What do we mean by gospel-centered?

Paul, said, ‘the gospel is of first importance’ in the church (1 Cor 15:3-4). The gospel defines how we live out our ultimate purpose in life which is to glorify God in all things. In my early experience as a student and pastor, I was taught two alternative purposes for the world and for what drives the Christian life. I was taught that history has either a soteriological purposes (to redeem sinners) or a doxological purpose (to bring glory to God). Consequently on the practical level, believers have either a soteriological purpose or a doxological purpose, i.e. either we are driven by our evangelistic passion to bring people to Christ or driven by our desire to bring glory to God by our obedience.

I am not focusing on the contrasting purposes in human history but on the practical outworking of those purposes. However I would note that God’s doxological purpose in human history is not achieved without his redemptive purposes being accomplished and, at the center of his doxological purpose is the redemption accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I am most interested in this blog on the practical outworking of how we understand our purpose in life. Formerly for me on the practical level, the soteriological purpose was eschewed because it focused on only one area of obedience while the doxological purpose was extolled because it included all areas of obedience.

Now I conclude that both the soteriological and doxological purposes were somewhat skewed in how they were presented to me. I have observed that both of these purposes, easily end up being moralistic and focused on self-effort. The focus becomes either how much evangelism and I am doing or how obedient am I becoming. Churches are full of believers burdened with guilt and shame over not winning enough souls to Christ or not being obedient enough in every area of their lives. Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not encouraging less evangelism or a relaxed attitude toward obedience. But, the way that many Christians understand and practice ‘living for souls’ or ‘living for God’s glory’ may ultimately steal glory from God.

We will engage joyfully in evangelism and obedience as we rest in the finished work of Christ.

It is the Gospel that gives perspective, identity, and empowerment for daily living.  All problems with sin that we experience in daily living come from failing to maintain the functional centrality of the Gospel. This is liberating truth!” 
~ Dr. Tedd Tripp

I am supremely interested in glorifying my Creator and Redeemer. We are created for God’s glory (Rev 4:11) and we are to do all things in life for His glory (1 Cor 10:31). However without being gospel-centered we seek our own glory. Being gospel-centered helps avoid legalism/moralism on the one hand, and on the other hand relativism/hedonism (Ca. Tim Keller).

Being gospel-centered keeps the focus from being on our own self-effort. Being gospel-centered reminds us of God’s great holiness, our great sinfulness, and His great grace showed to us in the death and resurrection of Christ. The gospel is about what God has accomplished for sinners in Christ and He is most glorified when we believe in and rest in this gospel.

Being gospel-centered insures that God receives the glory.

1 Corinthians 1:30-31
³⁰ And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Galatians 6:14
¹⁴ But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Let me make a little twist on one of John Piper’s famous quotes: He says, “God is most glorified when I am most satisfied in Him.” I agree with that though I will tweak it a little in saying that “God is most glorified when I am most centered (at rest) in the gospel.”

P.S. For a good reader on being gospel-centered, see http://timmybrister.com/2009/08/27/a-gospel-centered-reader/

Our Identity in Serving the Poor

The following was prepared for a Grace Gathering of Grace Church of Philly:

Last week we briefly covered our motivation for serving the poor: Jesus Christ and His gospel. We learned that Christ-centeredness and gospel-centeredness necessarily produces other-centeredness.

This week we’re going to look at another foundational aspect of our worship of God through mercy ministries: our identity in serving the poor.

“Never forget where you came from.” Have you ever heard someone say that? It’s frequently stated in the context of urging someone to remember his or her roots.

In the history of the American Church, there has been an unfortunate tendency for well-meaning Christians to “forget where they came from” while serving the poor, with the end result being a tragic loss of identity.

This loss of identity has wreaked tremendous havoc and done incredible damage within the Church. It has created much confusion and resulted in the loss of the gospel in tens of thousands of congregations worldwide, to the eternal detriment of millions of people.

Obviously, with the stakes so incredibly high, we want to steer clear of this kind of error and apostasy.

How do we avoid making the same mistake that those who have fallen away from the faith have made?

