Preventing gospel amnesia

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are in our thoughts as a family these days. We are growing in our knowledge of and concern about these devastating afflictions because of the apparent conditions of loved ones. I may write about this subject in the future, but there is another one it brings to mind for this post.

As destructive as these neurological disorders can be, there is another form of forgetting that can be overwhelming spiritually for a Christian. It is gospel amnesia, as some have labeled it.

When we fail to realize the gospel of Jesus is indispensable not just to being saved from our sins but to all of our Christian life, we are suffering – in essence – gospel amnesia. When we fail to remember the gospel of Jesus during both the exhilarating and mundane moments of life, we are suffering gospel amnesia. When we fail to remind ourselves of the gospel in both the advances and setbacks of life, we are suffering gospel amnesia. When we replace the gospel with counterfeit and powerless substitutes that maximize human work and minimize Christ’s work, we are suffering gospel amnesia – or worse.

Don Carson explains in his book The Cross and Christian Ministry what can happen when a person, church or movement declines into gospel amnesia:

I have heard a Mennonite leader assess his own movement in this way. One generation of Mennonites cherished the gospel and believed that the entailment of the gospel lay in certain social and political commitments. The next generation assumed the gospel and emphasized the social and political commitments. The present generation identifies itself with the social and political commitments, while the gospel is variously confessed or disowned; it no longer lies at the heart of the belief system of some who call themselves Mennonites.

Whether or not this is a fair reading of the Mennonites, it is certainly a salutary warning for evangelicals at large.

One thing we cannot afford to do as followers of Christ or as a church is to assume the gospel. Assuming the gospel – its definition and its significance – can lead to forgetting the gospel, if not disowning it.

That is disastrous for a Christian and a church. And that is why we, as a church, spend time each Sunday in explaining the gospel in our singing, reading, praying and preaching. And that is why those of us who follow Jesus must remind ourselves of the gospel regularly. And that begins with making sure we know the gospel.

What is the gospel? In brief, the gospel is the good news that God has extended unmerited favor to sinners. The sovereign and holy God who has created all people has every right to judge sinners – and every person is a sinner -- for their rebellion against Him and His rule. Yet, He has poured out His judgment on His Son, Jesus Christ, who lived a perfectly righteous life but willingly died as a substitute for sinners. God the Son’s death on a cross totally satisfied God the Father’s punishment of sin for all who repent and trust in Jesus for salvation.

From that all-sufficient work by Christ the Lord flow vast benefits for eternity – benefits I plan to rehearse in future posts.

* -- Photo source.