Our Values
Gospel Centrality
Gospel Community
Gospel Mercy
Gospel Movement
Gospel Culture
1. GOSPEL CENTRALITY
“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God
for salvation to everyone who believes”
Romans 1:16
The Gospel of Christ shapes our foundation – our life of thought & our life of practice or behavior. Anything we do in terms family relationships, work relationships, & the life of the Church, must be rooted in the Gospel. Thus, it is vital that our salvation must be undergirded by the fundamental understanding of the Gospel – the power to save & the power to keep saving in preserving the saints to eternal life in Christ.
2. GOSPEL COMMUNITY
“For in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith”
Romans 1:17
The Apostle writes – ‘From Faith for Faith,’ which means that the Faith that we believers possess is not meant to be a solely personal & individual exercise of Faith. Nor does he mean that the Faith is an individual practice in isolation of other Believers in Christ. Faith must be practiced & exercised in the context of the Church, who is the Bride of Christ. And Christ our Head, who assumes the position of the power that is exercised when the entire Body communicates that Faith unto each other. Let us keep encouraging each other & lifting each other up.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another,
and all the more as you see the Day drawing near”
Hebrews 10:24,25
3. GOSPEL MERCY
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, ‘Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack’”
2 Corinthians 8:9-15
We have supplied this Scripture Passage above not as a cudgel to force those of us to proclaim & incorporate those deeds in our lives. Rather to proclaim & encourage us to know & understand how much the Gospel is not a selfish endeavor always seeking to glorify the self & its grandeur in doing good. The Gospel humbles people with means and power, showing them that they are no better than anyone else before God. It also lifts up the poor and broken, giving them a new identity and confidence in Christ. A life poured out in deeds of mercy and justice is a sign that the heart has been changed by grace. We use both terms. Mercy is meeting people’s basic needs out of a gospel-produced compassion. Justice is sharing one’s wealth and time in meeting immediate needs, but also consists in being advocates for people with less social power, and more broadly, engaging as citizens to make it a good place for all to live. A Gospel-preaching church should be famous for its mercy and justice, or outsiders will not listen to what is being preached. While bringing people to Faith in Christ is the single greatest thing you can do for someone, the Gospel must be ministered in word and deed together if it is going to have the life-changing impact we desire.
4. GOSPEL MOVEMENT
Dictionary.com defines ‘Movement’ – “the progress of events, as in a narrative or drama.”
It is this sense of the definition that the progress of Faith in our individual lives coalesce into a drama unfolding in the congregation of the Church as One Body under the unfolding mystery of the Christ. Thus movement is twofold – our individual progress of Faith & our collective progress of Faith. Both are indelibly & inexorably connected into the Body of Christ, who indwells all the people of Faith. In this way, where the actor is the Lord Jesus, He embodies through the Power of the Holy Spirit that, the congregation of His people move & act according to His Purpose & Will. As we continually progress in the manner of Faith as we are all called, Christ moves us all toward Himself into the proclamation of the Kingdom through Word & Deed. A movement is a call to the “kingdom” mindset on the part of the Believers of Faith in Christ, produced by a grasp of the Gospel of Grace.
5. GOSPEL CULTURE
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise”
Galatians 3:27-29
The Apostle lays the foundation of where we belong & of whom we belong – if we proclaim to be Believers in Christ Jesus, we are reminded that we were baptized into Christ; inasmuch, as our biology & genetics dictate what we physically embody, our baptism dictates who we essentially are in the Spirit of Christ that indwells Believers.
REV Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church wrote the following :
“When Christians begin to do their work out of a different set of beliefs—whether in business, the arts, the academy, government, or the helping professions—it changes & renews the culture. The Gospel gives every believer a new worldview, new inner motives & power, & new conceptions & guidelines for work. While the local church does not directly seek to change culture, it disciples its people to be agents out in the world who do.”
This is no meaningless object – indeed both the Apostle & REV Keller states clearly that it is a much more important attribute than any physical & biological attribute. The Gospel is foundational & fundamental to all who Believe. As a result, we become citizens of a Kingdom that is greater than a physical location but hails from all eternity. And He promises that He will be with His people uniting us in a bond that is stronger than gender, family, & national identity. Therefore, the Gospel has implications for our public life, particularly how it impacts our vocational pursuits & our daily work. Because ultimately it is not about our own work nor concerning our own pursuits but the advance of a Gospel Culture that both inundates us personally as well as the Body of Christ.