Afraid of the Gospel?

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Leadership Journal


Afraid of the Gospel?
Tullian Tchividjian

Monday, April 11, 2011

I 'm delighted about the resurgence of the gospel in so many churches. We are regaining the idea that the gospel is not only for those outside the church but also for those inside the church, that it not only ignites the Christian life but is the fuel that keeps Christians going and growing every day.

But for all the talk of gospel-centeredness, there's still some fear fueled by common misunderstandings of the radical nature of grace. I still hear talk about two equal dangers that Christians must avoid: legalism and lawlessness.

Legalism, they say, happens when we focus too much on law. Lawlessness, they say, happens when we focus too much on freedom. Therefore, in order to maintain spiritual equilibrium, we must balance justice and grace. But I've come to believe that this "balanced" way of framing the issue can unwittingly keep us from experiencing the gospel in all of its radical depth and beauty.

It's more theologically accurate to say that there is one primary enemy of the gospel—legalism—but it comes in two forms. Some people miss the gospel by trying to "save" themselves by keeping the rules, doing what they're told, maintaining the standards, and so on. I call this "front-door legalism."

Other people miss the gospel by trying to "save" themselves by breaking the rules, doing whatever they want, developing their own autonomous standards, and living according to them. I call this "back-door legalism."

In other words, there are two "laws" we can choose to live by other than Christ: the law that says "I find freedom and fullness of life if I keep the rules" or the law that says "I find freedom and fullness of life if I break the rules." Either way, both are legalistic because each is a self-salvation project. You're still trying to save yourself.

So, it's a mistake to identify the two equal dangers as legalism and lawlessness. There is only legalism. And if people outside the church are guilty of "break the rules" legalism, many people inside the church are still guilty of "keep the rules" legalism.

This is important because the church has bought into the lie that grace is dangerous and must be kept in check to avoid lawlessness. A "yes, grace … but" disposition is the kind of fearful posture that keeps moralism swirling around in our hearts and in the church.

I understand the fear of grace. As a pastor, one of my responsibilities is to disciple people into a deeper understanding of obedience—teaching them to say "no" to the things God hates and "yes" to the things God loves. But all too often I have falsely concluded that the only way to keep licentious people in line is to give them more rules. The fact is that the only way licentious people start to obey is when they get a taste of God's radical unconditional acceptance of sinners.

The irony of gospel-based sanctification is that those who obey more are increasingly aware that their standing with God is not based on their obedience, but Christ's. The people who actually perform better are those who understand that their relationship with God doesn't depend on their performance for Jesus, but Jesus' performance for us.

People need to hear less about what we need to do for God and more about all that God has already done for us. If your preaching assumes that people understand the radical nature of gospel indicatives, so your ministry is focused primarily on gospel imperatives, you're making a huge mistake because long-term, sustained, gospel-motivated obedience comes from faith in what Jesus has already done, not fear of what we must do.

To paraphrase Ray Ortlund, any obedience not motivated by the gospel is unsustainable. No matter how hard we try, how radical we get, any engine smaller than the gospel that we are depending on for the power to obey will conk out eventually.

So don't be afraid to preach the radical nature of the gospel of grace. As the late Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, "If your preaching of the gospel doesn't provoke the charge from some of antinomianism, you're not preaching the gospel."

Tullian Tchividjian is pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Copyright © 2011 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
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