GOD IS
THE POINT OF THE GOSPEL
Selfishness
has crept its way into the church over the years and has become detrimental to
the point that Western culture has adopted a false gospel: a gospel that makes
humankind the center and the point rather than God. I remember a conversation with
a friend years ago in which I suggested that God is primarily about his own
glory. My friend responded by saying that makes God sound as if he is stuck on
himself. My response was, “He is! Who else would he stuck on? You, me, or
someone lesser?” God is the point of the gospel; the gospel is not even about
humankind at all but solely about God’s glory. Even the story of redemption
among his people points to his own glory and pleasure.
Our
selfishness is manifested in many ways. A common prayer among many believers, for
example, is for God to glorify himself by working through us, i.e. we desire
him to work through us more than we desire him to work so that he is glorified.
What if he decided to answer our prayer in that regard but to do so through
someone else other than us? John Piper has written a book entitled God Is the Gospel. The truth is that we
should desire God to work despite us rather than through us. Consider the story
of Joseph. Fourteen chapters of Genesis are devoted to this story. It is a
story with which many are familiar and a story that teaches valuable lessons;
yet, it has become a story that effectively promotes therapeutic moralistic
deism in which we gain insights from the text and believe that if we make the
right decisions living a decent life, we will be blessed as Joseph was. What is
fascinating about the story of Joseph, however, is that while Joseph takes up
the most space and is the main character,[1] he is not the point, for
that role belongs to Judah. In fact, the reason God placed Joseph in a place of
authority through his trials and circumstances was to eventually preserve the
life of Judah who likely would have died without the help of his brother. Though
Judah is not mentioned as often as Joseph, it was through his line that the
Messiah would come. The role for Judah, although seemingly small, was the most
important role. For many of us, we would not be okay with that. We pray for God
to move but desire him to move so that we receive at least a little
recognition. We spend our time ministering and claiming a desire solely for God’s
glory as a mask that hides our selfishness.
It
is vital that we realize God is the point of the gospel, not us. When we
realize how God-centered the gospel is and when our perspective changes, other
things in our lives also change. I would like to suggest four aspects that change
in our lives when our perspective on the gospel changes.
Our Prayers Change
First,
when our perspective on the point of the gospel changes, our prayers
subsequently change. We stop treating God as a genie in a bottle and asking for
what we want (in our selfishness). We stop praying on the foundation of what we
want and begin to pray based on what God desires. Furthermore, our prayers are
not even founded upon our good or the good of humanity but rightly the
pleasures of God. It is likely, when we consider how we pray, that we realize
our prayers are usually selfish, i.e. we pray based on our good more than God’s
pleasure and delight; yet, when our delight is rooted in God’s delight, our
prayers are subsequently affected. No longer do we pray for God to use us but
rather to use us or anyone he chooses. If you want God to use you, ask yourself
why. Is it so that he receives glory and pleasure or so that you might be seen,
albeit for the supposed glory of Christ. There is surely a fine line between a
desire for God to use us and a desire for people to see God using us. When our
perspective on the gospel shifts to a solely God-centered and God-exalting
gospel, our prayers change.
Our Joy Changes
Our
joy also changes, for we find our joy in God’s joy. Even in matchless
persecution, sickness, suffering, and even depression, we live with a hope and
joy like none other because it is not rooted in circumstances. Often, we can
claim the joy of Christ when situations are at least okay. It is difficult to
realize God’s joy, however, when circumstances are dire. By joy, I do not
intend to imply happiness but rather a supreme satisfaction and delight in God.
Joy does not mean freedom from difficulty including sickness, financial
trouble, loss of job, legal troubles, or even depression. If joy in Christ
meant that life would be absent of these, many Christians over the centuries
have been cheated. Joy in Christ does not mean freedom from trials but freedom despite
them. Without a proper gospel perspective, circumstances will rule; we will not
know the joy of the Lord; and we will continue to see the gospel through the
grid of ourselves, thus asking questions like, “God, if you love me, then why
did you do this?” Questions such as this are indicative of the wrong perspective
on the gospel. God is the point of the gospel, not humanity.
Our Reason for Evangelism Changes
When
our perspective on the gospel changes, our reason for evangelism also changes.
Prior to my shift in perspective years ago, I believed that I was to preach the
gospel so that the lost are saved; this, however, is only a half truth. The
gospel is not about people but about God. When our perspective on the gospel
changes, we preach out of an abundant joy in the Lord; our overflowing
satisfaction in Christ then causes us to declare who he is because we have
tasted and seen that he is good (Ps 34:8). Evangelism, thus, becomes about
declaring God, not convincing people to trust him. When people see as we have
seen, they then trust him. It is not our job to save people. We have no power
to do so. It is our job to know God and to make him known. Why does God save
people? For his glory. Why did Christ die? For God’s glory. Why do we preach
the gospel? For God’s glory, not the salvation of humanity; people’s salvation
is a biproduct of declaring God. When we realize that God is the point of the
gospel, our selfishness fades away and we declare God because we want people to
know who he is, not just receive salvation from hell.
Our Desire for God to Work through Us
Changes to a Desire for Him to Work However He Wishes
In
our metamorphosis from selfishness to God-centered selflessness, we certainly
desire God to work but to work however he wishes and through whomever he
wishes. We have the privilege, in the body of Christ, of being used by God.
Nevertheless, our desire should not be for God to use us but for him to work in
any way he sees fit whether through us or through someone else and whether
through our church or another church. As a minister, I openly confess that this
is difficult, for I want God to use me in that to which he has called me. A
proper gospel perspective, nonetheless, should cause me to seek God’s work and simply
do that to which he has called me irrespective of how or even whether he uses
me. He has called me so I must go and do as he commands regardless of the
outcome. What if his call was as clear as this: “Go and preach, but there will
be no visible outcome. You will be tortured; and no one will come to know me,
but go.” What would be your response? I dare say that would be difficult for
most people. Is not the call of God enough? Should we not go, and should we not
preach on the sole basis that he has called? While we should desire God to
work, we should not try to dictate how he works. We should seek his glory and
simply obey.
Jesus Is Not Only at the Center but Everywhere
It
is not uncommon to hear Christians speak of God in terms of capacity in their
lives, i.e. he is a number on a priority list, or he is the center of what occurs
in their lives. Jesus, however, should not be number one on a priority list; he
should be the entire priority list, the first and foremost person and being in
every aspect of life. He should not simply be at the center of life but rather everywhere
in life: the center, the inside, the outside, the edges, everything. The gospel,
the metanarrative of the Bible, and even the message we are to proclaim is not
centered around humanity or even the salvation of humanity but around and about
triune God himself. Salvation is a God-honoring, God-exalting, and God-glorifying
result of the gospel; yet, God himself is the point of the gospel. When we
realize this truth, our perspective changes; when our perspective changes, our
lives change.
