those commitments. This year we’ve committed nearly $300,000 towards these ministries. They are ministries that flow directly from our commitment to be a gospel-shaped church. These are how we serve and sympathize with the lowest. These are how we share good news and good works. These are how we bring life before death not just after death.
On November 24, we are trying to raise $200,000 for these ministries. That’s 5-6 times what we give on a normal Sunday. Your gift on Nov. 24 helps us live out the gospel. By funding HopeWorks, Agape, our work in the Philippines, and dozens of other ministries to the needy, the nations and our local and domestic nations, you will help us to be a gospel-centered church.
And while we often spotlight large ministries like the Philippines—which Eric did last Sunday, and Agape and HopeWorks—which we’ll highlight next Sunday, today I want to highlight a couple of ministries that receive much less of the spotlight, yet which make a huge difference.
First, I want you to hear the story of what’s happening at the Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch. We support this ministry through our Outreach Contribution. First let’s watch this video and then I’m going to ask Debbie Simpson to come and share about this ministry.
Second, I want you to hear the story of a young girl at the children’s home in Paragould, AR. I’m going to ask Lawana Maxwell to come and share that story.
Centuries ago Peter wrote about angels in heaven longing to look into the gospel:
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. (1 Pet. 1:12 NIV)
Something is happening on earth that is so amazing that even the angels in heaven are captivated by it. What is it? It’s the gospel. It’s the story of the life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and return of Jesus. And when we live out that gospel, heaven comes down to earth. Please pray this week about your gift next Sunday. Let’s spark a gospel revival by our giving next Sunday.
