Why Christians Need the Gospel

"The gathering of the church is not an assembly of religiously independent people celebrating our successes, all dressed up and parading ourselves before one another and before God. No, the church is a gathering of the needy, the weak, the broken, and the confused. But we are eternally loved and accepted by the one we worship and entrust ourselves to."
- Paul David Tripp, "Sunday Matters," 13-14.

This is where many American Christians get church wrong. We seem to want to come to church and make ourselves look put together, say we're doing good, and leave our "burdens at the door and worship" kind of Sunday. This is the temptation in an individualistic society that promotes doing it yourself, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, and continually being self-reliant. It creates, in the mind and heart of the Christian, the type of spiritual formation ripe for the enemy to come in and push isolation from the body of Christ. Subsequently, this creates isolation from Christ himself.

We've all fallen into this trap, myself included. It is so easy to do, especially since everything and almost everyone around you is telling you that you need to hustle more, do better, and continue to strive in your own efforts.

The problem is that this is wholly unbiblical. In fact, Jesus tells us to come to him if we have heavy burdens or are tired and he will give us rest. The community of believers (the church) is supposed to be there for you, to help bear one another's burdens, as Paul said in Galatians 6:2. You don't have to be put together, be happy all the time, or come to church with a perfectly clean conscience.

In fact, I would say if you're falling apart, extremely sad, or have sin on your conscience, the community of believers is the best place for a Christian. It gives love, accountability, Gospel clarity, and above all, points continually to the hope we have in Christ instead of encouraging what we all are tempted to do: internalize our struggles and make ourselves out to be failures because we aren't measuring up.

I've got news, and it's pretty bad news:

You are a failure.

I am a failure.

We are all.....

......without Jesus Christ.

Our best is not enough, and it Never. Will. Be.; that is why it is important to be a part of church community that encourages, strengthens, and constantly points you back to the hope of Gospel. Not a list of rules to obey so that God will bless your life or make you comfortable. Not a method of obtaining some sort of higher "experience" in worship. No, it should point back to Christ and him alone.

Do not believe the lie that Christians "don't need the Gospel anymore" after they get saved. The Adversary uses it to make us forget where we came from so we will forget where we're headed. Christian, you and I need the Gospel now more than ever, not because we are unsure of our standing before the Father, but because we have pride and sin still burrowed in the catacombs of our hearts.

The Gospel, in the context of community (i.e., the church), is the only thing that can weed this out. We must be continually weeding it out until we are taken in death or taken in resurrection.

Remember the Gospel!