The Religious & Irreligious | What The Gospel Is Not!

Posted on 05. Apr, 2010 by K. Tanner Barfield in Christian Living

I. Introduction

What I want to talk about in this post is what the gospel is not. Essentially what we will be discussing is what our natural human heart and mind do in attempt to receive salvation. This is somewhat of a rendition of Tim Keller’s article on Gospel Centered Living.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. -Jn 6:63

It is God who reveals the gospel to us through his spirit. If we count on our flesh to bring us salvation we completely avoid the gospel all together and we end up as either religious, moralistic, legalists on one side, or irreligious, hedonist, pacifist, relativists on the other.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. -Jn 1:14

II. The Gospel is Not Moralism/Legalism |The Religious

Truth Without Grace. You must obey truth in order to be saved.

They say, “I am more acceptable to God because of my accomplishments.”
They believe a moral person derives his/her rules for morality from a holy God so, this way of living will lead to 1 of 2 things:

a) Self-Hatred because our flesh cannot obtain Gods requirements for holiness

b) Self-Worship because you think that through your own hard work have obtained the requirements for holiness

Reality is, being this religious will never bring you to full joy and worship of Christ because you are too busy being happy when you feel like you’ve done good and too sad when you feel like you’ve done wrong, you are too busy worshiping yourself to even consider Christ and His gospel.

III. The Gospel is Not Relativism | The Irreligious

Grace without truth. All “truths” are acceptable because grace abounds.

They say, “God, if he exists, is accepting of whatever is truth to you.”
They believe that everyone should determine what right and wrong is for them.
They cannot believe that God is just and wrath comes with that justice, everyone goes to heaven, because 1 Jn 4:8 and 4:16 are the only two verses of the bible that they know. “God is Love and only Love”
You might ask this person “What did that love cost your God?”

IV. The Gospel Is Not Only The Beginning

1. The Gospel is The Beginning But…

We all know that the gospel is the first thing we respond to after regeneration. Although we are elected in eternity past, for us the Gospel feels like the beginning of our relationship with Christ. It is the first time we feel apart of God’s family.

For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. -1 Cor. 4:15

The gospel is the beginning of our adoption and our Christian walk, but is that it? Do we put it away on a shelf as if it has no purpose or place in our lives now that we are Christians. By no means! People think that the only purpose of the Gospel is get people saved, but scripture says…

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? -Gal 3:1-3

2. We are not justified by the Gospel and sanctified by our works

We are justified by the gospel AND sanctified by the gospel. The gospel leads us to praise God for his persistence.

…Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. -1 Col. 1:5-6

3. The Gospel’s Purpose is Eternal

The gospel does not just get us into the kingdom of heaven but it progresses us into it. It prepares us for the glory, it moves us closer and closer to eternity with Christ, by making us more and more like Christ.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. -Phil 1:6

4. The Main Problem as Christians

All problems come from our failure to apply the Gospel.

We do not base our living off of feelings. This causes us to be effective for the kingdom only when we are feeling “good”. What will we do when we aren’t feeling “happy”, what if we get ill, or someone we knows dies, we then become ineffective for the kingdom.

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. -Phil 4:12-13

If we apply the gospel, Christ crucified, to everything in our life then we can be like this. High or low, rich or poor, if the Gospel is central than our joy can be eternal because His sufficient Grace through the gospel is eternal.

Tags: doctrine, gospel, Jesus Christ, Theology