The Gospel Below All

I feel like an outsider when I see the majority church. Really, my heart is grieved. Everyone is caught up in things that seem so meaningless. There is a war over the acceptance of women pastors/preachers and concerning social justice. The organized church is concerned more with the mere acceptance of people than with actually preaching Christ. There is a reason that the Scriptures instruct us not to exceed what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6) and tells us that we are to be faithful to teach the Gospel above all because a good soldier does not get caught up in the affairs of everyday life (2 Timothy 2:1-4). Instead, the organized church can be seen fighting about things that are so trivial and things that seem to be so meaningless in the grand scheme. I thought it would be nice to simply share the Gospel as Jesus did:

Notice these things about the Gospel:

• 1. All people are humbled.
  2. Christ is exalted.
  3. God receives all glory.

This perspective really stands as a testimony against everything we choose to crowd discussions of the Gospel with. The problem we have is that popular religion has fooled us into thinking that God is interested in our glory in one way or another. We have added to the Scriptures because we do not believe in their sufficiency. So, for those who are caught up in any discussion or argument that elevates you or me or any other human person, the Gospel is revealed to be about Jesus- not merely about acceptance, not about the honorable or dishonorable place of men or women, not about putting an end to our suffering, not about who can be a pastor, and not merely about racial reconciliation. The Gospel is about Christ alone.

This is why there is so much talk in Scripture about pastors being the lowest of the low and why there is so much written in Scripture about submission and sacrificial love. People are humbled and Christ is exalted. That’s it. Let us remember this fact. My hope is that when ungodly people put our attention on anything else as the priority, we return to the Scriptures, notice our wretched estate, and praise Christ- who is the only one worthy of praise.