Be Gospel-Centered

It all starts with the Gospel. Far too much teaching on the life of a Christian man centers around the actions of his life instead of on the heart that beats within him. The no-nonsense biblical man must have a deep-seated heart for the Gospel. His life must have been radically affected by the Gospel message. We will of course look long and hard at the man of God and how he lives his life, but without the Gospel message embedded inside his soul, how will this man have any motivation to serve and love God?

I can remember years ago sitting in a Bible study listening to a pastor teach from the book of Ephesians. Week after week this particular pastor emphasized the “grace of God.” In the naivety of my heart I longed to move past this simple message. At that point in my life, the Gospel was something you learned in children’s church by way of the multicolored bracelet where each color represents a different part of God’s redemptive story. In my mind, maturity meant moving past the Gospel. The Gospel was simple and childish to me. What a fool I was.

One day the pastor referenced Ephesians 1:3—“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” He explained to us our great and incredible position in Christ. He explained to us that in a past sense we had already been given every blessing that is found in the heavenly places. He detailed for us how this was acquired, not by our own doing, but by being placed in a position called “in Christ.” I began to understand, at that moment, that the Christian life isn’t so much about doing as it is about receiving.

From that moment on, I’ve seen my own life and works as a simple response to the Gospel. I see my life and all that I do in obedience to God as a simple thank you note for what he has allowed me to receive. This motivation has been crucial to my staying power. I am very certain that without this wonderful Gospel message being cemented into my heart I would not be walking with God today.

One place we see this principle laid out for us is in Titus 2:11–14. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” In other words, grace trains us for a certain type of life. Contrary to the beliefs of many, grace does not lead us into a life of licentiousness. According to Paul, a true understanding of the grace of God leads us to a godly life filled with heavenly passions—a life of self-control, integrity, and purity. This life can be described as zealous. A man who has discovered the truth of the grace of God is a man on fire.

I don’t know exactly what it will take, but you absolutely must get the Gospel deep inside your heart. This is non-negotiable. Jesus must become famous to you. His work on that bloody cross has to become so fascinating that it stirs your everyday life. If this doesn’t occur in your heart, you will either be a mere shadow of who you could be, a sort of Christian zombie going through the motions, or you will be stuck with a spiritual-looking but plastic, artificial, and hypocritical version of Christianity in your everyday life.Perhaps you are already there. Perhaps your passion for the Gospel is flowing nicely.

Perhaps you are currently overwhelmed with the forgiveness, cleansing, and eradication of shame that Jesus has offered you. But maybe the Gospel has never been fascinating to you. Maybe you’ve drifted through the years away from an adoration of Christ and His Gospel. It’s time to come home. Although I will write more about these specific areas later on in this book, I’d like to give you a few suggestions on how to fire up your love for the Gospel.