The Gospel Transforms Society

Scripture is first and foremost concerned with the relationship that we have with God. The message we claim, the message we make known, this gospel, is good news - that God has provided a way of salvation for people, people like you and me because every one of us, and everyone you know, is estranged from God because of sin. But there is a Savior from sin. The Bible sets forth this good news of salvation, how Jesus Christ has come into the world and he has taken the place of sinners. He has lived the life that God required by obeying his commandments. He suffered the death that God requires for everyone who disobeys his commandments, and he has done it so that all, anyone who will trust in him, might be reconciled to God. When the church focuses on changing the world, it gets the cart before the horse and it winds up being itself changed by the world. Alistair Begg has stated this point so well when he says, the calling of the church is to preach the gospel, and whatever that which is central, namely the gospel, becomes peripheral, then that which is peripheral inevitably, becomes central. Brothers and sisters, our job as a church is not to change the world, not to change society, but to preach the gospel so that people will be transformed. And as people are transformed and carry out their discipleship in the world, the society will be transformed as well.

Do you ever look around in this country and get discouraged by the godlessness that seems to be so rampant? Abortion on demand, the legal assault now on biblical marriage, sexual trafficking, gender confusion, corrupt politicians, militant Islam, terrorism, racism, wickedness in entertainment, immodesty in fashion, broken immigration systems? What are we to do? What should the church do? Preach the gospel, set forth Jesus Christ, who changes people so that as people are changed, they will be able to live their lives of faith in the world, seeing systems and societies change. Do you want to know why America is in such a moral collapse, why there is so much wickedness that is just commonplace today? It is because there are so few true Christians in America. So what do we do? What is the antidote? Preach the gospel! Brothers and sisters, we must never lose sight of this in this church. We must never relegate our main mission to secondary status. May the Lord never allow us to suffer mission drift from our one overarching responsibility.¹

Tom Ascol