The State of Gospelessness

Gospelessness – [gos-puhl-less-ness] – The state of one who boasts of preaching the gospel while never actually getting around to preaching it.

A while back I was telling my Dad how we were going to start some weekly believers’ meetings and that we were going to keep the focus on Jesus and the gospel message; you know, how He died for our sins, rose from the dead, and how He’s coming back again. As a church goer most of his life, he’s sat through many-a-sermons, attended small group studies, and even served on the church board for a while. After listening to me, he paused for a moment, then with a contemplative grin on his face he said, “It’ll be good to hear the gospel, haven’t heard that message in a while.”

My Dad’s shrewd sentiment offers a discerning glimpse at a serious problem in Christendom. You can hardly turn on Christian TV anymore without hearing some preacher ask for more money so they can stay on television and preach the gospel. The problem is, they end up staying on TV, but never actually get around to preaching the gospel. Christian television has ruined too many ministries that started out strong only to get sucked into the vicious cycle of needing to continually raise money to feed the Airtime-Monster.

The modern Pastor has followed a similar pattern, only, it’s the Big-Building-Debt-Bully that’s got him preaching on “giving to God” every other Sunday. You have to wonder if the church is getting together in Jesus’ name anymore or in the name of paying tribute to JPMorgan Chase. It’s not that it’s necessarily wrong for a church to carry debt, but when the burden of that debt is driving the sermon topics something’s gone seriously awry.

So, segments of the Church at large go on in the state of gospelessness, preaching messages, not altogether to meet the people’s needs, but its own. Consider yourself blessed if you hail from an ekklesia that actually aspires to keep your gaze upon Christ Jesus in sincerity. It’s a rarity now-a-days, but they’re out there!

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