If I could pass on just one thing about Christianity and the gospel to my children, students at BCA, and church, it would be this: The gospel is all about Jesus Christ and what he has done for us in his incarnation, life, death and resurrection; not about what we do for him. You wouldn’t always know this, however, by reading many of the best-sellers in Christian bookstores, or by listening to the self-help sermons that are preached in many churches.

Michael Spencer — the Internet Monk — writes about this in his post No Jesus Needed:

Recently I listened to a sermon. Preached by a Christian, a Baptist, a minister at a church, a graduate of a Christian school training ministers to serve and communicate Jesus.

This preacher gave a message that he had worked hard to prepare; a message he had presented before. A message he deeply believed in.

It was a message well organized, passionately delivered and completely sincere. It was a message with an application about having a purpose in living that many people need to hear.

So why am I writing about that sermon? Did it change my life?

I’m writing about that sermon because it was a perfect illustration of Christless preaching.

There was not a single mention of Jesus. Not once. Not in any way. Nowhere.

It was as if Jesus had never been born. It was as if Jesus never existed.

Read the rest at the Internet Monk.

Grace and Peace