The biblical gospel is a message; a message of salvation, of hope, and of reconciliation to God. But that message centers around a person; the only God-man, our Lord Jesus Christ. At the heart of the Gospel is Christ himself, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2)
Enter the Heart of the Gospel Conference. The focus of this conference is on the person of Christ, both in evangelism, and in our daily lives.
To be sure, we should preach the work of Christ, in his perfectly righteous life, which is imputed to us, his substitutionary death, through which our sins our punished in him, and his resurrection, which is the basis for our assurance and eternal life. The work of Christ is vital to preaching, whether it is from the pulpit, on the street corner, or in a personal conversation. Yet, without spending time on the person of Christ, his work is meaningless. If Christ is not the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, truly God and truly man, none of his work could ever be effectual for our salvation. Our Lord could never have lived a perfect life if he was not God himself, and therefore unable to sin. He could not have absorbed the full weight of God’s wrath toward our sin if he was not himself infinite. Only one possessing divine power could say, “I have authority to lay [my life] down, and I have authority to take it up again.” (John 10:18) and prove his words true by his bodily resurrection.
Not only this, but the person of Christ is the great hope of the gospel. Our hope is not simply in escape from eternal Hell; it is not in streets of gold and a fine mansion; it isn’t even in reunion with believing loved ones. All of those things are great, but I honestly think that we will hardly think anything of them when compared with the inexpressible joy of unhindered communion with God. The great promise of the Scriptures has always been, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” This promise finds its fulfillment in Rev 21:3, “‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” This looks forward to the time when we will see our Lord once again. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God dwelling with his people, as evidenced by him being called “Emmanuel” – God with us.
What makes the good news so good? Ultimately, our answer should be that we gain Christ himself. Not any of his gifts, or being spared from any torment, but communion with him. As Paul tells us in Phil 3:8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”
Therefore, our evangelism, our daily lives, and everything else, should be Christ-centered. To that effect, Northwest Street Ministries is hosting the first Heart of the Gospel conference, at Westwood Baptist Church. If this taste of the content of the conference has piqued your interest, you can find more info and register for the event at www.northweststreet.com. We have a great panel of speakers lined up, including Tony Miano from Living Waters and the Ambassadors’ Alliance, Jon Speed from The Lost Cause Ministries, Matt Johnson from the Ambassadors’ Alliance, and the pastors of Summit Lake Community Church, Jeff Pierce and Don Brewer. Those who attend Summit Lake Community Church, Westwood Baptist Church, or Olympia Bible Presbyterian Church get $5 off admission. Please register early, as space is limited.
Hope to see you all there!
