At the Center of It All

 . . . but we preach Christ crucified - 1 Corinthians 1:23

Background
Before this proclamation, Paul had given the Corinthian church something to think about concerning the wisdom of the world.  The world was searching for wisdom, while the Jews were searching for a sign.  Nothing has changed really in modern times.  Many walk around as if they are too brilliant for God and His gospel.  This will always be the case.  God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.  However, it is this simple statement by Paul, "but we preach Christ crucified" that needs expounding.

Distraction in the church
Paul was clarifying to the church what he and the other apostles were all about, the preaching of a crucified savior.  In other words, the gospel.  Paul was about the gospel.  The world is about their own wisdom but Paul was about the gospel.  And so . . .  the church is about the gospel.  At that center of what Christianity is all about is the gospel; a crucified savior taking away the sin of all who trust in Him, repent, and follow.  Simple enough, right?

However, in the modern era of the church, the gospel message has lost its centrality to the church and has been replaced with other gospels or secondary issues.  Paul told the Galatian church:

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 - not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. - Galatians 1:6-7

 We are a very distracted people and our messages reveals it.  This is just a sample of what you might hear today (I would like to focus more on the false gospels in today's post):

The prosperity gospel - This is the message that many preach today - God wants you to be healthy, wealthy, and successful.  "Just believe in yourself and God is at your beck and call to make it happen.", is what they tell us.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  God calls you to give up your life, in faith, and follow His Son Jesus.  Read through the New Testament.  Most of the followers of Christ were not rich and famous . . . actually most of them died a terrible and violent death.  So many churches and Christians have bought into this really bad teaching.  Just know that it is not the gospel.

The life improvement gospel - This is the bulk of teaching in churches today.  It is the ugly cousin of the prosperity gospel. The preacher stands up, usually twisting the Bible, and instructs the congregation how to have happiness, good time management skills, a great career, obedient kids, and a smart dog (not really).  Now in all fairness, the Bible addresses many issues instructing on family, money, and relationships -  but that should not be a central message.  Our central message should be -  the gospel and its transforming power.  Both the prosperity and life-improvement gospels view Jesus as a means to get "stuff" for a good life.

The moral gospel - Let me begin with this disclaimer:  If you are a Christian, God, through His power, is calling you to holiness. (we will look at some other passages in a few weeks for this).  However, so many churches removed the gospel (the very thing that sinners need) and replaced it with a message that says, "God loves you . . . now be good."  This falls well short of the gospel.  We need the gospel before we can ever work on being good.  This gospel says we are not accepted by God unless we are good.  (spoiler alert: we are accepted by what Christ has done, not by our works)

The repeat after me gospel - This has to be one of the greatest tragedies of our time.  So many believe salvation is acquired by repeating a "magical" prayer.  This is usually carried out by preachers wanting to "boost" their numbers.  The preacher asks, "Do you want to go to heaven when you die?"  (Really, who says no to that question).  When someone responds in the affirmative, the preacher says repeat this prayer after me - "Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner . . . . (you know the rest)"  THIS IS NOT THE GOSPEL!

What the World Needs
These are just a few examples. There are many more.  The point is this . . . the gospel of Jesus Christ must be our message.  As one preacher said, "make the main thing, the main thing."  The church needs to be clear and thorough because although we live in a land of many churches, we also live in a land defficient of the gospel.  Maybe you are thinking, "Do I really know the gospel?"  I have come to the conclusion that many people who claim to be Christians have never truly been converted because they have bought into one of these false gospels.  For that reason, for the next few weeks, I am going to explain the gospel according to the Bible.  You might ask, "Does it take 3 or 4 blog posts to explain the gospel?"  The answer - if it is done according to the Bible.  Stay tuned . . .

In Christ,

Pastor Rob