Five Marks of a Gospel-Driven Church
Last week our staff finished a book study on The Gospel-Driven Church by Jared Wilson. It was a helpful book for us to reflect how we are doing as a church, and to re-align ourselves continually to the gospel-centrality.
What are the signs that a genuine move of God’s Spirit is taking place? What are the true evidences of spiritual fruitfulness? We tend to measure church’s health with a number (large attendance or finance) or emotional experience—which can be good things, though they don’t necessarily give us the most important measurement. It is not always true that healthy things grow bigger. Sometimes healthy things shrink (like when we are eating right and exercising). And sometimes unhealthy things grow (like cancer). So more important than measuring a church’s size is measuring its health—its fruitfulness. And by fruitfulness we mean “the characteristics or internal qualities that affect the individual or community." So the author proposes that we need “the metrics of grace which tell us not simply how many there are but more importantly how healthy those many are.” So here are the five metrics that we can use to reflect our own personal spiritual health, as well as our corporate spiritual health in this season.
1. A growing esteem for Jesus Christ: We are not talking about mere affiliation with Jesus or simple appreciation for Jesus. We are asking for growth—that Jesus becomes more precious than he used to, and we want to know him more, and we want more people to know him and treasure him. Are you growing in your affection for Jesus? Is he actually more important than everything else? Don’t just reflexively say ‘yes,’ because that’s the right answer. Take time to think about it.
2. A discernable spirit of repentance: “Christ is not the satisfier of our desires before he is the satisfier of God’s wrath.” Do you know the righteous wrath of God over sin? Do you know the dangers and horrors of sin? Have you realized that the fundamental problem for every human being is "not an unmet felt need, but the unkept law of God"? And in light of the “bad news,” are you stunned by the good news of Jesus Christ through whose death God’s wrath was satisfied? Are you in awe of what Christ has done for you through his death and resurrection? Do you respond to the Spirit’s conviction and comfort with repentance? Are you a good repenter?
3. A dogged devotion to the Word of God: I am grateful that more and more people at New Hope are reading the Bible. But the question is do you love the Word of God because you love the God of the Word? It is possible to be reading the Bible and use the Bible—without believing in its sufficiency, and power and authority. One pastor observes, “Affirming inerrancy in principle, while rejecting its sufficiency in practice, is like saying your wife is perfect while having an affair.” Do you cherish God’s Word and give it the weight it deserves to have in your everyday life?
4. An interest in theology and doctrine: Recently one of our Life Group leaders wanted to talk to me about the doctrine of predestination. I was very grateful for us to talk about deep things of God and his ways. She is already a mature believer and yet it is evident that she is not settling with what she already knows. I shared what I know and I introduced her to a couple of good theologians, their teachings and books. “The true people of God love to know the things of God,” said Jonathan Edwards. I am aware how "knowledge can puff up." But godly knowledge will lead us to humility. Has your interest in theology been growing since you became a Christian? This summer in our Sunday live-lounge Pastor Daniel is leading a book discussion on C.J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross Centered Life. I encourage you to participate and learn together.
5. An evident love for God and neighbor: True fruitfulness is evidenced chiefly in obedience to God’s command—the greatest of which is loving God and loving people. The first way love is made evident is through the way Christians love one another (1 John 4:12-13). Do you genuinely love fellow brothers and sisters of our church? I have seen the love in action as we have had many members caring for one another in times of grief and in this season of the pandemic. And I pray for the love to spread deeper and wider. The second way love is made evident is our care for those in need around us. I am thankful that our church has grown to love and serve the local neighbors in Malton, but a continual challenge is: “If our church closed tomorrow, would the neighborhood care?” Oh, may we grow in our love for the neighborhood more and more.
I want you to use the five metrics to evaluate your own life and also use it to pray for our church to continue to grow as a church that “moves with a gospel-centered missional spirituality.” (And for those of you who did not know what our vision is as a church, that’s what is it: “A church that moves with a gospel-centered missional spirituality”).
The mark of a growing Christian is not perfection, but the desire to grow more. I pray that the Spirit will stir up our hearts to esteem Christ more, and grow in our sensitivity and hatred towards sin, as we love Christ more. I pray that the Spirit will stir up our heart to be devoted to the Word of God as we grow in our devotion to the God of the Word. I pray that the Spirit will stir up our heart to love one another and the people of the city as we grow in our love for God.
