Gospel Exposure + Safety + Time = Healthy Church
By Gospel Exposure we mean more than a simple “gospel presentation.” We mean continual “exposures to the happy news of the gospel from one end of the Bible to the other.” Did you know that every part of the Bible helps to shape the good news of Christ? Literally every verse of the Bible fits somewhere within the larger themes of Creation, Fall, Redemption, or New Creation. The gospel is simple enough to be understood by a small child. It could be as simple as: “Jesus saves!” But we can (and should) use our whole Bibles to truly grasp all that message means! That’s why the apostle Paul prioritized “declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). This exposure comes from sermons, from songs, from Life Group discussions, from praying the word over each other, from applying the word in conversation throughout the week…it saturates every aspect of our life together.
Gospel Exposure is what the Holy Spirit uses to change us. But on our end, we can foster that process by making sure the exposure happens in a context of Safety, “the safety of non-accusing sympathy so that people can admit their problems honestly.” Truly absorbing the gospel requires the conviction of sin, the internalizing and then open admission of one’s own need for redemption. This is true not only at the point of our conversion; it remains the way we keep living out the gospel as we grow (1 John 1:6-10, James 5:16). The safety of the church tells the would-be disciple, “You can be honest here about the ugliness inside that you want Christ to take away. You will be helped by His people and supported, not scorned or patronized or shunned.” The author asks, “Is that how sinners experience your church—as a safe place where the Lord ‘preserves and protects us’? Or do they experience your church as a place of shame and anxiety?” If we all understand the gospel, and never forget that we ourselves deserved to be separated from the promises of God, then we’ll never want to make the church an unsafe place for someone else to be honest with themselves, God, and their church family. In fact, we’ll want to lead the way by confessing our own sin, and sharing stories of God’s redemption in our own lives. This should be true of the pastors just as much as the ones who have only come to faith recently.
One caveat about safety…a “safe” church does not mean a “judgment-free” church. We must make discernments about whether people are respecting and using well the safety of the church, or whether they’re abusing that safety and thus making it an unsafe space for others. Church discipline is occasionally necessary to protect the culture of safety. “When a sinner is repentant, the elders should protect that sinner from the church. When a sinner is defiant, the elders should protect the church from that sinner.” Even the most seemingly grievous of sins (rage, addictions, sexual sins) are safe to sincerely confess within the church. But even the most seemingly unimportant sins (gossip, slander, favoritism…) if defiantly attacking the church culture of safety, must be addressed decisively by the leadership of a community defined by the gospel.
The last component of the equation is Time: “enough time to rethink their lives at a deep level, because people are complex and changing is not easy.” We all have different stories, and different areas of needed growth that the Holy Spirit may be putting His finger on at different times for each of us. If we grow impatient with one another, and demand change at a pace that God isn’t necessarily demanding, we risk replacing God’s plan for this person’s sanctification with our plan. This will only lead to discouragement. This is not to say that we don’t call out sin in one other. We should, out of love! Friends don’t let friends wallow in poison. But this is to say that, even as we’re helping each other see the sin in our lives (and humbly receiving that help for ourselves too), there is a patience and a gentleness in our demeanor. And for every word we say with our mouths for a person’s benefit, we say many more in secret prayer for them, because we understand that in God’s perfect timing, they will more and more put off the old ways of Adam, and put on the new clothes of Christ (Colossians 3). We are not dealing with people as annoyances or projects; we are giving time for growth to dear redeemed brothers and sisters who one day soon will shine like the stars in righteousness (Daniel 12:3).
Gospel transformation takes time, time spent soaking in gospel exposure within a context of safety. We should patiently give that time to others. But we must also diligently use that time toward our own transformation. If the church is where God is at work, graciously transforming through communal gospel exposure, why would we waste time neglecting it? When we adopt a casual attitude toward church participation, an “if there’s energy left after I’ve prioritized my other activities” approach, then this gospel exposure will not saturate and change your life. Do you “check off” Sunday attendance, or do you long for it? Few people will be able to participate in everything, but do you see Life Group, Women’s Study, Men’s Breakfast, Prayer Meeting, etc. as cherished opportunities to feast, or just “fun if it fits”? Do you prioritize deep and vulnerable relationship with individual brothers and sisters from the church, or do you say, “If it’s not part of the regularly scheduled programming, I really don’t have time to pursue it”? I say this as an invitation to the very gospel transformation you say you want. Join us in living this equation?
Gospel Exposure + Safety + Time = Healthy Church