I Preach Christ Crucified... Got a Problem with That?

Following another wonderful Sunday morning service at Grace Pointe MBC in Brownwood, I was approached by a church member who said, "These people in this congregation are all saved. We don't need salvation messages, we need messages about Christian living."

I'm not going to lie, when someone criticizes my preaching (especially the sermon topic), my flesh gets all riled up. So that particular morning, I chose not to engage the conversation. I simply said, "okay," and moved on.

You see, at Grace Pointe, we study through books of the Bible during our Sunday morning, evening and Wednesday night sermons. On Sunday mornings, we study Luke. On Sunday evenings, we study 1 John. On Wednesday evenings, we study Revelation. What I preach about is determined by the text that comes up next in the book we are studying. So, it should come as no surprise that an overwhelming majority of the sermons preached at Grace Pointe Missionary Baptist Church are centered around the Gospel, for the Gospel is the central message of the Bible. Furthermore, we need to be more committed to preaching the Word of God (the Gospel, as recorded and taught in scripture) because the general public has no concept of the Gospel and God's plan of salvation. (If you don't believe me, go out and knock 10 doors of complete strangers in your neighborhood, ask how to be saved, and record the answers.)

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Paul said, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"

Typically, we use these verses to define the Gospel. That Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures. The Gospel had already been foretold by the Old Testament scriptures, and those Old Testament scriptures are what Paul referred to when he preached the Gospel.

Acts 17:2-3 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

Not only did Paul preach the Gospel when he was evangelizing, it was his central message. 1 Corinthians 1:23 says "We preach Christ crucified."

While the Bible does address issues like being a good husband, father, or a wife and mother, or being a good child, or a good employer/employee, the overwhelming majority of the Bible conveys the message of the Gospel and how God uses the obedience of His people for His honor and glory. Furthermore, the Bible also conveys how God rewards those who are faithful. To abandon the message of the Gospel for a series of "how to be the best ______ you can be" sermons is to turn away from the message of God's word and relegate the Holy Scriptures to a bargain bin self help book like thousands of man-made philosophies lining the shelves of bookstores everywhere.

"But what about the meat of the Word, shouldn't we get beyond salvation to the meat?" You ask.

First of all, scripture does not get any deeper than Jesus Christ (Thank you Roger Copeland for pointing that out.) Secondly, a deeper study of the Bible will always lead to a deeper understanding of the Gospel. The book of Hebrews admonished Hebrew believers for being stuck on the milk of the word... not that they didn't know a lot of scripture, but that they didn't have a thorough understanding of God's grace to the point that they would leave their old religion of sacrifices and rituals behind. Perhaps the reason we have generations of baby Christians who never mature is that we (a) never move beyond the "Here's how to be saved, Admit, Believe and Confess" sermons, and (b) if we do, we preach on some obscure theological point that will not help a person walk with God. The deeper the believer understands the Gospel, the more mature the believer will be in his faith, the more meat the believer can handle, and the stronger that believer's faith will be.

Therefore, as long as God blesses me with a preaching ministry, I plan to continue to preach through books of the Bible, thus preaching the whole counsel of God, and also placing emphasis on what God placed emphasis in His word.

Online evangelism, discipleship and missions news

This blog, the Mind of Acker, serves to keep you up-to-date with the mission, vision and progess of Mission: Brownwood, periodic Bible devotions, my thoughts on life, and personal news.

My other blog,Grace Pointe MBC, will be a tool to enhance the ministries we have in Brownwood. We might post daily devotionals, and information related to upcoming Sunday School lessons, sermons, Bible studies and Parents of Purpose events. (Parents of Purpose may get its own blog before it's all over).

I've launched another blog, utilizing the blessing of Blogger to spread the Gospel to those who might not hear it from a church pew. The blog is called MyFaith.com. The goal is to lower the barriers that lost people have toward Christianity by avoiding politics and focusing on the central message of Christianity (which I fear, has been lost in many churches.) So anyway, check it out and let me know what you think.

Going deeper into debt

Paul wrote in Romans 1:14-15 that "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are in Rome also."

This word "debtor" means one who is delinquent in the repayment of a debt. So you have a 60 month payment plan on your car? You are not a debtor to GMAC unless you fall behind. At that point, you get the phone calls and letters.

Paul was using the word "debtor" to explain how he viewed himself in relation to the spreading of the Gospel (verse 15). Now, if the great Apostle Paul were a debtor in his efforts to spread the Gospel, where does that leave me?

I've shared the Gospel from time to time in my newspaper column (which you can read at www.thecherokeean.com), I have preached it from the pulpits of the churches that I have preached at. I preached it at Denson Springs MBC when I pastored there. But, have I been effective at sharing the Gospel with my co-workers? What about my friends? What about the families I try to minister to through coaching U6 soccer, or those whom I write newspaper stories about? Did I put my best efforts forward to spread the Gospel to the Slocum/Grapeland/Elkhart communities when I was at Denson Springs?

I fear that I have to give myself a failing grade on the above questions. It is my prayer that God light a fire under me to motivate me to do everything I can to spread the Gospel as much as possible. I am capable of accomplishing a lot. If there is anything I learned from Denson Springs, it is that I can achieve goals. I can work. I can crank out a lot of output, both at my secular job and at my church. What I need is to have that effort more focused, toward doing what God called me to do, and toward what would be best for His Kingdom.

My wife bought a poster that said, "One voice can make a song, one life can change the world." While we know where the world is headed, if we follow God and put our best efforts forward, we can impact some lives.