Are Churches Ashamed of the Gospel?

I found this to be a stirring analysis of a lot of contemporary ministry:

"I can’t help but feel that lurking beneath the surface in much of the current disillusionment with the church is a dis-ease with the traditional message of salvation.  People are passionate about the poor, the environment, and third-world debt.  But they seem embarrassed by a violent, bloody atonement for sin, let alone any mention of the afterlife that hangs in the balance.

My observation is that as people grow tired of hearing about the atonement, salvation, the cross, and the afterlife, they grow tired of church.  Because the more that sin and redemption and heaven and hell recede into the background, the more the church becomes just one among several options for making a difference in the world.

So as much as the church has been nothing but a holy huddle at times and as much as I admire zeal for good works, there is a danger in much of the missional literature that the gospel of God’s grace toward sinners gets swallowed up in urgent calls for world redemption and cultural transformation.  There is a danger of centering our churches on adopting schools and offering parenting classes instead of being centered on the message of a heavenly Father who adopts unworthy children of wrath through the work of His Son on the cross.  There is a danger that we find our unity in doing good missional deeds for our community and not in the good news of the gospel.  There’s a danger our Christianity becomes all imperative and no indicative, all about what we need to do with God and little about what God’s done for us.  There’s a danger that when people get disinterested in the gospel, they get disinterested in the church.  And once they leave the church, they’ve left the only institution whose mission aims for eternity and whose gospel is truly good news."

- Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We Love the Church, pp. 50-51

Comments

[Curt]

That is one good quote. Can't remember it exactly but I've either heard or read where Mark Dever said that there is a difference between the gospel and the implications of the gospel in that good works and all of that are implications and not the gospel themselves.

[Jeff Parsons]

I guess our sinful nature is one that takes us to extremes. I wonder to what extent these "dangers" are perceived and not real. Many who embrace a more incarnational view of evangelism will take longer to see disciples made. Are people doing these ministries without any intent of communicating the gospel or are they intentionally communicating the gospel through words and deeds, but only taking longer to see results? When I read quotes like those in this post, I fear some will see it as a call to more of a revivalism mindset. Our churches should invest in schools and should become involved in our communities.....we just need to communicate a biblically faithful gospel in the midst of it. We can face these "dangers" without withdrawing from our communities. The existence of these dangers should make us more dependent on God to communicate the good news, but no less willing to engage the lost where they live, work, and play.

[Josh]

I believe many people who would not otherwise be ashamed discussing salvation, bloody atonement, or the afterlife do end up ashamed because of how hell is explained as part of the modern gospel. Many in the evangelical missional movement try to motivate an interest in church generally (and in missions specifically) by warning of the thousands that are dying daily, going to a "Christ-less eternity" (a nicer term for what is believed to be terrible torture in flames that that will never, ever end). Many people can only take so much of that sort of "motivation" to stay involved. The idea that God has saved us from eternal flames is actually the opposite of "good news" to many who consider that some they love were not similarly "saved."

I suggest the church get back to its roots on this issue. It may find an explosion of freely chosen interest in the church's mission more similar to that which occured in the 1st centuries of Christianity, when the concept of hell was understood very differently by those who walked and talked with the Apostles.

[Lynn]

I find that the institution of church is not so much ashamed of the Gospel as believers are. I guess I am just coming off the Chan experience in Crazy Love. I find people are fine with the fact they believe and are going to heaven and not hell. The issue is the total sold out pursuit of Jesus. Is everything I do, say, eat, buy, etc. show that Christ is my treasure. We can't and shouldn't leave this just on the shoulders of the pastor.

[Pat Sawyer]

Thanks JD. Appreciate the quote and the perspective. May we not lose sight of what will prove to be the only thing that matters.