10 Truths for Gospel-Centered Living

by: Mark Driscoll

Generally, Christians tend to see the grace of God as a grace that forgives your sin when you blow it, which is true. But the grace of God also empowers your life so that you live differently, passionately, and purposefully.

The Christian life is more than just trying your best and praying for forgiveness when you blow it. It’s about a transformed life as a result of Jesus’ work on the cross and his subsequent resurrection being applied to your life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

A gospel-centered theology clearly articulates these truths and expresses the magnitude of the implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the world and in our individual lives.

With that in mind, I thought I’d share 10 truths for gospel-centered living.

1. We Must Be Reminded of the Gospel

In 1 Corinthians 15:1, Paul writes, “Now I would remind you, brothers … ” You only remind people of things as they're prone to forget them, and Christians are prone to forget things.

Often we get caught up in life and we think about everything except for Jesus and the gospel. We think about ourselves, our family, our friends, our critics, and all of the people who are involved in our life. And in these times, it's not that we don't know Jesus or haven't heard of him, but that we're forgetful about him.

As Christians, we must continually be reminded of and remind ourselves of the gospel. Practically, this means we should be reading our Bible daily, spending time in prayer, and getting involved in a church and community where others hold us accountable and whom we can hold accountable to remember the gospel.

2. The Gospel is the Good News

The gospel simply means “good news” —and this is different than good advice. When Christianity gets diluted and polluted, it's reduced to good advice. When this happens, Christianity becomes a brand of products you buy, a morality you espouse, and the BIble is reduced to good guys to idolize and bad guys to demonize.

The problem is that good advice, while not necessarily bad, isn’t necessarily Christian either, because you can disbelieve in the God of the Bible and still receive and give good advice.

Rather than good advice, the gospel is good news. Rather than a bunch of rules to follow and things to do, the gospel is about Jesus and the work he did and does. The gospel is the good news that we are sinners deserving of death and that Jesus took on our death and gave us life. We did not deserve it, we cannot earn it, and we cannot undo it. That is the good news of the gospel. The gospel doesn’t make us better; it makes us new.

3. The Gospel Must be Preached

The word of God is powerful. And our God is a speaking God. When he made the world, he spoke it into existence. When he created our first parents, Adam and Eve, he spoke to them. And after they sinned, he spoke to them again, and he sent a succession of prophets to speak to us. He sent leaders in the New Testament to speak to us. And now God ultimately speaks to us through the Scriptures by the leading of the Holy Spirit. If you read the book that God wrote, God will speak to you. That's the primary way that God speaks today.

The Scriptures are powerful to change lives when preached. But, the power is not in the preacher; the power is in the truth. The power is not in the preacher; the power is in the truth of the Word of God. It’s when the preacher faithfully preaches the Word that lives are changed because faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

4. The Gospel Must be Received

As important as it is for the gospel to be preached, it must also be received. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:1–2, "Which you received, in which you stand," like a soldier holding his ground, "and by which you are being saved."

Salvation is a constant process. It starts with justification, where you are declared righteous in the sight of God because of the person and work of Jesus and faith in him. It continues with sanctification, where you learn and you grow by the power of the Holy Spirit. And it ends in glorification, where one day you die and are raised one day to be with Jesus, to be like him, and to live for him, perfectly and forever.

Paul says your salvation comes in receiving the truth about Jesus and then standing in it and continuing in it, as your salvation grows and you mature by God’s grace.

5. The Gospel is the Most Important Thing

In 1 Corinthians 15:3, Paul calls the gospel “of first importance.” That is a massive statement. Essentially, Paul is saying that of all the information on the earth, that has ever been on the earth, is on the earth, or will ever be on the earth, there's one bit of information that supersedes and rises above all others: the person and work of Jesus.

And while it’s important to study at university, work hard at our jobs and trades, and learn a lot in this life, nothing is more important than to know Jesus and the gospel. Spend time in prayer and study of God’s word, seek first the kingdom of God, and everything will be added to that.