The solution in this situation is the same as it is in just about every other circumstance in the Christian life: we must recognize our identity in Christ and hold fast to Him.

We are Slaves of Christ

In Rom. 1:1, Gal. 1:10, Col. 4:12, 2 Tim. 2:24, Titus 1:1, Jam. 1:1, 2 Pet. 1:1, and Jude 1:1, various New Testament authors identify themselves or other Christian workers as “slaves” of Christ. The word “slave” (or, in some translations “servant” or “bond-servant”) is translated from the Greek δουλος (doulos).

In the New Testament, this referred to “a person [who was] owned as a possession.”[1]

Someone who is owned by another doesn’t have the luxury or the option of forgetting or ignoring his or her identity.

Someone who is the property of another doesn’t set about to go his or her own way in life, moving about as he or she sees fit. Instead, a slave does the bidding and will of his master.[2] In many ways, a slave is bound to his master.

As slaves of Christ, we are to be obedient to His teachings. He commands us to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-40).

We love our God and neighbor by living out the Great Commission given by Christ: “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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20).

We live out this Great Commission in both word and deed.

Our identity is centered in our relationship to God in Christ. Because this identity is brought about through the gospel, it results in selfless relationships with others that are gracious, merciful, and loving.

We are Ambassadors of Christ

2 Cor. 5:20 – Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

“Ambassador” is from πρεσβευω (presbeuo), which means to act as a representative.[3]

In serving the poor, we’re not social workers; we’re not philanthropists; we’re not crusaders for justice; we’re not church members: we are representatives of Jesus Christ, bringing His message of grace to others in our words and in our lives, urging and imploring people to be reconciled to Him through Christ by means of the gospel.

Our identity is centered in our relationship to God in Christ. Because this identity is brought about through the gospel, it results in selfless relationships with others that are gracious, merciful, and loving.

How do we avoid losing our identity when we minister to the poor? By recognizing our identity as slaves and ambassadors of Christ and by cleaving to Him with all of our might.

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[1] Edward W. Goodrick, John R. Kohlenberger III, and James A. Swanson, Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), Version 1.1, Accordance Bible Software 8.3.3, Oak Tree Software, Inc., 2009.

[2] An interesting observation on the term δουλος can be found in the First Edition Notes of The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C., 2005), Version 3.3, Accordance Bible Software 8.3.3., Oak Tree Software, Inc., 2009: “Though δουλος (doulos) is normally translated ‘servant,’ the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that ‘”servant” for “slave” is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished’ (BDAG 260 s.v.). At the same time, perhaps ‘servant’ is apt in that the δουλος of Jesus Christ took on that role voluntarily, unlike a slave. The most accurate translation is ‘bondservant’ (sometimes found in the ASV for δουλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force” (from note 3 on 2 Peter 1:1).

[3] Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, Version 2.4, Accordance Bible Software 8.3.3, Oak Tree Software, Inc., 2009.

Meeting Place for Grace Gatherings

Some photos of the meeting place for our Grace Gatherings, St. Andrew and St. Monica Episcopal Church at 3600 Baring Street, University City, Philadelphia.

Grace Gathering Video – Pastor John Davis (Part Two)

Grace Gathering Video – Pastor John Davis (Part One)

Grace Gathering Video – “Unchanging”

Our Motivation for Serving the Poor

The following was prepared for a “Grace Gathering” of Grace Church of Philly:

At later times, Lord willing, we will get into discussions about the who, what, where,and the how of serving the poor. But before those conversations take place, I think it necessary to briefly cover the why of mercy ministries.

Examining the why of anything is to investigate the foundations of doing what we do. Without a proper and biblical why, we are doomed to serve others out of improper motives, which can hurt both the poor and ourselves in the process.

Why do we serve the poor? Because of Jesus. And because of His gospel.

Mercy ministries find their root and are ultimately grounded in the person, life, and work of Jesus Christ our Savior.

If the ultimate goal of our life is to serve and minister in a way that is Christ-centered for the glory of God the Father, then we will necessarily be powered and equipped for such service by the Holy Spirit Himself, and not our own desires, religious or otherwise.

