A Note from Michael Gossett | August 21, 2026

A Healthy Church:

A Church Anchored in the Gospel

Last week, we considered the foundation of a healthy church: God’s Word. Everything a church believes and practices must rest upon the truth God has revealed in Scripture. But a foundation is meant to support something. At the heart of the Bible’s message and therefore at the heart of every healthy church is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The gospel is the message that brings people into faith and is also the message on which the whole life of the church depends. 

The word gospel means “good news.” It is the announcement of what God has accomplished through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God created us to know Him, love Him, and live for His glory. Yet every one of us has rebelled against Him. Our sin separates us from a holy God, and we cannot repair that broken relationship through our own goodness, religious effort, or moral behavior. But God did not leave us without hope. 

Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man and lived the sinless life we could never live. On the cross, He willingly bore the judgment sinners deserve. Three days later, He rose triumphantly from the grave, defeating sin and death. Now God offers forgiveness and eternal life to everyone who turns from sin and trusts in Christ. The real question is, have you received this life or are you just aware of what Christ offers?

Everyone understands the concept of a relay race. It is a series of handoffs from one teammate to another. You can put the four fastest runners in the world in one lane and still lose, and it happens all the time, because the race is won or lost in that narrow zone where one runner places the baton into the hand of the next. If someone drops the baton, it does not matter how fast you are. The race is over. 

You and I have been handed a baton, and it is not a style or a strategy or a tradition. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ, passed hand to hand from Christ to the Apostles to the martyrs, to the Reformers, to the missionaries, all the way down to you and me. Hear me on this. A healthy church is a church that guards the handoff. The way a church usually loses the gospel is not by denying it necessarily. It is by assuming it. A church rarely throws the gospel out. Don’t get me wrong, there are some who do, but what I have seen and read throughout church history is not just a denial, it is an inward absorption of the gospel that never gets out or passed down. 

Paul would not let that happen in Corinth, and I certainly do not want it to happen to us. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 says, “Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand ² and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. ³ For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.”

The Gospel is Received

Look at Paul’s verbs. The Corinthians “received” this gospel, they “stand” on it, they are “being saved” by it, and Paul says he “passed on” what he “also received.” Every one of those words points outside of ourselves. This is why we started with the question in the way we did. It is not enough to simply be aware of the Gospel and what it offers. You must receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is not a mood you work yourself into on a Sunday. Instead, it is the good news about what God did, whether you feel it or not. That word gospel was the word a runner shouted when he came into the city,announcing a battle had been won far away. The people did nothing to win it. They simply heard that the victory was already theirs. That is the good news that Paul is talking about here. Christ has won, and the victory is simply received.

Notice what Paul says. This gospel saves you “if you hold to the message.” Now, we must understand that we are not saying a true believer can lose his salvation. I am saying real faith holds on. The Puritans put it beautifully. The same grace which plantsfaith in the soul is the grace that keeps it there. So we are not aiming for a one-time decision in our lives, but a faith that holds you for the rest of your life. 

The Gospel is First

Paul describes the gospel as being “of first importance.” That phrase should shape the priorities of every local church. Churches have many important responsibilities. They teach Scripture, disciple believers, care for people in need, cultivate community, send missionaries, and serve their neighbors. Yet none of these activities can replace the gospel or become more central than Christ’s saving work.

A church may have excellent music, engaging programs, welcoming people, and a full calendar. Those things can be valuable, but they cannot give life to spiritually dead sinners. Only the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

A healthy church therefore makes the gospel unmistakably clear. It does not assume everyone already understands it. It does not bury the message beneath vague encouragement or moral instruction. It continually proclaims that our deepest problem is sin, our only Savior is Jesus, and our proper response is repentance and faith.

Jesus Died in Our Place

Now here is the heart of it: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” Let that resonate and don’t run past that truth. He died for our sins, in our place, taking what our sin deserved. This is what is known as penal substitution, and it is not something theologians dreamed up later. Isaiah saw it seven hundred years out. “He was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities... and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.”

John Owen gave a whole book to one question about this death, and it is a question no one has ever answered who wants to soften the cross. Did Christ actually bear our sins, or did he only make it possible? Because if he truly bore them, then they are truly gone. Thomas Watson makes it plain, explaining that the wrath of God that should have fallen on you and me as a consuming fire fell on Christ instead, and there is not one drop of it left for anyone who is in Him. Paul says it himself. “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” There it is, the great exchange. Your sin was put on Christ, and his righteousness was put on you. Church, we never move on from that cross.

Then notice how Paul continues. “He was buried,” Paul says, and he means the death was real, and then, “he was raised on the third day.” The verb for raised means that it was settled. Christ was raised, and he stays raised. He is not a memory. He is alive. And then Paul does what no other faith can do. He names witnesses. Cephas, the Twelve, five hundred at once, James, all the apostles, and last of all Paul himself. And about that five hundred he says most of them are still alive, which is his way of saying, go ask them. This is why we cannot treat the empty tomb as a nice symbol. Paul will say a few verses later that if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins. Everything hangs here. This is why Paul gets so personal in this passage. 

“I am the least of the apostles… because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am.” This man hunted Christians, and the gospel he tried to destroy laid hold of him and made him its greatest preacher. Three times in two verses he reaches for the same word. Grace. Grace. Grace. 

