Today, in Core Values: Being Gospel-Centered Part 6, we continue defining how SPCC lives out the phrase.
Read Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 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.
Gospel-Centered in Doctrine and Worship
So far, we’ve defined the Gospel of Jesus Christ and demonstrated how Jesus is the substance of both the Old and New Covenants. Further, we’ve surveyed how our pulpit and Lord’s Day liturgy are founded on expositional preaching through a Gospel lens. We preach verse by verse, line by line, book by book–looking for Jesus on every page. Wednesday evenings are for topical teaching. We use the Westminster Shorter Catechism as our guide–which is based on the best and most Gospel-centered reformed confession, the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1647. It covers the core doctrines that Christians need to know to live godly in Christ Jesus and examine themselves for participation in the Lord’s Table.
The Hardest Part of Being Gospel-Centered
Finally, to close out the first Core Value in our series, for now anyway, let me say a few words about the most difficult part of being Gospel-centered. The most challenging aspect of being gospel-centered is applying it to more than just the forms of the church. Rare is the reformed man who lives by the Gospel. In the reformed world, he mostly argues with it, he doesn’t reconcile with it. It is a sad commentary that often the best theologians make the worst churchmen. It is not only theologians, protestantism, which alone teaches the Soli Fides and has the Gospel, is in a general broken state. I cannot speak to the East, nor Rome, I have little experience among their people, but among my own and in myself, especially in the first ten years of my faith, there was little Gospel in my “life.”
A Lesson in Eldership and Christian Liberty
When I was about thirty-two I was studying the role of elders and their power. While reading “The Church of Christ” by James Bannerman I learned that all church power was judicial. That meant elders were judges. Christ is King He is the lone Executive. Christ is Law Giver. He is the lone Legislator. Elders are judges in Israel. They are to open the book and ask, “What has God said?”
I sat back in my chair and suddenly something occurred to me, “No one had elected me a judge in any church.” Then I connected another doctrine that I learned from another great Presbyterian, James Durham. He said men who feel a call to eldership should pursue it. However, until a church confirmed the interior call with an exterior call, there was no call. There had to be an internal and an external witness. I could relax. I didn’t have to make judgments on everything. Other people were responsible for those matters. Until I was made a judge I should wait to be asked. I was free.
The Freedom of a Private Faith
Christian liberty could be the rule for me. That was essentially the topic of our last essay. It was an exposition and application of Romans 14. All of a sudden, my brothers could have a private faith. They could rise and fall before their Master. I didn’t have to hold to all they held or didn’t hold to, and, if asked, I could tell them why I didn’t share certain doctrines or sentiments. But so long as they were not engaged in public scandalous sin or the sins that lead to it (gossip or doctrinal possee-ing), what they did was largely none of my business. They had a private faith and so could I.
Forbearance and the Nature of Sanctification
Then, I connected another strand of truth to the two previous ones. I began to see that progressive sanctification–the doctrine that says that all true Christians undergo a progressive change over their lifetime to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ–requires a lot of forbearance in a body of any size, large or small. There will always be Christians at different stages of growth in every church. The degree and speed of sanctification are different too.
Public scandalous sins and heresy aside, unless I found myself geographically relocating, I had chosen my elders and brothers when I took my membership vows. They were my judges by my own choice. I freely chose them after visiting for a significant period of time. The church is a voluntary association ruled by love, not a sword, and I used my liberty to bind myself to them with a vow.
Liberty, Duty, and Self-Crucifixion
Christian Liberty doesn’t translate into something wicked like “freedom” does in modern American culture–where it has generally come to mean a licentious libertinism. No, Christian Liberty leads to duty and responsibility. It leads to crucifying yourself. Crucifying ourselves is to not act on our “passions and desires” in tangible ways, especially within the body.
The Marks of Gospel-Centered Living
Being Gospel-centered requires not fracturing the church over anything less than:
- Public Scandalous sins
- Heresy (Denying the Tenants of the Nicene and Chalcedonian Creeds)
Being Gospel-centered also requires:
- Allowing for a private faith
- Allowing for liberty of conscience in non-essentials
- And a willingness to live as a private Christian, under judges of our free choosing, until we are called as judges ourselves
Leadership and Sacrificed Liberty
The upcoming Lord’s Day will see us ordain Jeremy Willis as a ruling elder. Taking the vows to be an elder, however, means that Jeremy is surrendering a great deal of his Christian Liberty. He will be required to keep the weakest member in mind at all times with his life and conduct. The unintentional violation of a weaker conscience is bound to happen, yet elders cannot be careless with their testimony and must be careful in their conduct.
People often think leadership comes with expanded liberty. It doesn’t. Your liberty shrinks because as the stronger brother you have to care for the weak. As an example, I doubt President Trump plays golf as much as he used to because of his responsibilities to the nation. Leadership is laying down your life for others and comes with an increased burden as a tenured public representative of Christ’s Church.
A Call to Prayer
Pray for Jeremy, SPCC, and for the Protestant Church in American to return to being Gospel-centered in doctrine, form, life, and conduct–all to the glory of God!
Coming Next…
We hope you enjoyed Core Value: Being Gospel-Centered Part 6. Next week we will move on to our second Core Value, Being Community-Oriented.
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, Sunday June 15th, 2025, Pastor Jeremy will deliver a charge to Jeremy Willis prior to his ordination as a Ruling Elder.
Memory & Meditation
M & M Verses for the Lord’s Day June 8th, 2025 are
1 Timothy 3:16
“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”
SPCC Prayer Book: Celebrating the Ascension
Completed M & M Essay Series in 2025
For the Ascension: The Coronation of the Son of Man based on Daniel 7:13-14
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 for June 2025: 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
This week we have our breakfast Celebrating the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, no lunch this week.
Psalms & Hymns of Worship
Psalm 68:1-4 Tune: Forest Green Hymn- Hail The Day That Sees Him Rise
Psalm 67:1-5 Tune: Dennis (Blest Be The Tie That Binds) Hymn- All Hail The Power of Jesus Name
Midweek Worship & Consistory Meeting
We are going to take off tonight. Most folks are out of pocket and a few in the Mack household have what could be a mild stomach bug. Blessings!
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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