If the eyes of our heart are continually fixed on the great sacrifice of Christ on the cross, we will see the great and precious value that each person has in His sight.

Christ-centeredness produces other-centeredness. It cannot do otherwise.

Mercy ministries also find their heritage in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If we are continually and daily preaching the gospel of God’s grace to ourselves, we are empowered to live out this gospel of grace by serving the poor and disenfranchised.

It is the gospel that is the power of God both unto salvation and that spurs good works.

Every young Christian knows Ephesians 2:8-9, which says: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

I’m convinced that v. 10 is frequently overlooked in its significance for Christian living: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

By looking at these verses as a unit (and not in atomistic isolation) we see that the gospel of God’s grace saves us not only from sin and death, but saves us from the prison of selfishness that was our former life.

While we formerly lived as children of wrath, imprisoned “in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of” our bodies and minds (v. 3), by the power of the gospel we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works,” freed to serve others with the love that God has poured into our hearts by His Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).

Gospel-centeredness produces other-centeredness. It cannot do otherwise.

Why do we serve the poor? Because we are radically committed to Jesus Christ and His saving gospel.

It is through ministry to the poor that we worship God the Father, bringing Him glory by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12:1-2).

(The next in this short series is “Our Identity in Serving the Poor.”)

Our vision of a multi-site church for Grace Church of Philly

Our vision of a multi-site church for Grace Church of Philly

This multi-site church would be one church whose members worship and serve in various neighborhoods. Each congregation would bear a geographical identifier that reflects its mission to a particular neighborhood such as Grace Church of Philly (University City) (East Falls) (Overbrook), etc. Each neighborhood congregation would have a site pastor for preaching and leadership at the local level. Each site pastor would regularly meet with the other site pastors for prayer, training, coaching, encouragement and missional strategizing under its lead pastors.

This unified church meeting in multiple sites would be governed by one team of elders that meets quarterly to pray for and oversee multi-site movement. This session would be divided into commissions of elders drawn from each local congregation, in charge of shepherding and oversight of their respective local congregations.

This one church of multiple congregations would share administrative resources such as office, finances, equipment, and other resources. This new multi-site church would come together occasionally for regional gatherings, seminars, retreats, youth groups, community outreaches, etc. This church would work together to promote the formation of new congregations throughout Philadelphia and in supporting a global missions program. All of the sites of Grace Church of Philly would benefit by this union and, even more so, the kingdom purposes of Christ are advanced in the city.

The first site is Grace Church of Philly in University City.

Our Philosophy of Ministry

Along with others on our leadership team, I currently find myself in a ministry context of planting a new church in an urban area that is racially, culturally, and socio-economically diverse. Add to this mixture a highly transient student and young, urban professional population and further challenges to long-term ministry become immediately evident. In this short piece I will set forth my philosophy of ministry in general (regardless of any temporal or geographical circumstances) and my philosophy of ministry in the immediate context of University City, Philadelphia.

The ultimate goal of my life is to serve and minister in a way that is radically Christ-centered, radically gospel-centered, and radically other-centered by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father (Matt. 22:34-40; 28:18-20). It is the God-man Jesus Christ whose life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension gives meaning to the gospel and displays for me the precious value of each and every human life (John 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-8; 1 John 4:9-10). It is through the gospel that I am reconciled to this Jesus and empowered to love and serve others (Rom. 1:16; 5:5; 1 John 4:19). It is through indiscriminately loving others that I can live out this gospel and serve Christ by serving others (Matt. 25:31-46; 1 John 3:14-19).

Read more »

Grace Gatherings

The Grace Church of Philly family invites you to come to a “get together” on Sunday, October 25 at 4:00pm in the fellowship hall of St. Andrew and St. Monica Episcopal Church, 3600 Baring Street (the entrance to the building is on Pearl Street).

We will begin at 4:00pm, sharing a meal together. After this time of community and discussion, we will have a time of song and biblical instruction.

We will be meeting together in this format on the following Sundays at 4:00pm in the same location: November 1st, 15th, 29th, and December 6th and 20th.

May God richly bless you all,

The leadership team and families of Grace Church of Philly

A copy of this flyer can be viewed below.