This is the ground we all stand on together. Salvation is not you meeting God halfway. It is God raising a dead sinner to life. Paul told the Ephesians, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.” We say it often around here, and I will say it again: there is nothing in your past that is too great for the mercies of God. That is why a church that truly grasps the gospel becomes a humble church. The most put-together person and the most broken person are standing on the exact same ground, both saved by a grace they could not earn. That is the level ground at the foot of the cross, and it is the only soil a healthy church ever grows in. “This is why we preach, and this is what you have believed.” Preachers come and go. I will come and go. But the message endures. Therefore, we must guard it and pass the baton with the time we have been given. 

How can we be anchored as a church? Let the gospel inform every aspect of the church.

Let the Gospel Shape Our Worship

When a church understands the gospel, its worship is marked inevitably with humility and with joy. The gospel humbles us because it reminds us that we did nothing to earn God’s favor. We were not rescued because we were wiser, stronger, or more deserving than others, but instead, we realize it is only a gift from the Lord Himself. 

At the same time, the gospel gives us profound joy in the Lord. In Christ, our sins are forgiven, our guilt is removed, and we have been adopted into God’s family. We do not gather to attend a religious event, but we gather to celebrate the Savior who brought us from death to life. Gospel-shaped worship directs attention away from ourselves and toward Jesus for who He is and what He has done on our behalf. It treasures His grace, remembers His sacrifice, celebrates His resurrection, and longs ultimately for His return.

Let the Gospel Shape Community

But keep in mind, the gospel also impacts our horizontal relationships and how we deal with one another and love one another. Jesus makes it clear that the world will know that we belong to Him by the way we love each other. When we are made new in Christ, it creates a new people altogether. Instead of belonging to the world, we now belong to Christ together. Every member of our church comes to Christ in exactly the same way. We all come by grace through faith. That truth leaves no room for pride or superiority. Differences in age, background, ethnicity, income, education, and personality no longer determine a person’s value or place among God’s people. Our shared identity is found in Christ alone. 

Because God has forgiven us, we can forgive one another and love one another as Christ loved us and welcomed us. Because of the sacrificial love of Christ, we can lay aside selfishness and any differences we may have. This does not mean a healthy church will never experience disagreement or hurt. But, it does mean the gospel gives the church the resources to respond with confession, grace, patience, truth, and reconciliation while maintaining unity in Christ. 

Let the Gospel Shape Growth

A church anchored in the gospel does not treat spiritual growth as an attempt to earn God’s acceptance. Christians pursue holiness because, in Christ, they have already been accepted. The same grace that saves us also begins transforming us. The gospel confronts our sin, reshapes our desires, and teaches us to live for God’s glory. As we behold Christ in His Word, depend upon the Holy Spirit, and walk alongside other believers, we increasingly reflect the character of our Savior.

We never graduate from our need for the gospel. When we sin, the gospel leads us away from hiding and toward honest confession. When we suffer, it reminds us that God has demonstrated His love at the cross. When we succeed, it protects us from pride. When we fail, it reminds us that our standing before God rests upon Christ rather than our performance. The gospel is not simply the starting line of the Christian life. It is the truth that sustains every step.

Let the Gospel Shape Our Mission

Good news is meant to be shared. Before returning to the Father, Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples of all nations. A healthy church takes that mission seriously. It equips believers to speak about Christ, supports the spread of the gospel, welcomes unbelievers, serves its community, and prays for people near and far to come to faith. The church’s mission must be accompanied by compassion and genuine love. Yet its greatest gift to the world is not entertainment, political influence, practical advice, or temporary relief. Its greatest gift is the message of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. As Paul writes, “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Let the Gospel Keep Us

Every generation of Christians faces the temptation to move the gospel away from the center. A church may begin to assume it, soften its difficult truths, add human requirements to it, or replace it with a more culturally appealing message.

That is why a healthy church must continually hold fast to the gospel revealed in God’s Word. The church does not need to improve upon the good news. It needs to believe it, proclaim it, display it, and pass it faithfully to the next generation.

God’s Word is our sure foundation, and the gospel is its central message. When a church remains anchored in that gospel, Christ receives the glory, believers are strengthened, sinners hear the good news, and the world is shown a community transformed by grace. A healthy church never moves beyond the gospel. It goes deeper into it.

THIS SUNDAY AND MORE!

This coming Sunday we continue in Luke, and I want you to come ready. We will be in Luke 14:25-35, and we will be talking about “Kingdom Discipleship.” Last week Jesus threw the doors of the kingdom wide open by showing us His grace and our purpose in life. This week he turns to the crowds following him and makes sure nobody misunderstands what it costs to walk through those doors. He talks about loving Him more than father and mother, about taking up a cross, about counting the cost like a builder or a king going to war, and about salt that must not lose its saltiness. It is some of the most bracing language Jesus ever used, and it sits right next to the free grace we just studied. Grace is free, but it is not cheap. The same Savior who welcomes the outsider to the feast calls the follower to lay everything down and come after him. Come ready to be searched, and let us count the cost together. 

CHURCH VOTE

I also want to make you aware of an exciting way we are continuing the vision that God has given us. Over the last year, we continue to see a need at our Flint Campus. One of those needs is to provide more Connect Group space for adults and space for our student ministry. The finance committee, the BEG (Building, Equipment, and Grounds) committee, as well as our deacons have approved to build a new student space at our Flint Campus. This is part of our overall plan to continue to connect people to Jesus and His church so that we may all grow in His likeness, and multiply for His purpose. This requires adequate space in order to continue moving forward. With that in mind, we will be voting as a church family to approve this recommendation on Wednesday, September 2nd after the Prayer Gathering. The motion is to build this space for a price not to exceed $600,000. Please pray through and bring any questions that you may have. 

You are loved and prayed for!

Michael Gossett