6. The Gospel is Unchanging

The gospel is preached at the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis 3:14–15, when God says to Satan:

“Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock

and above all beasts of the field;

on your belly you shall go,

and dust you shall eat

all the days of your life.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.”

This continues all the way through to Revelation 14:6, “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.”

From front to back, the gospel is preached in the Bible, the truth of Jesus is revealed, and it never changes. In between God preaching the first gospel and an angel preaching the gospel for the last time, our job is to tell the story of Jesus as it was given to us in the Scriptures.

We're to tell the story of the Bible with clarity and conviction and compassion. And it is never to be changed. We are not to innovate the Scriptures or the truth. We're to receive it and hand it on. The message belongs to God, not to us. We deliver the mail. We don't write the mail.

And here it is in a nutshell: Sin is the problem, the cross is the solution, Jesus is God and he’s alive. There is hope for you in Jesus. It’s been the same message for 2,000 years.

7. The Gospel is about the Cross

You can't talk about Jesus without talking about the cross. The Bible is clear that we are all sinners and that not only are we not deserving of God’s grace but we’re also ill-deserving. Why? Because we killed God. We drove the nails through Jesus’ hands and feet because of our sin.

Yet, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How amazing is that?

There are three things (in addition to many others) Jesus’ work on the cross does for us.

One, it forgives us. We’re sinful people in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. We sin against others, but ultimately we sin against God. On the cross, Jesus says of his murderers, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” If Jesus can forgive his murderers in that moment, he can forgive anyone—and he does. Here’s a wonderful truth. If you have faith in Jesus, you’re forgiven no matter how much you’ve sinned.

Two, it cleanses. We not only sin against others, but we are also sinned against. Often, these sins against us make us feel dirty and unworthy of God’s grace. But Jesus’ death on the cross not only forgives us of the sins we’ve committed but also cleanses us of the effects of sin committed against us. In Christ, you're clean. It doesn't matter what you've done. It doesn't matter what's been done to you. It's about what Jesus has done for you.

Three, it makes you new. You get a new mind. You start to think differently. You get new desires. Suddenly, you want to read your Bible. You want to pray. You want to get involved in Christian community. These things do not come naturally. They come supernaturally as a result of the cross.

8. The Bible is about Jesus and His Gospel

In 1 Corinthians 15:3, Paul writes, "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures."

The Bible, he's saying, is about Jesus. It's not just about what to do; it's about what's been done. The Bible is not primarily about you, but it's for you. The Bible is about Jesus.

Sometimes we approach the Scriptures as if they are about us. We want to know what they say about us and what word they have for us. The problem is that if we approach the Bible as if it is about us instead of Jesus, the Scriptures become about morality rather than about the God who makes us moral.

The reality is that the Bible speaks of one Word for us: Jesus Christ. The Bible is about him, his work, his love for you, and his salvation of you. That is the good news.

9. The Gospel says Jesus is Alive!

The good news is, not only did he die, but he rose to conquer death and the sin that causes death. The problem for us all is sin, and the result is death for us all. The answer is Jesus' resurrection. Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:4, "… that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day," just like he promised, "in accordance with the Scriptures." Why? Because the whole Bible is about Jesus.

Because Jesus is alive today, we can live tomorrow. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we will also be raised from the dead. There is nothing more important than the death and resurrection of Jesus.

10. The Gospel Saves us from Sin and Religion

There are two enemies of Jesus: sin and religion.

Many times people want to focus on sinners because they’re an easy target. Usually this is the religious folks. "You sinners need to repent!" the religious folks say. And then all the religious people cheer, "Yay, we're not like them. We're better than they are." And the sinners think, "Oh man, you're trying to make me religious."

And then sometimes religious people demonstrate hypocrisy. There's adultery or something like that. And then all the sinners say, "Well, you're no better than us. You're just a hypocrite. At least we're authentic."

The reality is that everyone is a sinner, for some this comes out in behavior that is self-destructive. For others, this comes out in behavior that is self-righteous. But it’s all sin, and we all need a Savior.

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died for sinners, and his death and resurrection set us free from both sin and religion to live a life of freedom in him.