The Gospel Every Week

I once had a student at Northwest Christian who asked me the same question several times. He was an older student, had a good sense of humor, and with his Reformed Church background enjoyed playing this little game with me. The question always came if he happened to see me as we left a chapel service. Referring to the sermon we had just heard he would ask, "was the gospel or law?" He knew the answer and he knew that I knew the answer but he liked to play that little game.

If I were to ask you this morning after Nick's sermon, was that gospel or law, what would you say? It might help if I define the terms. By "law" I do not mean legalistic rules and regulations. In this case, it means guidance and helpful instructions for living. Psalm 119 refers to the law as a light for our path. It is the kind of guidance found in the Sermon on the Mount or in the epistles. It is the biblical revelation of how to live in keeping with God's will.

Nick might preach a really helpful sermon from one of these texts, say, on loving one another, or on living a holy life, or how to pray, but it would not be a gospel sermon. The gospel is not good advice or good ideas or good instruction. The gospel is good news.

But what is this good news? In its simplest and most essential sense it is Christ. To preach Christ is to preach the gospel. One of the most concise summaries of the gospel is give by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. In essence, he says that the gospel he preached to them was:

Christ,

Christ predicted in scriptures

Christ crucified for our sins, and

Christ resurrected and seen to be alive.

The great Reformer and theologian, John Calvin, said that we need the gospel preached to us every week, and the Lord's supper to ratify the promise, because we are partly unbelievers until we die. As the distraught father said to Jesus in Mark 9: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." We are all partly unbelievers and we need to hear the gospel every week, -- the good news of what God has done for us in Christ, his sacrifice for our forgiveness and salvation.

And we do. Like a couple of weeks ago when Nick's sermon was an excellent example of "law," giving guidance and instruction for living as Christians, we still heard the gospel in the communion meditation and in the act of communion. And we needed that. As the old Gospel hymn says:

Tell me the old, old story of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.

Tell me the story simply, as to a little child;

For I am weak and weary, and helpless and defiled.

Tell me the story slowly, that I may take it in --

That wonderful redemption, God's remedy for sin.

Tell me the story often, for I forget so soon;

The early dew of morning has passed away at noon.

Yes, tell me the old, old story, of Jesus and his love. We need to hear the gospel every week, and we do as we hear his words from the Last Supper and partake of his body and his blood.