Gospel Centred Community

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another… We love because he first loved us.”

1 John 4:11, 19

Hi Church,

In this series we are exploring four priorities that shape our life together at EBC: gospel centrality, gospel centred discipleship, gospel centred community, and gospel centred mission.

Having thought through gospel centrality, and then how the gospel shapes our discipleship, we now turn to the next question: what is gospel-centred community? If the gospel shapes the way we follow Jesus, how does it shape the way we relate to one another?

What is Gospel Centred Community?

A gospel-centred community is one where the love we have received from Jesus begins to shape the way we love one another. The Bible teaches us that Jesus has not only reconciled us to God, but brought us into relationship with his people. We are not only saved from sin, but into the family of God. To receive God as Father is also to receive his people as brothers and sisters.

That means belonging to the people of God is not an optional extra to the Christian life. It is part of the Christian life. And this is where the gospel matters so deeply. John writes, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our love for one another does not begin with our natural affection, personality, or shared preferences. It begins with the love of God shown to us in Jesus Christ. We are loved by grace. Forgiven by grace. Welcomed by grace. And that grace is meant to create a whole culture among us. A culture of patience. A culture of forgiveness. A culture of self-giving love.

Yet, we are in danger of living out a functional hypocrisy. As Christians we can sing about grace and yet be harsh with one another. We can receive forgiveness and yet withhold it from others. We can confess we are family in Christ and yet remain distant in practice. But where the gospel truly lands, it changes our relationships. A gospel-centred community is not a community of perfect people. It is a community of forgiven people learning to love one another as we have been loved.

Jesus said it would be by our love that people know we are his disciples. May that be true of us. May we be a church where people are known, loved, forgiven, and welcomed. May the love we have received in Christ overflow toward one another.

Next time we’ll look at what we mean by gospel centred mission, and how the gospel shapes the way we live as a sent people.

To God be the Glory!

- Pastor Mike