As a pastor, I am to challenge, to disciple, and to call God’s people to a sanctified life. However, as we seek to walk in sanctification, we can sometimes lose sight of the ground on which we stand. That ground for Christians is the gospel… But what exactly is the gospel?

Paul sets the stage for the gospel in Romans 3:10-18, saying:

“No one is righteous— not even one.
No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.
All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”
“Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.”

“Snake venom drips from their lips.”
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“They rush to commit murder.
Destruction and misery always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace.”
“They have no fear of God at all.”

Did you get that? This is you… This is me… This is who we really are, in the present tense. Paul personally identified with these statements again just a few chapters later, saying, “The trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin… O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:14, 24) Again, in the present tense.

In Romans 3:19-20, Paul then moves on to clarify why we were given the law (i.e, rules, precepts, commands, ordinances, statutes, standards)… He says,

“Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.“

You get that? You’re guilty… I’m guilty… All are sinful… Only after setting this stage, does Paul finally lay out the gospel in Romans 3:21-24,

“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law… We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

You hear that? No matter who we are…. No matter what we’ve done… God freely makes us right! And I tell ya what… That message is just as sweet to a pastor as it is to the brand-new believer. The gospel, God’s good news to us, will never become old news to the sinner.

Let’s be honest. Those in greatest danger of losing sight of the gospel are those who have followed God for years. In Jesus’ day, it was the religious who struggled most to receive this message. And today is no different. We can begin to think of the gospel as baby food, as milk for newborn believers, as something no longer necessary—or perhaps even trite—for the seasoned believer.

But consider these words of Westminster Chapel pastor R.T. Kendall,

“At the end of the day, [this sentiment] may be traceable to pride. That is what is ultimately at work when we compete with the blood of Christ. We, in our arrogance and self-righteousness, cannot bear the Lord doing everything for us graciously, so we think we must help Him out a bit. It is an abominable way to think. Our pride must be eclipsed by humility; we must let God be God and the blood of Christ do what it in fact did: remove our guilt and satisfy God’s sense of justice.”

Perhaps this is the reason Paul started this gospel thesis to the Romans with these words,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” – Romans 1:16

Gang, let’s face it. We are never beyond the gospel. In it, we find our only true hope. In it, we find our only true good. In it alone is the power of God to salvation. May we, like Paul, be not ashamed of the gospel.

The following is adapted from a teachings series on “Spiritual Warfare” by Pastor John Duncan:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:13 NKJV

Did you know that armor is an offensive weapon? That in the time that Paul said “put on the whole armor of God”, they had a breastplate. Everything they had was in front of them: they had no defense from behind. When the Romans put on their shoes, they had these shoes that were spiked so that as they were moving forward. They couldn’t be pushed back. The spikes were at such an angle that they could slide their feet forward, and when they would dig in it would hold them from backing up. Everything about armor is not to protect you so that you can go home and watch television. It’s to protect you because you are going in harm’s way.

The definition of offense is: “an aggressive advance on the enemy to take from him the objective.” To be on the offense is to be the attacker, not the defender. The aggressor in war has the advantage over the defender. When a army or a country is on defense, they have to constantly try to figure out when and where they are going to be attacked. They cannot concentrate their forces in any one place because if they do, the aggressor will come in a different place.

…you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 NKJV

Jesus said, “The gates of hell shall not prevail.” Gates are a defensive mechanism. You don’t attack anybody with gates. What does that mean? What was Jesus saying? When Christians know what they’re about, Satan closes the gates and tries to hide. But he can’t hold us out. They cannot stop us. We infiltrate; we can walk right past the gates of hell. That is a promise from our Savior.

Jesus did not say, “Go home and relax and I’ll protect you.” Jesus did say, “Go ye into all the world” (Matthew 28:19). Take the gospel to every creature and I am with you always. To Joshua, God said, “I’m with you, I will not forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). But God said that to Joshua as when he was telling him to attack.

When God promises to be with you, it’s because he’s sending you on a mission.

The promise that Christians love to hold on to is, “I’ll never leave you or forsake you.” The command that comes with that promise is something people like to ignore. The command is, “go ye”. The promise is, “I’ll be with you.” When God promises to be with you, it’s because he’s sending you on a mission. He’s giving us the assurance that when we step out, he’s with us.

Too many Christians believe that knowledge is the most important part of discipleship. As in:

• If I know more about what the bible says, then I am a better disciple.
• If I know more about how to behave in church, then I am a better disciple.
• If I know the right answers in a bible study, then I am a better disciple.

While knowledge is necessary, it is not the most important part of discipleship, and, it is a terrible measure of success in it. A lot of Christians know a lot and do nothing. Can that really be called “discipleship”?

Let’s consider hunger for a moment.

Could THIS be a better way to measure discipleship? (*hunger, as opposed to knowledge) Why yes, yes it could!

At the start of Jesus’ ministry – around the time he was baptized – he asked some of the first disciples “What do you want?”

• He did not ask them “What do you know?”
• He did not ask them “What would you like me to teach you?”

That’s because the privilege of following Jesus goes only to those who desire to follow Him.

