The Gospel applies to every area of our lives and every area of Scripture. Its application is too broad to be boring. This is why upon the death of the great preacher Charles Spurgeon, one man could summarize his preaching this way: “His subject was always one—Christ; but it was Christ afresh from his view of him in God’s written Word. Ever the same sun, but the sunshine is fresh every day.”5 Faithful Gospel preaching should never run dry.
Preaching the Gospel in every sermon is far more than something we tack on to the end of a sermon with an altar call; it is the very foundation of Christian belief. The Gospel is the key to interpreting Scripture. The Gospel is the central theme of the apostles’ preaching. The Gospel saves us from the trap of works righteousness. The Gospel applies to every area of our lives and will never get boring. No sermon is complete until the Gospel has been preached.
In the words of Charles Spurgeon, “Of all I would wish to say, this is the sum; my brethren, PREACH CHRIST, always and evermore. He is the whole gospel. His person, offices and work must be our one great, all-comprehending theme.”6 Every sermon should resolve in the Gospel.5
Notes:
1 Timothy Keller, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Viking, 2015), Kindle edition, location 298.
2 David Murray, Jesus on Every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2013), 15.
3 Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1994), Kindle edition, location 6441.
4 D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching & Preachers (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 45.
5 Tom Nettles, Living By Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Greanies House, Christian Focus, 2013), Kindle edition, location 199.
6 Charles H. Spurgeon, Lectures To My Students (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1954), 79.
