The New Attitude Letters, Part 4

Dear Reader,

I pray that you will forgive the tardiness of this letter, and I am afraid that I have no viable excuse to offer for the delay. However, I am particularly excited about what I am about to share with you. Though I am sure I will not do justice to the message, Mike Bullmore’s afternoon session about the functional centrality of the Gospel was well-organized, challenging, and applicable. To introduce this message, he put forth the statement that humans have been made with many capacities, but there is no neutral. Either something glorifies God, or it does not. Most importantly, the deciding factor as to whether or not something a believer does glorifies God is whether the Gospel is functioning in his or her life.

To take us through how to apply the Gospel to every area of life, Mike offered a diagram of three concentric circles. The first and centermost circle is, of course, the Gospel. The Gospel, you see, is omni-relevant. It applies to every aspect of life. There is nothing which falls outside of the Gospel’s realm of application. Mr. Bullmore says that the ability to see this is “one mark of a maturing Christian.” 1 Corinthians 15:3 confirms that the Gospel is indeed the centerpiece of the Christian faith. Paul writes: “for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.” The Gospel is of first importance.

But see, the Gospel doesn’t stop at just being the central foundation of the Christian faith. It spreads into what Mr. Bullmore labels the second concentric circle: Gospel Truths. Gospel Truths can be found all throughout the Bible. Essentially, any staple of Christianity that is true because of the Gospel is a Gospel Truth. Some examples may be found in the book of Romans (5:1 – we are at peace with God; 8:1 – we are not condemned; 8:32 – God will provide us with all things). To help illustrate this point, Mike presented a picture of a massive, circular stone, which, though difficult to set into motion, carries incredible force and momentum once rolling. The Gospel has been set in motion by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and it now carries with it an incredible load of Truth which could not otherwise be true.

The outermost concentric circle is that of Gospel Conduct. The Gospel gives specific instruction on how to live life in response to the Gospel and the Truths which it carries. Again, examples of this may be found throughout the Word of God; a few are 1 Corinthians 6:18 – flee sexual immorality, and 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 – excel in generosity, but again we must remember that the Gospel applies to every aspect of life. Moral conduct must always be connected to the Gospel.

After outlining this series of concentric circles, Mr. Bullmore provided practical steps on how to apply the Gospel, its Truths, and its Conduct, to our lives. First, we are to start with our own lives. He suggested that we ask ourselves these questions: “Am I cultivating a deep, personal understanding of the Gospel?” “Am I becoming more familiar with the Gospel?” We must grow in our knowledge of what the Gospel says if we are to grow in making the Gospel more central in our lives. The best way to begin applying the Gospel to our lives is to pick one area of struggle first, find out what the Gospel says about it, and begin to follow the Gospel’s specific instruction for that area. It may be effective to ask ourselves: “What has the Gospel made possible in this situation?”

The second step of application is to let the Gospel inhabit our conversations and interactions with others. With the Gospel, we may provide encouragement to fellow believers (Isaiah 50:4). With the Gospel, we have the ability to spread the message that changes the lives of the lost.

And thirdly, we may keep in mind that the main good of the Gospel is not that God has forgiven our sins, but that we may enter into fellowship with Him. Forgiveness is a necessary prerequisite for reconciliation with God, but the best thing about the Gospel is that we may commune with our Father through our Savior. “Let the ultimate truth of the Gospel be what ultimately defines you,” said Mike Bullmore at the close of his message.

I hope this letter finds you well. The evening to come was a powerful experience of the Gospel changing lives and I will share with you as soon as I may the words of the prophet Isaiah as presented by Mr. C.J. Mahaney himself.

Until then,
Brian Whalen