“Contrary to what some might think, discipleship is not the engine of the church. The gospel is. Without the gospel, both discipleship and church fail. Without the driving force of the gospel, discipleship devolves into self-help religiosity motivated by conservative pietism. The church is reduced to a glorified non-profit in which people lose interest. But the gospel reactivates both church and discipleship!
The good news that Jesus has defeated sin, death, and evil through his own death and resurrection and is making all things new, even us, changes everything! In the gospel, God in Christ welcomes sinners and sends out disciples. The gospel, not discipleship, is central to the church. If we make discipleship the engine of the church, we’ll run quickly out of gas. But when the gospel is central, the church gets traction and disciples get depth.”
2 comments:
Gospel 1 Cor 15:1/4 & Ro 4:25. To many people think that salvation is getting forgiven, to them thats why Christ submitted to the cross. to take away/pay for sin. But fail to understand thats only half of it. One, in so doing who believes that only, has yet to receive life and what life is all about and what it means to the believer; has yet to understand the full gospel as presented by Paul. Christ Himself spoke saying, I am the way the truth the life, I came that you might have life, they refuse to come to me for life, he who has the son has life. But I fail to read where (remove the word life and insert forgiveness) I am the resurrection and the forgiveness. Am I wrong in this understanding?
James at Homewaters Fly Fishing
If I am understanding your position correctly, James, I don't think that you're wrong. Forgiveness, that is the atonement for our sins so that God is both just and merciful to us in Christ, is the core of the gospel (without it, we are lost), but the gospel brings about much more than mere forgiveness. There is justification (as you quoted in Romans 4:25), sanctification, adoption with the full rights of sons, the down payment of the Holy Spirit with the promise of the fullness of God's presence in the future, the sealing of the Holy Spirit by which we know that we belong to God (Rom 8), the promise of resurrection from these futile bodies (Rom 8), etc. Life, real eternal (quality, not merely quantity) life, is one of those promises. Just what is life? John 17:5 Jesus calls eternal life "that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Thus, this life, this eternal life is not merely found in Christ, but is Christ Himself! We live as we know Him more and more and there will be a day when we see Him face to face and will be made like Him (1 John 3:2-3) and be pure!
Thus, there are many aspects to the gospel because it is the "declaration of what God has done" (gospel means "good announcement") in Jesus Christ and He has done A LOT in Jesus!!
Peace to you, brother, and I'm sorry that it took so long to respond to this comment! :)
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