Bible Students

In order to understand why the gospel is so central to the heart of the church, one must understand what the ministry of the church is. The ministry of the church serves four essential roles, though one is implicit through the other three. The first responsibility of the church is to worship and honor God. This is made apparent through the other three church ministries. First, the individual in each church must be ministered to. Second, the individuals must be able to minister to the others inside the church. Third, the individuals must be able to minister to others outside of the church. With all four of these ecclesiological callings, the gospel is necessary and central. 

In order to worship God well, the church must have the gospel at the heart of everything it does. The entire metanarrative of Scripture is the eventual consummation of heaven and earth at the end of the age, in order to bring back together what was lost at Eden, though even better in the end than it was in the beginning. The turning point in the biblical narrative, the point when the metanarrative is made most clear, is with the atonement of Jesus, who made a sacrifice in order to solidify the eventual consummation of heaven and earth. This sacrifice, the gospel, is at the very center of the biblical metanarrative. In order to give glory to God well, the church must appreciate the main theme of the Bible, given to give glory to God, which is the gospel. 

Second, in order to minister to the individuals in the church, the gospel must be presented. Apart from the gospel, there is no personal salvation from sin or failure or shame. The gospel is the necessary and sufficient aspect of ministering to the individual. Additionally, in order for the individual to be able to minister to each other, the individual must have felt the effects of the gospel. In order to give the gospel to others, the Christian must be truly touched by the gospel.  Lastly, in order to minister to those outside of the church, the church body must have a grasp of the gospel. Without a firm grasp on the saving news of Jesus, the church could not minister to those who are lost apart from the gospel. In order to reach the outside world, the church must have the gospel at the heart of what they are doing. For all four of these goals, the church must be completely centered on the gospel of Christ. Without this centering on the gospel, the church can not do what it has been called to do.