The church
is in desperate need of gospel clarity. Rampant on every social media platform
is a barrage of claims to Christianity rife with compromise. Gospel clarity must
be anchored in biblical and theological consistency. Ultimately, that clarity
must begin in the pulpit. An old preaching adage I first heard in my
expositional preaching class asserts, “If there is a mist in the pulpit, then
there will be a fog in the pew.”[1]
The lack of gospel clarity among Christians stems from a lack of clarity within
the local churches’ leadership. A church devoid of conversions is, plainly
speaking, a dying church. A church with no gospel conviction—no evangelistic
vision, passion for reaching the lost, nor any fervor for the Great Commission—has
succumbed to apathy and complacency.
Too often, local churches look to secular business models for church growth tactics and lose sight of their missional mandate—make disciples. Business models become transfixed on numerical growth that thrives within the status quo. These church models achieve a glorified country club status where Laodiceans gather—a harsh charge. However, I propose the following church growth model—as the gospel is proclaimed in the lost world, souls are saved, and churches grow. Two questions should come immediately to mind from this. 1) How do we right the ship if we find ourselves in the former situation? 2) How do we embrace a gospel-driven growth focus? The answer to both is the same—faithfully preach the gospel.
Follow Paul’s Example
In his
letter to the church at Corinth, Paul emphasizes the call of the gospel message
(1 Cor 15:1–4).[2]
Paul elucidates the significance of Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection for
our sins. To Paul, this was of central importance to the Christian faith. He
further contends that these events occurred in accordance with the Scriptures’
account. Undergirding the gospel message as woven in the fabric of the Scriptures.
It is the message of the promise of salvation offered through Christ. We can
see five distinct characteristics of preaching the gospel from Paul’s writings
and life. He shows the foundation of preaching the gospel, the intentionality
of preaching the gospel, the necessity of preaching the gospel, the expectancy
of preaching the gospel, and the faithfulness of preaching the gospel.
Paul’s Foundation of Preaching the Gospel (1 Cor 15:1–4)
First, as
we started to see, Paul argued that the gospel message was of “first
importance” (1 Cor 15:1–4). Paul was clear in drawing attention to the “gospel
which [he] preached,” which happens to be the same gospel “by which you are
saved” (1 Cor 15:1–2). To preach the Word is to preach the divine revelation of
who God is to his creation. Scripture reveals God’s nature and attributes and
ultimately points to the wonderful work of the cross. The cross of Christ is
the cornerstone of the Christian faith. The cross symbolizes God’s redemptive
work in humanity by Christ through the Holy Spirit. The result of salvation—as
symbolized by the cross—is fully trinitarian. To preach salvation is to proclaim
the role of God the Father as its author, the Son as its implementor, and the
Holy Spirit as its sustainer. The gospel, then, serves as that good news. This
good news is the redemptive thread woven throughout the meta-narrative of Scripture.
Therefore, to preach the Word faithfully is to preach the message of the cross.
Paul rested all of his preaching upon the foundation of the gospel. The local
church would do well to allow the gospel message to permeate everything they
say.
Paul’s Intentionality in Preaching the Gospel (1 Cor 9:19–23)
Moreover, we can see that Paul
established his purpose by using his freedom in Christ to proclaim the gospel.
He became like those with whom he intended to share the gospel. Paul
demonstrates intentionality in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. He asserts, “I
have become all things to all men, so that I may, by all means, save some. I do
all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker
of it” (1 Cor 9:22b–23). Paul demonstrates his intentionality in striving toward
sharing the gospel. He contends for the gospel that enabled him to behold
Christ on the road to Damascus. Paul clearly shows that his approach to people intentionally
led him toward preaching the gospel.
Paul’s Necessity of Preaching the Gospel (Rom 10:14)
One of
the driving factors behind evangelistic preaching should be the urgency of
eternity hanging in the balance. People are not guaranteed their next breath,
let alone tomorrow. With that in mind, urgency should be a characteristic of our
preaching the gospel. Paul declared, “Whether then it was they or I, so we
preach, and so you believed” (1 Cor 15:11). Coupled with that urgency is an
understanding of the necessity for believers to proclaim the gospel. Paul
acutely understood the necessity of proclaiming the gospel for the unbeliever
to come to believe. He wrote, “How then shall they call on him in whom they
have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not
heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher” (Rom 10:14). An evangelistic
sermon succinctly presents the gospel and appeals to the audience to respond.[3]
The necessity of preaching the gospel lies in the Scriptures’ call to respond
to the most profound need of the hearer—salvation for the unbeliever and
sanctification for the believer. Paul clearly understood the necessity of
proclamation of the gospel in salvation when he wrote, “So faith comes by
hearing and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). If we genuinely believe
that it is the Word of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit that changes men
from death to life then we must commit to the necessity of preaching the
gospel, anchored in Scripture, and in submission to the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s Expectancy of Preaching the Gospel (Rom 1:16)
When
preaching the gospel, we proclaim the very power of God. We should be convinced
to the core of our being that salvation is at the doorstep. That is because the
soul’s salvation is the divine miracle of a moment—therein lies the power of
the gospel illuminated in Romans 1:16, “For [the gospel] is the power of God
for salvation to everyone who believes.” Paul’s confidence in the gospel rested
upon the assurance of salvation found only in the gospel hope. His hope in the
gospel rested firmly in his call to preach the gospel. Paul attests, “I am eager
to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (Rom 1:15). His expectancy in
preaching the gospel rested upon its power for salvation.
Paul’s Faithfulness in Preaching the Gospel (2 Tim 4:7)
Finally,
Paul demonstrated the need for faithfulness in preaching the gospel. The
question is not how we begin the race but how we end the race. Paul writes that
he has done well to keep the faith and to stay faithful to what Jesus called him.
He attests, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have
kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). The end goal of every believer should be to hear
those words: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” That much more should
be the heart cry of every preacher to make much of the saving work of Jesus. Let
us strive to preach the gospel, stand against worldly doctrine, and keep Christ
central in our preaching. As the old saying asserts, “In matters of
principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current.”[4]
Thus, Paul was a paragon of faithfulness in preaching the gospel.
Conclusion
Preachers should embrace the call
toward evangelistic preaching in light of the gospel. Jesus’s final command in
the Gospel of Matthew is clear, “Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19). The call was not to strong-arm or coerce but to make
disciples. Discipleship begins with the declaration of truth—Jesus saves.
Faith, then, comes from hearing the message of the redemptive work of Christ.
Ultimately, a divine mystery transpires when a soul is saved. Although there is
a mystery, we know that the believer’s role is obedience in a faithful
proclamation. How can we do it? We can do it through Christological focus,
compassion for the lost, living a life of repentance, maintaining an eternal
perspective, and being intentional in our obedience to the Great
Commission.
[1]
The origination of this quote is unknown, but it has been cited by many
preachers—i.e., David Allen, Haddon Robinson, Matthew McKellar, and many
others—and therefore is attributed as an “old adage.”
[2]
Unless
otherwise stated all Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation, 1995).
[3]
Adam L. Hughes, “The Soul of the Evangelistic Expository Sermon: From Broadus
and Criswell to Rogers and Kelley,” Engage: A Festschrift in Honor of Dr.
Charles S. Kelley, Jr. ed. Wm. Craig Price (New Orleans: NOBTS Press, 2019),
449.
[4]
The origination of this quote is unknown, but it is first seen in early 19th-century
writings and therefore attributed to an “old adage.”
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