Gospel Centered Church. That is the best way we know how to answer the question, “so why kind of church is this?” But what exactly do we mean by that? What is a gospel centered church? Simply put, we exist to proclaim the good news (the gospel) of the Lord Jesus Christ in both Word and deed to everyone that God brings us into contact with. In his letter to the church in Rome, the Apostle Paul said that he was “eager to come and to preach the Good News. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul said that he was a debtor to all to proclaim the good news of Jesus, because Jesus had saved him from a life of hollow religious rule-keeping. Paul knew what the law of God said as well as anyone in his day. However, the problem was that he felt he was pretty good at keeping the law, when the truth was, he hadn’t even been close to keeping it even on his best day!
Far too often, people (Christians included) look at the 10 Commandments as if it is a check list. The First Commandment says “Thou shalt have no other gods,” – check, because I only believe in one God, the God of the Bible even. The Sixth Commandment says “Thou shall not murder,” again a check, because I have never killed anyone. But when Jesus came He actually showed even the best “law keepers” that their obedience fell far short of what God requires. When asked by a young lawyer which is the Greatest Commandment, Jesus responded by quoting a verse from the Old Testament (sometimes known as the “Shema”), saying:
“The greatest of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:28-31
Paul (at that time known as Saul) thought he was doing a pretty good job of this, but when we examine his life prior to meeting Jesus, we see him persecuting and dragging Christians out of churches, even consenting to their deaths! (Acts 8:1). But on the road to Damascus, Saul encountered the Risen Lord Himself who blinded him physically, to show him his spiritual blindness. Once Saul realized who this was, and that his righteousness was a facade, he repented of his sin and self-centered, self-righteousness, clinging to the good news that Jesus is the only righteousness anyone can have to be accepted by God, and this righteousness is available to us by grace, and through faith. Paul received this grace by believing what Jesus said, and it made him a new person, with a new mission in life. No longer would he be zealous for his own so called law-keeping, now he resolved to know one thing and one thing only: “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”- 1 Corinthians 2:2
In other words, Paul’s life was now centered around the gospel, not himself and his works. It is the glory of Christ revealed to us in this good news that changes hearts, changes lives, and changes the community around us. That is why if you don’t hear anything else from us at Riverside, our hope is that you will hear “Christ crucified for sinners.”
Our Vision is “To see the glory of God would become the glory of Cartersville and the nations.” And we hope to see that vision become a reality through our on-going Mission to “develop mature followers of Christ through worship, discipleship, and service, in the power of the gospel.” The gospel is where the power lies. We pray that it’s power would be revealed in, and through us, all for the glory of Jesus.
Blessings!