It is for those who want Him – not people who merely wish to try to learn some rules. It is for those who need Him – not people who simply enjoy studying a book.

Hunger (love, desire, want, need) is what moves people. A hungry person will always eat when given the opportunity. Their desires will lead them into action. That’s discipleship.

There are four possible combinations of knowledge and hunger:

• Knowledge          + Hunger
• Knowledge          + Hunger
• Knowledge          + Hunger
• Knowledge          + Hunger

Having both is the best scenario. But which do you start with if you have neither?

Consider a lesson from game theory:

• Some games are finite. They have a known timeline, fixed rules, and clear terms for victory.
• Other games are infinite. The timeline is unclear, the rules regularly change (*if agreed upon rules exist at all), and survival is main objective – not victory.

What should we learn from this? That we must know the type of game we are playing!

When we make discipleship mostly about knowledge,  we are playing the game wrong! (*or playing the wrong game) Knowledge about God is important. But reaching higher levels of knowledge is not “victory”.

Following Jesus is about loving and obeying Him until we die.

It’s a long game. It’s truly an “infinite game” in that we will be doing it forever. The rules won’t change. But our circumstances do. And God’s plan for us unfolds over time. So, we adapt and endure.

But it is not knowledge that keeps us going – it’s desire. A love of God. A hunger to be near Him.

Churches have been using buses to haul believers to events, conferences, and missions trips for decades. But not all church buses are the same. I recently sat with a group of Filipino pastors, one of whom had spent most of his life in a country where Christianity was outlawed, Bibles were banned, and public expressions of faith could cost you everything. What follows is a glimpse into his story and his time spent on a church bus.

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Imagine needing a text from your pastor before leaving for church—confirmation that no police or suspicious figures were watching the building. The church itself didn’t look like a church at all, but a house with false windows and padded walls. Foam and cardboard egg cartons lining the interior to muffle the sound of worship or the pastors voice when he couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. The light bulbs on the exterior corners provided no light, but instead they were disguised security cameras, letting the pastor monitor the street. Worshipers arrived in twos and threes, never all at once, careful not to draw the eye of watchful neighbors or the attention of the religious police.

They carried on that way for years, sometimes cancelling service at the last minute to prevent potential arrests, sometimes changing buildings when the wrong person was allowed access. Every time they gathered, they knew the risks; they might be deported, arrested, or worse. But God called them to assemble and obedience wasn’t optional.

Despite the extreme caution eventually they were found out. One Sunday as the congregation worshiped together the distant sound of sirens grew louder and louder. The religious police had arrived and they had with them a list with the names of all the church leaders. They had a small van and intended to arrest those who would dare come and study the Bible and praise the Lord. But when they opened the door they were shocked, what they assumed was a small gathering of a few believers that would easily be rounded up, instead turned out to be far larger than expected. There were too many to arrest, too many to fit in the van, and not enough officers to control them all. So the police were forced to release all but the leaders, leaving the rest under the threat of repercussion, arrest, and violence if they gathered in fellowship again.

The church was shaken and suffering. The church was weakened, but to no surprise it was not defeated. Jesus said even the gates of Hell couldn’t prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18) so what were they to do?

For a time, they met in secret, just one or two families at a time in their homes, clinging to Scripture in whispers and near solitude. The church was fragmented. Their faith held firm, but they were convinced God had something more for them.

They had no buildings, no freedom, and no plan. But God is really good at making a way when we can’t see it. Time and again the Bible shows that our inability is no problem for Him. In fact, He tells us our weakness and desperation are actually assets (2 Corinthians 12:9–10). When we come to the end of ourselves, He can display His strength most clearly. He delights in using what is weak to display His strength. And just when the way forward seemed impossible, one man had an idea.

There was a church member employed as a bus driver. His route from one city to another, passed through rural villages. The bus was big enough to carry a crowd, a crowd that no one would ever suspect. So, the men of the church bought every single ticket. No women and no children because that would be suspicious. It was a risk that would draw to much attention. The pastor would stand in the aisle, someone would bring a guitar or drum and preaching and song could be heard over the sound of the loud diesel motor. The bus became their sanctuary.

From one city to the next, they held church on the move. By the time the bus pulled back into the terminal, they had worshiped, prayed, and studied the Bible together. The bus company was unaware and did not care. They were legitimate paying passengers. When the men returned home, they passed on what they had learned to their families. The church grew stronger.

They met like this, on wheels, for three years. And to my knowledge not once were they caught.

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There are plenty of reasons people give for not loving or committing to the church. It can let us down, disappoint us, and to commit to community at the level God instructs requires sacrifice. And here’s the thing—God still calls us to it. The church remains a beautiful and irreplaceable gift from God, not as an optional add on, but a necessity (Hebrews 10:25). If you took the time to read this story, written by a pastor for a church newsletter, you probably already get why the church matters. I hope you value it. But if you don’t, or if you ever find yourself thinking it’s not that important, and are tempted to take it or leave it, remember the church bus unlike any other, and remember that there are people all over the world who would give anything just to be part of what you are inclined to overlook.

After all God was willing to sacrifice His beloved Son for the church and Jesus redeemed it with His own blood (Ephesians 5:25 & Acts 20:28).