What Is Gospel-Centered Transformation?

The words “gospel-centered transformation” are everywhere at Western Seminary – front and center on the website, splashed across the letterhead, and part of all the seminary’s advertising. Few should argue with the focus. Christians, by definition, ought to be gospel-centered. But what does it actually mean to be gospel-centered? And what exactly is gospel-centered transformation?

First, the Christian life, in reality, is gospel-centered. We might not always be conscious of it, but we are always and completely dependent upon the gospel for every aspect of our life before God. If this is the case (and I will demonstrate that it is the case below), then it follows that any transformation that is meaningful will also be gospel-centered. The words “gospel-centered transformation” therefore also serve as a reminder to intentionally live into that reality.

Our commitment to gospel-centered transformation begins with the biblical-theological affirmation that the Scriptures tell a unified story of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation. This story has many twists and plot movements along the way, but every portion contributes meaningfully to the overall storyline of which Jesus Christ is the star and his salvific work is the climactic event to which everything before it is preparatory and everything after it is a necessary result or implication.

More specifically, the return of Jesus, final judgment, and the re-creation of a new heavens and new earth, are specifically tied to the first-advent life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If the consummation of all things is dependent upon the work of the cross, then so is everything in between, everything that we do in the church. It is this way by necessary implication and by specific biblical testimony.

What this means is that we can never get past, grow past, or mature past the gospel. The gospel is not the means by which we “get saved” and are then enabled to do it on our own from that point onward. Too many Christians are under the impression that we are born and nurtured by the gospel, but once we have our legs under us, we should be able to walk on our own.

The author of Hebrews exhorts his audience, “let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God” (Heb. 6:1). But he is not suggesting that we leave the gospel, as though the gospel is summarized in toto by repentance and faith. Rather, he is directing us to mature past the elementary doctrine of Christ by digging deeper into the gospel of Christ.

“Being ‘gospel-centered’ means living our lives before God in intentional dependence upon the person and work of the risen Christ.”

How expansive is the impact of the gospel for the Christian? Consider the following examples:

• We have been redeemed by God, justified by his grace, through the cross work of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:24-25).

• We have been regenerated to new life in Christ because of Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3).

• We are united with Christ in his death that we might walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4).

• We have been adopted into the family of God, co-heirs of the Abrahamic promise with Jesus, the true Seed of Abraham, because of Christ’s work on our behalf (Gal. 3:25-4:7).

• We are able to pray, because of what God has done and is doing even now in Jesus Christ (John 16:23-24). We are instructed to pray in Jesus’ name, a name that is above every name because of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection (Phil. 2:9-11).

• We are led by the Holy Spirit who was sent to us because of Christ’s glorifying work (John 16:7, 13-14).

• We will one day be glorified, transformed, finally and completely, into the very image of the risen Christ (1 John 3:2).

Every aspect of salvation, from start to finish, is due to the work of Christ on our behalf.

Even our sanctification, the progressive growth in holiness as we are being transformed daily in Christlikeness, is anchored in and fueled by the gospel. It is true that we participate in our sanctification in ways in which we do not participate in things like justification and glorification. But sanctification must be gospel-centered if it is to be true sanctification rather than human-empowered behavior modification.

The Apostle Paul gave us a master class in the mysterious intersection of personal effort and divine determination in sanctification in Philippians 3. Paul’s life goal, upon which he was laser-focused, was to “know (Christ) and the power of his resurrection . . . that by any means possible (he) may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:10-11). The effort Paul extended to achieve that goal is humbling. “One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14).

Earlier, he wrote, “as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). But the very next verse brings it right back to where the source for such sanctifying work comes. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Of course, Phil. 2:12-13 is predicated entirely upon the glorious truths of Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection summarized in Phil 2:6-10.

So if every aspect of the Christian life, from start to finish, is dependent upon the gospel, then it follows that ministry for Christ ought to be gospel-centered.

Again, Paul is instructive to this end. In his first letter to the church in Corinth, he defended his apostolic ministry against those who were more enamored with the then-current popular trends and methods. He knew he did not measure up to the platformed speakers of the day. He did not have the number of devoted followers that whatever philosopher du jour could muster. Nor could he compete with the inspirational speakers that had captured the minds and affections of so many in the Greco-Roman Empire.

“So if every aspect of the Christian life, from start to finish, is dependent upon the gospel, then it follows that ministry for Christ ought to be gospel-centered.”

Paul was quick to concede, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:1). Rather, Paul intentionally chose to be gospel-centered, gospel-dependent, and gospel-focused. “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Again, he conceded that his presentations were not impressive by the standards of whoever was trending on Roman Twitter. “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom . . .” (1 Cor. 2:3-4). But that was OK, because just as he would later learn when he wanted the Lord to heal him of his “thorn . . . in the flesh.”

Paul knew even then that God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul was convinced that his unimpressive gospel ministry was actually a “demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4-5).

We must likewise be so convinced.

At Western, we teach tools for biblical interpretation. There are excellent classes in developing and delivering sermons. We seek to see students’ pastoral skills and tools sharpened for the Kingdom. We will equip students well in such “things.” But it ultimately matters not if Jesus did not get up from the dead. And those “things” are only valuable when they are consistent with and empowered by the gospel.

Being “gospel-centered” means living our lives before God in intentional dependence upon the person and work of the risen Christ. It means evaluating everything taught in every class and if we cannot connect the dots to the gospel, then realizing that our students will be better served by something else that is connected to the gospel and rewriting those lessons to that end. It means teaching methods that are submitted to the Lordship of Christ, fervently hoping that our graduates will not succumb to our culture’s siren’s call to pragmatism, platform building, and worldly measures of success. It means praying for and teaching towards a Spirit-empowered character transformation in our students that is grateful for the opportunity to serve a few of God’s precious people in unimpressive places rather than building a brand that results in cultural adulation but no lasting change.

In short, a commitment to gospel-centered transformation is to give more than lip service to Paul’s great manifesto: “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” (Rom. 1:16). It is to demonstrate that we are not ashamed of the gospel by living in dependence upon the risen Christ and aligning our goals, methods, strategies, and ministries with that gospel.