Today, in Core Values: Being Gospel-Centered Part 5, we continue defining how SPCC lives out the phrase.
Read Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 if you’d like, before going further.
Our First Core Value: Gospel-Centered
We believe Jesus Christ is the central purpose of all Scripture, Christian discipleship, and the substance of both the Old & New Covenants. As a Church, we seek to teach the Scriptures as the whole counsel of God. The method of teaching we use in our public worship, in general, is expositional preaching with the Gospel as the lens.
How does being Gospel-Centered Apply to the Life of the Church?
So far in our Core Value Series on “Being Gospel-Centered,” Solomon’s Porch Christian Church has applied the phrase to its liturgical and teaching ministries. The first essay defined the Gospel. The second proved Christ the substance of both covenants, which we hold and believe to be essential to being a Gospel-centered Christian teacher. The third and fourth essays explained our two methods of teaching. On the Lord’s Day, we teach expositionally, verse by verse, line by line, book by book. On Wednesdays, we teach shorter topical lessons from the Westminster Shorter Catechism before we close our evening with intercessory prayer. Furthermore, the Church also produces essays, such as the one you are reading now, on topics like our Core Values to help us improve our walk together.
Memorizing & Meditating on the Gospel Together
Let me also add that we memorize and meditate on the Incarnation, Suffering, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, along with the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, every year. We choose extensive Scripture passages to memorize together, a little at a time, hiding God’s Word in our hearts. We try to place the Gospel at the heart of both our liturgy and teaching ministries.
Gospel-Centered Life of the Church
Now, let’s examine how the Church applies gospel-centered to body life.
Baptism and Doctrinal Harmony
Solomon’s Porch is a hybrid body. We allow the practice of both paedo and credo-baptism. The conscience of the “head of household” informs the Consistory of their position. The Consistory confirms their understanding of baptism to fall within the “orthodox” reformed Presbyterian or Baptist position. At the same time, we use the Westminster Confession as our Confession of Faith. We wrote statements that provide exceptions for Reformed Baptists elected to office in the Church.
Unity in Diversity
We also allow for differing positions on the Sabbath, head covering, psalm-singing, and a host of other issues. Romans 14 is our rule for how to walk together. Some brothers are weaker in understanding and, therefore, conscience, and there are stronger brothers. So long as the weaker brother does not attempt to form a posse and cause division, the stronger brother is to dwell with him according to their strength. Paul writes, “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions (Romans 14:1).” The stronger brother is to extend grace and compassion to the weaker brother, remembering that they were once weaker in conscience and without understanding. However, the weaker brother also needs to cool his jets and learn to live without judgment.
The Apostle Paul’s Instruction
“One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand make (Romans 14:2-4).”
Sabbath Disagreement
Now, I know that some of you winced when you read the initial statement about allowing disagreements on the Sabbath.I know because I hold deeply reformed convictions and firmly believe in the Lord’s Day Sabbath. However, Paul chooses the Sabbath as a point of contention to demonstrate how to dwell together when you have a moral disagreement.
A Moral Disagreement
The Sabbath is the Fourth Commandment. Disagreements around it are moral. Listen to the Apostle:
“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God (Romans 14:5-6).”
Paul’s Pattern: Strong and Weak
First, the stronger brother: He can eat meat and vegetables. Romans 14:2
Second, the weaker brother: We can eat only vegetables. Romans 14:2
First, the stronger brother: He esteems the day (orders his week around worship). Romans 14:5
Second, the weaker brother: He esteems every day the same. He sees Sunday as any other day. Romans 14:5
Leadership Requires Maturity
Solomon’s Porch’s position is that the ordinary member may hold any or even no position on the Lord’s Day Sabbath. However, the Church is beholden to the Word of God and her Confession of Faith, not her weakest member. Therefore, on the Consistory, we may disagree about how celebratory the Lord’s Day may be (I am referring to the distinction between the Dutch who bowled and the English who forbade games). However, we cannot disagree about the Lord’s Day. In this way, we allow a wide variety of positions within the church body, but not the Church. The church gives plenty of space for growth and progressive sanctification, but not among the elders. The elders are already to be mature men of understanding. Therefore, their vows require a strict adherence to the Westminster Confession of Faith.
Private Faith and Gospel-Centered Practice
Christians are to cultivate a healthy amount of “private faith.” A private faith is important to accomplish living a Gospel-centered life. Let’s return to Romans 14 to see this principle.
“Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat drink wine, or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves (Romans 14:20-22).”
Wisdom in Application: Alcohol Use
Let’s stay with eating and drinking for this explanation. Alcohol is an issue that often divides, but it shouldn’t. To consume alcohol or to not consume alcohol, so long as consuming is in moderation, is not sinful. Getting drunk is sinful. However, this is a sticky subject. It requires wisdom. Not everyone seems to be able to consume alcohol without the risk of addiction. The Church then chooses to neither promote alcohol consumption nor disapprove of it. If you are someone who can imbibe without addiction, you are free to do so. Perhaps you prefer not to participate, you are under no obligation. If you are someone who cannot, we do not encourage it.
Grace, Growth, and Gospel-Centered Patience
We encourage all believers to hold alcohol use as a private matter. The wise course, then, is to get to know your Christian guests before you possibly tempt them with alcohol and cause a crisis of conscience. You see, the stronger brother is sinning against the weaker when he offers him alcohol without some investigation into his conscience. To be “Gospel-centered” necessitates a high level of private faith, as well as patience with our weaker, often younger brothers and sisters in the Faith, as they endure the same progressive sanctification that some of us have already experienced. The stronger brother is to extend to the weaker brother the grace that was extended to him in the beginning of his faith when he was ignorant of many of the core truths of Christianity.
The Call to Walk Together in Love
Through patient-forbearing and a healthy amount of private faith, the Church is to display the wisdom and grace of God by walking together in love.
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful (Colossians 3:12-15).”
Coming Next…
We hope you enjoyed Core Values: Being Gospel-Centered Part 5. Next week, in Part 6 we will conclude our discussion of the first Core Value and prepare the ground to move on to our second. Look for these essays to become videos very soon to be used to help on-boarding new Church Members.
Next week we will finish the series by taking another pass at the same question. “How being Gospel-centered applies to the life of the Church? and What it should look like in the ‘already’ while we await the ‘not yet?'”
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
Thanks For Stopping By
If you are not a member at SPCC, thanks for reading “Core Value: Being Gospel-Centered Part 4” What comes after this section may not mean much to you. However, I always write a little piece at the front of this missive on Wednesdays so don’t be shy, go ahead and SUBSCRIBE.
Ascending Mt. Zion
For the upcoming Lord’s Day June 1st, 2025
Sermon
This week Pastor Jeremy will be in Acts 24:1-21
Memory & Meditation
M & M Verses for the Lord’s Day June 1st, 2025 are Daniel 7:13-14
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
SPCC Prayer Book: Celebrating the Ascension
Completed M & M Essay Series in 2025
Putting On Immortality Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 based on 1 Corinthians 15:35-49
Forsaken For Us All Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 based on Psalm 22:1-15
Christ, His Church, & Marriage Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 based on Ephesians 5:22-33.
Catechism Questions
Westminster Shorter Catechism: Questions 21-25
Remember that you can present Questions 16-20, our WSC Catechism Questions from last month, to any member of the Consistory during lunch starting this week.
Lord’s Day Meal
Yes sirs and mams!
Psalms & Hymns of Worship
Psalm 67:1-5 Tune: Dennis (Blest Be The Tie That Binds) Hymn- All Hail The Power of Jesus Name
Psalm 66:1-4 Tune: Dunlap’s Creek Hymn- Before The Throne of God Above
Midweek Worship & Consistory Meeting
Yes, we worship together this Wednesday at the Pickens home.
Next Consistory Meeting is June 18th, 2025
Consistory Assignment
The first hour 7:30-8:30 pm is dedicated additional learning and is open for all Heads-of-Households and young men to attend via Zoom. For the meeting on the 18th we are reading Chapter 2 of “Life Together” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Amazon link) and the Introduction through Chapter 2 in Calvin’s Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper (Free E-Book on Monergism).
Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3: 1 that “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” Men, if you desire to one day enter the Consistory as a deacon or elder, then attendance to this hour will be important for your development and for the Consistory to gauge your aspirations, gifts, and calling in the Lord.
Join Us for Worship
Finally, come and worship with us on the Lord’s Day. We also meet on three Wednesday evenings a month for Catechism Lesson & Prayer. Another Visit our Homepage or What We Believe for more information. Find us on Google Maps or watch our sermons on Youtube.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
Pastor Jeremy
“The Creation is quite like a spacious and splendid house, provided and filled with the most exquisite, and at the same time, the most abundant furnishings. Everything in it tells of God.” – John Calvin
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