5 Benefits Of A Gospel-Saturated Ministry
On Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ tombstone it reads: “In love memory of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the beloved Doctor, 1899-1981”. But then it says this, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).
What does Paul’s message from 2,000 years ago have to do with Stillwater today? Malachi 3:6 says, “I, the LORD, do not change.” And because God doesn’t change, neither does His Word. If His Word doesn’t change then the message doesn’t change. If the message doesn’t change then the meal doesn’t change. God has always been the greatest nutritionist for the Church. And the diet He is putting us on is this: Decide to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
The diet we should have is one that preaches the whole Bible about the whole Christ to the whole Man to develop whole Christians. If you want to know Jesus, you need to know your Bible. If you want to know the Bible, you need to read it in light of Jesus! That’s the diet we should have in our church.
Who is this diet for? It is for all people! We don’t change up the message to believers or unbelievers. We might use different illustrations and we might make it more simple based on what someone knows about the Bible. But, the message doesn’t change. Believers and unbelievers need the same dictionary even if it might be taught in different ways. And this is why we must continually build the habit of inviting unbelievers and believers to church. We need to reach people across the street and around the world!
When should we have this diet? Always! There is never a time we should get off this diet. This diet isn’t a trend. It isn’t a 30-day diet. It isn’t even a 30-year diet. It is always the diet. Are we experiencing times of suffering? We need this diet. Are we experiencing seasons of joy? We need this diet. No matter what season it is, it is always time for this diet.
What will this diet do to us? Like a regular diet, it will make us strong and healthy. It will grant us true knowledge, heavenly power, godly wisdom, and authentic spirituality. We won’t merely be a people who talk about the gospel but we will be a people who live in light of the gospel. This diet will raise up new leaders and officers in the church. It will cause us to see our covenant children be saved by the gospel of grace. It will see the church grow in theology, discipleship, youth ministry, evangelism, missions, tithing, unity, friendship, counseling, and much more. This diet will help people raise up children in the faith and it will help people die well in the faith.
And how should we implement this diet? We implement this diet into all of our preaching, teaching, and Bible studies. We use this diet to determine all the curriculum we choose. We use this diet for officer training, catechism, admitting people to the Lord’s Supper, making healthy marriages, developing godly parenting, mentoring younger believers, and evangelizing the lost.
And lastly, why should we have this diet? First off, because we’re the Bride of Christ not the Bride of Humanity. We aren’t called first and foremost to self-love but to Christ-love. He made us, died for us, purchased us, established us, sustains us, provides for us, defends us, blesses us, justifies us, transforms us, glorifies us. Why would our message not be about Him?
Secondly, we should have this diet because Jesus is infinite in worth! Every other diet is finite — Jesus is infinite! Why would we not talk about Him? Can we exhaust our message about Him? Surely, our tongues will tire out before we scratch the surface! Let’s put it this way…billions of people have been born on this earth since the times of Jesus. And no generation has stopped talking about Him! Not a single moment in world history has there been a time when people have stopped talking about this Covenant God. Let’s not be the first generation to stop talking about Him.