Last week I received a question that read in part:
In the Reformed/Gospel-centered movement, the focus seems to be on how sinful and wicked and powerless we all are and how comforted and relieved we should be when we look to the cross. It seems like the answer to most problems is to look to the cross more. I don’t even know exactly what that means. For me, it encouraged a miserable cycle of wallowing in how awful I am and basing the Christian life on the feelings I get when I think of Jesus dying for me.
Here is my reply:
Thank you for this—you’ve put into words something that has concerned me for years. I’ve written about various aspects of it, but your letter pulls several of those concepts together.
I’m going to break your paragraph down so that parts of it have become the headings for this blog post. I’m also linking to other blog posts that enlarge on what I’m saying here, which I hope you’ll read, because they’re part of my answer to your concerns on this extremely important topic.
The Gospel-centered movement
I came into the “Reformed/Gospel-centered movement” in 2007, unaware of anything regarding any sort of movement. I remember listening to my first CJ Mahaney sermon that same year, from a CD a friend lent me, in which Mahaney said that [whatever it was he was talking about] was because of the gospel.
I appreciated this, because I loved thinking about all of life being for the sake of the gospel, which of course had a non-elusive definition to me, as being the good news of the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and seating of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the salvation of souls and the transformation of lives. It didn’t cross my mind that others who taught using the term might be using it differently.
As time went on and I heard “the gospel” used more and more with what seemed to me like less and less clarity, I began to wonder what people meant when they talked about it. I wrote this post in 2010, observing how for some reason “the gospel” in many cases seemed to be replacing Jesus Christ Himself.
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This is so good! You have so many of the same thoughts I have had. And as a survivor of domestic abuse, I can tell you the false teaching played a huge part in contributing to my abuse. Thanks for speaking the truth!
I’m so sorry for what happened to you, Amy, and pray that you’re finding hope and healing in Jesus Christ.
Thanks, Rebecca. I’ve known Jesus my whole life, and is the reason I survived and now thrive. Now I help others to do the same. Thanks for your work to help others too.
Thank you for tackling this, Rebecca.
Ultimately, we must choose between 1) checklist Christianity, which imposes a heavy burden of obligation and results in an endless, hopeless cycle of failure based on pleasing people in order to prove ourselves somehow worthy or 2) a wondrously personal relationship with the living Lord, who says, “Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden… and you will find rest for your souls.” The checklist places us and our works at the center of our faith, while the second places Jesus at the center, and whatever we do, we do in loving response to the Spirit’s leading.
Yes, beautifully said. I also have a blog post about Living by the List, which is here: https://heresthejoy.com/2012/09/its-hard-living-by-the-list/
You address this so well, Rebecca! Having seen this from the outside, then inside the Reformed world, then back out, I can attest to your accuracy. The ‘gospel-centered’ or ‘cross-centered’ life is so often code for the self-loathing and constant reminders of how worthless you are, according to Calvinist theology. The initial high of gratefulness soon succumbs to the constant droning on of what a wretch you are. The need for the modern priest – pastor – is emphasized, with ‘submission to your God-given authorities’ being repeated endlessly. Very little, if any, emphasis is made concerning the Holy Spirit and what he can be in your life, as ‘the church’ and ‘the pastor’ seek to replace that leading voice in your life.
Back on the other side, I am so happy to have regained my faith walk as a personal, spirit-led relationship with the living God. You can have so much more love and empathy for others when you stop viewing all as worthless, totally depraved sinners and see them as God does – beloved children with whom he desires to be restored to a proper relationship.
Thank you for proclaiming “The Rest of the Gospel”!
Ah yes, and that reminds me of this good book: “The Rest of the Gospel: When the Partial Gospel Wears You Out.” https://amzn.to/30am7e6
Are there denominations that would align with what’s shared in this post? So many churches preach the “do more, be better” message, or the wretched, vile sinner message.
I don’t know of any denominations. There are individual pastors and other leader-types here and there who teach it. But when I first understood this message, it was life-changing to me.
The irony of all this is that this is evangelical Protestant religion. It was originally formed as a response to (reaction to?) the works based Catholicism of the Reformation era, as you mentioned. If anything, it should do away with the guilt of a works based system. And yet, I find just as much toxic faith and toxic theology in Protestant circles as in Catholic, perhaps even worse. It takes a different form and a different flavor. It’s is own way of keeping Jesus on the cross.
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Yes, I have always felt like Reformed Theology gives too much of a self-deprecating theology. Too much focus on the “depravity of man,” and not enough focus on man’s ability to trust in God’s grace and make positive change for himself. I, too, always sensed something amiss about this. Of course, if you say that “Something just doesn’t feel right,” they will probably try to argue theology with you.
Yes, well, the depravity is the T in TULIP, so I doubt that petal will be falling off any time soon.
I believe that we all have free will, which is not what Reformed people believe (one of the ways I am not Reformed). We get to make choices. We can choose toward evil or toward God. This is a beautiful thing, but it’s not Reformed.
Hi, Rebecca. I’ve long noticed that some popular “worship songs” sung in “Gospel-Centered” churches remind Christians of how awful and sinful they are. I reached a point where I stopped singing those songs.
Agreed. I try to always engage with the lyrics during church worship and consider whether or not I agree with them. As a result, there are some songs, or parts of songs, that I no longer sing as well.
[…] “Look To the Cross More”: A Response to the “Gospel-Centered” Movement […]
Did anyone go through the “Gospel Centered Life” series, now published by Surge? Any thoughts? It was hugely influential in my young adult Christian formation, (who doesn’t want to live all of life for the gospel, with the huge emphasis on humility?) and a lot of the above article resonated with me. Needless to say, I think I have some praying and untwisting to do.
I would have been drawn in by something like that too, when I was young. I wanted to do whatever I was supposed to do to be the Christian I was supposed to be. But by my late 20s I was exhausted all the time. I was in my 40s before I understood what God really intended the Christian life to be.
[…] The Courtroom, because we are left unchanged, we are dependent on reminders of what Jesus did for us and our gratitude for His sacrifice, to keep us living […]