What is the Message?

Hello PBC Voice readers. It's great to be back with you. After a wonderful week of rest & relaxation, I'm grateful to continue sharing things that I pray will enrich your life as a follower of Jesus. There's a lot that I could talk about but I've been thinking on this point for some time now: What is the message?

Over the past couple of weeks I have been looking into the thoughts of like-minded people. I have been reading and listening to folks who understand the finished work of Christ (all that is realized in the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus) and I found a common denominator: They have had to endure many of the same misunderstandings that I have endured. They have had to cut through the religious jargon that dominates the church vocabulary. And they find themselves working hard to convey a message that should have been preserved since the days of Christ.

As I have thought about these things, I have asked myself the question as it relates to the church: WHAT IS THE MESSAGE?
What is the message that the world hears from us?
What is the message that the followers of Jesus hear from week to week?
What is the message that we should be preaching?
I think the message is quite simple. It's the Gospel!!!

While that may seem to simplistic for the average pastor or churchgoer, the reality is that this is the message we should be preaching and living. It's a message of God's love for humanity demonstrated through the offering of His Son. It's the message of Christ's death paying the penalty of sin and His resurrection releasing humanity to a newness of life. It's the message of Jesus taking on flesh, living a sinless life, dying on a cross, raising from the dead, and ascending to the right hand of the Father. It is this message alone that will change the world. It is this message that has proven to be the power of God unto salvation. It is this message that has been lost in many churches.

The message of the church is not sin:
That may seem foreign to many of you because it seems like a lot of our churches focus so much attention on sin. We seem to have no problem pointing out the evil-doers and making sure that we don't look like them. While the message of the gospel frees us from the power of sin - sin is not the message.

The message of the church is not judgement:
It seems to fit the bill I guess. If all we are talking about is how horrible sin is then we need to make sure people understand the judgement that awaits them right? But even that isn't the message that we are told to proclaim. The message of the church is not judgement.


The message of the church is not hell:
I get questioned a lot about my lack of preaching on hell. To be quite honest with you I didn't realize that there was a certain quota that I needed to reach. It just seems to me that we have equated preaching the Gospel with preaching hell. And that my friends is why I am saying that the message of the church is not hell.

The message of the church is Christ:
Jeff Turner talks about the need to return to the Gospel message (which is Christ) is his messages. The following quote came from his blog and I would like for you to consider the necessity of it as well.
"It’s time to ascend the stairs to the attic of truth and pull out that dusty, old relic which we’ve long forgotten about–The Gospel! The message of Christ incarnate, crucified, resurrected, ascended and seated at the Father’s right hand is the *ONLY* message packing enough punch to bring transformation...{it is the} one and only message that has the power to destroy darkness, fear, depression and anguish–the message of Christ as man’s substitute and continued incarnate brother. We must shed our blind devotion to the ideas and ideals born out of colonial revivalism and Western conservatism, and we must instead shamelessly embrace that happy message, for which apostles and alleged apostates shed their blood for–the message of God’s ceaseless grace and love towards us in Christ! It’s not the message of ‘revival’ or endless lists of ascetic, formulaic gibberish, which, if followed correctly will guarantee an ‘outpouring’ that brings life! No, friends, the message of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone can bring life!"

My friends, Jesus is the Gospel. He is the message. He is the life giving Savior. This is the message that the world is in need of more than ever. They don't need countless messages on the ills of our nation because Jesus took our sin upon Himself. They don't need to hear about judgement because God has judged sin once and for all in Christ. They don't need to hear about a hell that awaits when they encounter the reality of the One who endured hell for us. They need Jesus and they need to know that it is Christ in us that is the hope of glory.