Prone to Wander, Prone to Leave the Gospel We Love
If you’ve been to a few weddings, you know the joy of seeing friends and loved ones celebrating some of the greatest moments of their lives. If you’ve had such a wedding yourself, you know exactly how they feel. There’s a rush of excitement and anticipation for a life spent together. The stomach flutters seem like they’ll never end.
Yet, if you’ve been married more than a few months, you know what the end of the honeymoon phase feels like too. Real life hits and you’re back to pressing the snooze button and waking up with morning breath. You suddenly have real conflict with your spouse, and you’re the one who’s wrong and has to confess this time. The love has certainly grown stronger, but you don’t feel in love like you did when you first got married.
“They were caught up in mere men rather than the God-man, and it was bringing deadly sepsis to their local body. ”
Something similar happened in Corinth during Paul’s missionary days (circa AD 53–54). Just a few short years after Paul brought the gospel to these saints, they were already out of the honeymoon phase. One group in the church favored Paul, the apostle and planter of the church. Others sided with Apollos, the eloquent Alexandrian (Acts 18:24). They were caught up in mere men rather than the God-man, and it was bringing deadly sepsis to their local body. In addition to the division there was grievous sin, idolatry, impure worship, and false teaching threatening to flatline the Corinthian church.
A Fresh Application of the Gospel
Paul, under the guidance of the Great Physician, sought to bring healing to the Corinthian church. Near the end of his first letter to the Corinthians, he urged them to focus on what was “of first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3). As a way of reminder, he once again declared the gospel to the Corinthians. They needed a fresh application of the message that brought them from death to life. As redeemed people, we too are prone to forget the most powerful message in all of the universe. We need to be constantly drawn back to the good news of Jesus Christ.
Before expounding the gospel to the Corinthians, Paul reminded them of four aspects of the gospel that are equally relevant for the bride of Christ today:
The gospel message was preached to them. Who can hear the gospel message without a preacher (Rom. 10:14)? It was Paul himself who “planted” the gospel seeds by preaching to them, and he stood so firmly in the message that he could call it “my gospel” (1 Cor. 1:6; Rom. 16:25).
The gospel message was received by them. The Corinthians had welcomed Paul and received the words he preached, and he was confident to call them brothers and sisters in the Lord. He addressed them as the church at Corinth because he was confident that the gospel had transformed them and made them new creatures.
They made their stand in the gospel message. When they heard the gospel, they responded and found their standing in that message, and they were still standing in that message when Paul wrote to them. They continued to stand firm as they trusted the work of Christ on their behalf.
They were being saved by the gospel. Justification is by grace alone through faith alone, but the fruit of that justification is perseverance until we meet Christ either through death or at his second coming. Paul reminded the Corinthians that the message that saved them was the same message that sustained them, but they had to “hold fast to the word” (1 Cor. 15:2).
We Need a Clear Reminder of the Gospel
We need to be reminded about the gospel as much today as the Corinthians did in their day. We need to remember the gospel in every season, but we especially need to be reminded of the gospel in this cultural moment. The American church feels a lot like the Corinthians, with division fueled by racial animosity, social theories, political opinions, medical perspectives, and a host of other hills that we think we need to die on. We have professing Christians deconstructing their faith, committing and accepting grievous sin, and boasting in their worship preferences, denominations, and traditions. In the midst of all this I think Paul would look at us and say, “Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you” (1 Cor. 15:1 CSB).
“The American church feels a lot like the Corinthians, with division fueled by racial animosity, social theories, political opinions, medical perspectives, and a host of other hills that we think we need to die on. ”
As we consider the ties that bind us together in these divisive days, let us not neglect to keep the gospel message of “first importance.” We are called to hold fast to a word—namely the gospel. When we hold fast to that Word, we will hold fast to one another in a world that hates us because they hate our Lord (John 15:18). We hold fast to a Word that transcends our unity with those who agree with us on Facebook, Twitter, Fox News, or CNN. We hold fast to a Word that stands forever because it originated in the mind of our triune, eternal God. We must keep returning to this fountain to quench our thirst lest we drink saltwater from the world’s pitchers and die of thirst.
The Holy Spirit’s Work through the Gospel
As we meditate on the gospel, the Holy Spirit works in two very powerful ways. First, he enables us to keep believing the message. He bears witness about Christ and guides us into all truth (John 16:13). Though we face an onslaught of lies and deception from the enemy, the Spirit declares the truth of Christ and bears witness that we are sons of God who cry out “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). We need the Holy Spirit to declare the gospel to our hearts in these tumultuous times.
Second, the Spirit of God will help us obey the Word of God. God works in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Phil 2:13). He keeps us from being hearers of the Word who merely assent to the facts of the truth. Rather than being those who look in the mirror and walk away forgetting our reflections, the Holy Spirit makes us doers of the Word who will be blessed in our doing. Specifically, he will make us people who obey the Great Commission from a heart that treasures Christ with love that overflows to love for our neighbors. Anytime we face division and dissension, we need to get back to the gospel-shaped love we had at first.
Where Is Your Standing?
As we think back to marriage, though the honeymoon phase doesn’t last forever, passionate love and lifelong faithfulness still remain. Each morning a husband can look at his wife with a deeper appreciation for the beautiful bride he kissed on their wedding day. Every day a wife can look at her husband with greater love than she did the day before. But this appreciation and love doesn't come without trials, labor, and faithful endurance in life together.
The same is true in the Christian life. Our great pursuit is to keep gazing at the glorious gospel. As we behold Christ, we come to love him more, and our love for him spills over into deeper love for our neighbors. Let us not forget that “whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). The gospel that united us to God is the glue that holds God’s people together despite the challenges and obstacles we face. In fact, it is often the greatest trials that God uses to bring greater love.
Chrys Jones (@chrys_jones) is a husband and father of four. He is a pastoral resident at Grace Church in Danville, KY, and he writes regularly at dwellwithchrist.com. Chrys is also a Christian Hip-Hop artist and producer for Christcentric.