Philippians 2:1-5 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…

INTRODUCTION

Good morning and happy new year! The Lord is kind to give us rhythms of life as a means of renewal. He’s woven them into the very fabric of reality—with each morning, each week, each new season, and each new year. Many of those have come together today; I hope in such a way that you all feel a fresh burden to follow Jesus in faith and a rejuvenated hope in His promises.

In that way, it is good to embrace the God-given rhythm of the new year with new resolve to begin (and stick to) a Bible reading plan, share your faith more consistently, use your gifts to strengthen the church in a new way, actively keep a prayer journal, find some specific way to consistently help the vulnerable, make a plan to fast regularly this year, memorize a larger passage of scripture, and, as Roxie just read, and as we’ll focus on this morning, seek to be of the same mind as your brothers and sisters at Grace.

Again, we all feel an added draw to grow in Christ right now by God’s design. Let’s lean into that.

One way we want to help with that (especially same-mindedness) is by spending the next two sermons laying out a some of what defines us as a church—both doctrinally and practically. Our main aim in doing so is to more firmly establish ourselves in the truths of God so that we might live out our faith with greater confidence, clarity, joy, and unity.

Before I pray and we dive in, I’d like to say a brief word about how we chose to structure the two sermons.

This morning, I’m going to stay at a high level. That is, I’m going to share with you some things that our church is built upon (the gospel and the main points of our doctrinal statement). These are things that all true churches will agree upon. What I am going to share today is jam packed with life-giving, life-altering, life-directing glory, but there is very little about it that is unique to Grace Church.

Then, next Sunday, Pastor Colin is going to share some things that are distinctive about our church (our mission statement, philosophy of ministry, the building blocks of our ministry, and our core values). We believe every one of them is deeply rooted in God’s Word. Therefore, many churches will agree with many of these things, but all of them are worded in more-or-less Grace specific ways.

The picture we want you to have in mind is that of a narrowing funnel. I’m starting today at the widest part of the funnel (things all Christians believe) and Pastor Colin will finish next week at the narrowest part of the funnel (things that are most distinctive of us at Grace Church).

The key to all of this is that we firmly believe that everything we’re about to share is either explicitly taught in God’s Word or a practical implication of something that is. As such, we hope to make that easy for you to see. What’s more, we hope to make it all easy to love and apply, with one mind.

We couldn’t possibly exhaustively cover all of the topics we’ll introduce in the next two weeks in two hundred sermons. What we can (and, Lord willing, will) do, though, is to briefly introduce each point, share the primary biblical texts that they come from, and offer brief pastoral reflections on why they’re worth treasuring and striving to live more fully in light of, together.

THE GOSPEL

Again, the widest part of the “Christian funnel” is the gospel (which means “good news”). To be a Christian is to have heard and believed in the gospel. No gospel, no Christian.

(A quick aside—that I’m pretty sure I’ve shared before—for those of you who, like me, did not grow up as believers…When I was first approached by some people in a campus ministry, they asked me if I believed the gospel. I had never been asked a question like that before. I didn’t know what they meant. All I could think of was the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), but their question didn’t quite fit that. I had no idea what “the gospel” was. Thankfully, they shared it with me. Even more thankfully, the Spirit gave me ears to hear for the first time in my life.)

What, then, is the gospel, the good news that someone must believe to be a Christian?

In one sense, it’s the simplest thing in the world. It’s something every child can understand. 1 Timothy 1:15, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

At the same time, the gospel is so awesome that it will take an eternity to unpack. Truly, learning the fullness of the gospel—the good news of Jesus—is what we will be doing forever in heaven.

In just a minute, I’m going to share a very simple version of the gospel. But first, I’d like to draw your attention to three resources for those of you who want to dig deeper than we’ll go today.

First, on December 15th, in one of my last sermons on the Gospel of John, I unpacked the gospel as thoroughly as I ever have in a single sermon. That might be a helpful place to start if you want to know more (it’s on our website).

Second, we have more than a hundred copies of a book called, “What Is the Gospel?” We’d love to give you one for a fuller explanation still. The four points of the gospel that I’m about to share with you are from that book.

And third, we have something we call a “discipleship track” that focuses on unpacking the gospel in terms of both knowledge and implication. It is designed to help one person unpack the gospel with another over the course of several weeks. If you are interested in being taken through that track, please let us know and we will be glad to pair you up with someone.

Again, then, what is the good news that all Christians have in common; that we need to know and believe in to be a Christian; that constitute the substance of the faith necessary for salvation; that we are of one mind concerning? It’s easily understood, remembered, and explained with four simple terms: God, man, Christ, and response.

God (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 103:19; Psalm 88:14; Isaiah 33:22)

The gospel always, always begins with God. None of the rest of the gospel (or the Christian life or life in general) makes sense apart from the God of the Bible. All reality (including the gospel) is inescapably rooted in the unchanging nature of God. And while God’s nature is inexhaustible, there are four particular attributes that anchor the gospel: Creator, King, righteous, and judge.

The Bible opens with the simple declaration that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). God made all that has been made and so all that has been made belongs to God. It’s His. We’re His.

Not only did God make the heavens and earth (and all that is in them), but He also rules over the heavens and earth (and all that is in them as well). David sang of this great truth, “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). All creation must do what God says for He is King.

If God were anything other than what He is, that would be terrible news. If everything belonged to God and was obliged to submit to God, but God was lazy or mean or dumb or evil, then we would be in the worst kind of trouble (like a cosmic, eternal version of the worst human government).

But because God is who He is, it is the best news of all. In particular, God is perfectly righteous. He is right in all He is and does. His every command is not only binding, but it is best. It is good. It is wise. It is perfect. Of this, another of the Psalmists celebrates the fact that “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of [God’s] throne… (Psalm 88:14).

God is Creator, King, righteous, and the judge of all. He is continually evaluating His creation’s conformity to His righteous rule. The prophet Isaiah declares, “…the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver…” (Isaiah 33:22). No corner of creation has ever escaped the watching eye of God for one fraction of a second.

Again, Grace, the beginning of who we are as a people, as a church, as Christians is rooted in the nature of God.

Man (Genesis 1:26; Romans 3:23)

God created all mankind in His image (Genesis 1:26) to glorify and enjoy God forever (Isaiah 43:7). That is, as our creator and King God assigned to all of us meaning and purpose. And as our righteous judge He perfectly evaluates whether or not we are in keeping with His decrees.

For all who live in perfect conformity with God’s design and rule, there is eternal life and perfect fellowship (1 John 1:3). But the wages of any measure of disobedience is eternal death in perfect punishment (Romans 6:23).

Tragically, all mankind since the first man (Adam) has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). This means that since Adam, all mankind has been born into condemnation and death.

What’s worse, not only are all people dead in our trespasses and sins, we are powerless to do anything about it. We are stuck in our death (Ephesians ...