Week after week, Sunday after Sunday, we talk about the gospel at Ardgowan Square. We talk about who Jesus is, what Jesus did, and why Jesus did it. We talk about what we must do to be saved. We talk about how we can experience forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God and others, healing in life, peace for today, peace for tonight.
During our Sunday Night Fireside discussion, the question came up regarding why we keep coming back to the gospels. Why is it that Christians, who have experienced salvation, have to keep learning these stories and accounts of the life of Jesus?
Because we have started a teaching series on John’s Gospel, I thought it would be beneficial for everyone to know why this is beneficial.
Where we go wrong
When we talk about life and career and the like, we speak in terms of navigation or exploration. We look for new opportunities. Some jobs are described as leading to a dead-end. Humans, it seems, are journeying creatures by default. We travel through time, from childhood to adolescence to adulthood into old age. The question is, how do you know whether you’re going in the right direction?
Christian writer and apologist, Andy Bannister, once wrote about his skills in navigation. He needed to plan a journey from Swindon to Perth, so he opened his phone and typed “Perth” into Google Maps. Anyone familiar with UK geography knows that to get from Swindon to Perth requires, in the main, going North. But there was a time when we did not have such technologies as Google Maps or satellite navigation or a minimally functional motorway system.
Once upon a time, we had to rely on the stars at night and landmarks around us in order to be sure we are travelling in the right direction. Walking through the woods seems like it would be an easy endeavour but if you aren’t regularly directing your sight to a particular point, you will end up walking in circles. Without outside guidelines, we naturally favour a direction slightly left or right of centre.
In the Bible, God instructed his people and kings to keep a copy of the Law of Moses, called the Torah. Kings were supposed to write out their own copies based on the ones kept by the priests. The rest of the people were to write it down on their hearts, to keep it always before them, guiding them like blinkers on a horse. In Psalm 1, King David writes of the way to the blessed (or happy) life: meditating on God’s word day and night.
Here is the trouble: the people of God routinely failed to do this. They neglected God’s word, what he had told them about their salvation from slavery and their being delivered into the Promised Land, and forgot about him. They got comfortable. They went after pagan gods, thinking that these would deliver them from their trouble; even when those gods couldn’t rescue their own people from attack (2 Chronicles 25:14-15).
It’s only when the kings or the people return to their foundations that they are able to then live and worship the Lord rightly.
What we hope for
Over the course of our series in John’s Gospel, I have three hopes.
For salvation to come to Ardgowan Square
The reason why John wrote his gospel was to prove that Jesus is the Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29-30). He begins his gospel in a particular way, by first proving that Jesus is divine, but his ultimate goal is that people would find eternal life in Jesus’ name.
While we have celebrated baptisms for the last two years, my greatest desire for us as a church is that we would see people coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ on a regular basis. The way this happens is by preaching about Jesus and preaching through John’s Gospel will give us that opportunity each week.
For God’s people to be equipped to tell people about Jesus
For those people who belong to Jesus already, my hope is that this series will equip them for the work of being evangelists themselves. The gospel isn’t a formula but is the story of how God brings salvation to a world lost in darkness. The gospel is the introduction to a Person, not a statue or rulebook. By studying John’s Gospel, we will see that our faith is not a fairytale, as some people say. We will see that, while it is simple, it is not simplistic. It is simple enough for a child to understand and be saved yet it is deep enough, rich enough, to stand up in the halls of philosophers and academics.
By studying John’s Gospel, we will be reminded that Jesus is the one who has the words of eternal life (John 6:68). We will be equipped to show people that they need to believe the light while they have the light, lest they stumble in the dark (John 12:35-36).
For God’s people to be assured of their own salvation
Lastly, my hope, in teaching through John’s Gospel is that people would be reminded that their salvation in Christ is secure. We need reassurance when we are weighed down by guilt and shame. We need to be reminded that our Good Shepherd loves us and laid down his life for us and seeks the lost sheep.
If you can, perhaps commit to reading John’s Gospel each week during the course of our study. Reading through the gospel slowly takes about 2 hours. You will grow in your love or and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. You will grow in understanding of the book itself. Rather than choosing to scroll, perhaps pull out a copy of John’s Gospel to read when you have a spare moment throughout the day.
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Discovery
Thursdays, 7pm at Pastor Dan's house. A gathering for those in their 20s and 30s to find community while exploring faith and meaning. Email for directions.
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HymnSing
4 October, 7pm
An evening of music, fellowship and the greatest story ever told. All are welcome and there will be an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel during the gathering.
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