Gospel-Centered
Everything we do centers on the grace of Jesus Christ
What does that mean?
Here at Bible Pres, we often talk about how the gospel is not just the front door to the Christian life –it’s the whole house. The gospel of Jesus' grace not only saves us, it motivates us each day to follow God and grow in holiness. The Bible is clear that the more we focus on Jesus and all he's done for us by grace, the more joy we'll have and the more like him we'll want to become. The heart of the Christian message isn't a list of rules to follow, nor is it our hard work to please God. It's Jesus and his mercy toward us who need him so much. We want that good news that's centered on him to be the heartbeat of every sermon we preach, every prayer we pray, every lesson we teach, every song we sing, and every act of mercy we attempt. Being a gospel-centered church means it's all about him.
What is the gospel?
"Gospel" literally means good news. At its core, Christianity is not good advice, good teaching, or good feelings. It’s all about the good news that God did not leave humanity in our broken, fallen, rebellious condition. Rather, he sent God the Son, Jesus Christ, to become a man, live a sinless life in our place, die on the cross as a substitute for us, and rise from the dead on the third day. His death and resurrection alone can make us right with God. All who believe in Him will receive the gift of eternal life.
The Bad News
The Bible tells us that we are all born separated from God because we are sinful (rebellious) by nature and by our actions. Whether you're a good person or not, the fact is – you are not perfect. And perfection is what is required to be in the presence of God (go to heaven). We all must pay the price of sin – death (hell); and we don't have the ability to save ourselves.
The Good News
God in His great love and grace wants to save us! He offers a way to live with Him forever. The death of the God-Man Jesus in our place and his conquering of death and sin at the resurrection becomes a gift offered to us for free. His death satisfies the wrath of God against all sin and it pays the sin debt that we owe to the God we have offended. All we have to do is accept His gift.
Isn't being a good person enough?
No one can ever be good enough to earn or deserve the eternal, abundant life that God offers. God is not glorified when we try to earn something that he is offering for free; and he isn’t glorified when we try to gain what only he can accomplish—perfection.
Trying to earn our way to God through our goodness robs us of the joy-filled life that God offers. Morality without the gospel adds up to a life of guilt when we fail and a life of pride when we succeed. Both look to us as the answer, and we can never be the answer to our sin problem. In contrast, the Christian gospel offers us real joy, real peace, and real freedom because it is not about what we do. It's about what Christ does in our place. At the end of the day what we all need is what Jesus alone offers: forgiveness both for our rebellion and our attempts to make ourselves ok with God. Jesus' grace really is the good news we've been waiting for!