The Mature Gospel-Centered Church (Part 2)

In reflecting on what it means to be a gospel-centered church, the question arises: does spiritual maturity involve moving beyond the gospel, or is the gospel integral to every stage of our faith journey? It could seem that maturity means shifting focus from the gospel to the law. But is that true? As Tim Keller famously said, “The gospel is not just the ABCs of the Christian life but the A to Z of Christianity.” This article builds on earlier discussions and seeks to explore the profound ways in which the gospel remains foundational—not just at the beginning, but throughout the entire journey of faith.

I have been thinking a lot about what it means that we are a gospel-centered church. A recent article delved into the topic, and this article serves as a follow-up. In addition to these articles, we have had a podcast conversation on the law and the gospel, which also addresses related topics. 

In the first article in this series we considered a passage from Hebrews 5-6, which says that a church that only gives its people milk will remain childish. A mature church learns how the faith applies to all the matters of human life, not remaining “unskilled in the word of righteousness,” but rather being trained to “discern good from evil.”

It could be tempting to hear that and to think this means, “When you are young in the faith, you need the gospel, but as you mature, you focus more on the law and on how to live as a good Christian.” That is, it might sound like maturation actually means moving on from the gospel. 

So the question of this article is: is that true? Do we move on from the gospel in order to become mature? 

THE GOSPEL IS A-Z

This is a major question for the life of our church. When I was coming into ministry, a favorite quote of mine from Pastor Tim Keller (one which has deeply shaped the culture of CCB) said, “The gospel is not just the ABCs of the Christian life but the A to Z of Christianity.” That may sound like it is in conflict with my last post, in which I said that the milk for the young Christian is the “elementary doctrines of Christ” or “the gospel,” and the solid food for the mature is the word of righteousness that teaches us to discern good from evil.

But do Keller’s comments have any grounding in the Scripture? The answer is yes—in several important places of the New Testament. Keller is right, and it’s crucial that we keep sight of this principle. Here are a few examples. 

Trusting in the grace of the Savior is not just the beginning of the Christian life, but it is how we learn to live more and more in dependance on God as we grow in grace. It is the source of the power that is essential for any Christian to live in obedience to God.

One of the main points of the book of Galatians is that Christians receive the Holy Spirit by hearing and believing the gospel. The Spirit-filled life is a gospel-filled life. So clearly, the gospel is not something we should “move on” from:

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?  Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? (Gal. 3:1-6, emphasis added).

The Holy Spirit is the power by which any Christian lives a life that is truly honoring to God. Paul says, “Don’t try to move on from the Spirit—yikes!” You receive the Spirit by hearing the gospel with faith. He makes a similar connection between the grace of the gospel and the indwelling of the Spirit in Romans 8:16, which says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…” The work of the Spirit is closely tied to the good news that in Christ, we are adopted into God’s family as his beloved children. 

Galatians and Romans assure us that Keller was right. Trusting in the grace of the Savior is not just the beginning of the Christian life, but it is how we learn to live more and more in dependance on God as we grow in grace. It is the source of the power that is essential for any Christian to live in obedience to God.

Another passage from Colossians 2 says something similar: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7). Here, Paul clearly says that what happened at the beginning of our Christian life (“as you received Christ”) is the pattern for Christian maturity (“so walk in him”). We are rooted and built up “in him.” When the Bible uses the image of “walking,” it is describing our lifestyle. The whole lifestyle of the mature Christian is trusting in our Savior like we did when we first came to know him. There is a congruence between the beginning and end of Christian maturity; it is from “faith to faith” (Rom. 1:17).

It would be a mistake to view the Christian life as starting with the gospel and then growing into the law.

In fact, just three verses before these Colossians verses Paul says, “in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). If in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, then of course we can never “move on from” or “grow out of” him! He is the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2); that is, he is the beginning and the end of our faith. He is our childhood and maturity. Ephesians says this explicitly. Notice the emphasis on maturity coming from faith in, and knowledge of, the Son of God:

...until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes (Eph. 4:13-14, emphasis added).

Apparently in Hebrews, when we read about milk being the “elementary principles of Christ,” we are not to take it to mean the gospel as a whole. It would be a mistake to view the Christian life as starting with the gospel and then growing into the law. Keller is right—the gospel is the heart, and source, and power of the Christian life from A-Z.

CHRIST IS THE FULLNESS OF THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL

So then, what does Hebrews mean by milk and solid food? While it is often helpful to distinguish the law and the gospel as two different messages, they really cannot be disentangled from each other. The law is a revelation of God’s character, and of what duties he demands of humans in light of that character. But that perfect character is most clearly displayed in the person of Jesus Christ, that is, in the gospel. To preach Christ is to preach his whole person. It is in him that we gain the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16) and become skilled in the word of righteousness. 

So, the way we grow into people who are mature, and who are able to “discern good and evil,” is to learn to see our lives and the world through the lens of Christ. While as a church we might be putting more emphasis on discerning good and evil, we must not move on from what we have always said. Our philosophy of ministry is still the same ol’ gospel-centered way. Our mission is just that of the Apostle Paul: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28).

If you are interested in learning more on this topic, check out our podcast interview on the Law and the Gospel.