A friend of mine recently observed that we live in a hy-phen-a-ted world: everything must be “Gospel-Centered” or “Cross-Centered” or “Christ-Centered.” Now, I don’t disagree that we must be focused on these things. I do wonder, however, if we know what that means? What IS Christ-centered preaching, or Gospel-centered living, or Cross-Centered sanctification? How do we get past the words, to real-life ministry (to use another hyphenated word)?
Well, I think an example of Christ-Centered preaching will do more to convey the idea than a definition. With that in mind, you need to listen to this message by Dr. Michael Barrett. It’s Christ-centered. Literally. Though the text (Matthew 5:27-30) doesn’t immediately mention Christ’s cross work, Dr. Barrett brings the Gospel to bear on the passage with great precision. Listen to it for your own edification, and then listen to it again to learn how to preach, or teach, or write with the cross in mind.
By the way, this focus on Christ-centered things is no fad, nor is it merely a matter of semantics. The cross work of Christ is the heart of Christianity, and it must be the heart of our preaching. Think about it: How many sermons have you preached (on virtues, parenting, responsibilities, sins, etc.) that would have been well-received in a Jewish synagogue, Muslim mosque, JW Kingdom Hall, or Mormon…whatever? “Many” is my honest answer. It’s easy to preach “biblical” messages that aren’t distinctly Christian. However, to do so is to offer morality rather than Christianity and to set people up for legalism and failure. We must preach a distinctly Christian message about virtues, home, responsibilities, sins, and other issues. To do so means that we’re preaching “Christ crucified” and showing how that applies to everyday life.
Why don’t we do this? For one thing, because we think of the Gospel as good news regarding the start of the Christian life, not the basis for all of it. We’re mistaken. For another thing, we forget that “context” is more than the words, sentences and paragraphs that surround a particular text. The larger context for every passage and message is Christianity. And frankly, it’s much easier to preach ought to’s than how to’s. I’m not suggesting that we neglect the former, but we must tie it inseparably to the latter.
Only Gospel-centered preaching is distinctly Christian preaching. We must preach Christ more intentionally, week in and week out. Dr. Barrett has given us a great example.
(Note: Mark Gilbart-Smith offers a similar thought at the 9Marks blog.)
Filed under: Devotional Thoughts, Ministry Musings, Mp3's, The Gospel
AMEN!!!
Another zinger, Chris. Right on the mark. Question, if you will permit: Do you think maybe one way to get the Gospel front and center in churches is having more frequent communion? I know this sounds like every week, or twice monthly, or once per month, but the Gospel is present in communion (sorry, a little denom bias). Maybe a little more liturgy? I’ve heard a few of your sermons on SA. Wow. Your passion for the Gospel reflects in your sermons and blog. Keep preaching!
Seriously, 500 years ago, folks were used to communion being the center of church worship every Sunday. Three or four times per year in some churches now? I just don’t know. Is it because we don’t want to even mimic the RCC?
“Law and Gospel”…ah, bring it back to the Reformation. Dr Barrett…reformed…Law…Gospel…got to love it! What a powerful message. Thank you for the link.
May God, indeed, be merciful to me, a poor sinner. Thank God for so great a salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
You’re certainly right about the abundance of preaching that deals with the text but never makes the connection to Christ. This seems particularly prevalent with preaching from the OT. Men like Barrett and Minnick have set a good example of how to properly handle the OT.
I would like to eventually get a thread going on this topic at SI.
Good stuff Chris. This is a great challenge.
Amen, fellas. We need to think this way, and encourage others to do the same.
[...] 9, 2007 by Chris Some time ago, I blogged about my burden that much of our preaching isn’t distinctly Christian. Specifically, we too rarely make note of the significance of the gospel from passages which [...]
C.J. Mahaney’s take on this topic is worth reading.
Excellent post! I blogged a little paragraph about this yesterday,
http://mousenaround.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/what-do-you-do-with-your-guilt-2/
have blogged on this in the past and am blogging again today from a lay-person’s perspective. Please, please, preachers… preach the gospel!
Thanks for this great post! I will link it in today’s post.
[...] crave to worship Christ above all. To Christ be the glory! Amen. LINKS that may be of interest: What is Christ-Centered Preaching? This. by Chris Anderson Christian Worship: Christ Centered Preaching by Steven Newell Overview of Edmund [...]
[...] by Renee Ann Addison Culver In a post last week, I listed a link to Chris Anderson’s post, What is Christ-Centered Preaching? This. I don’t want you to miss out on reading his post. Below, I excerpt parts of his post for you. [...]
[...] Commenting on the idea of “Christ centered preaching”, Chris Anderson writes [...]