The Centrality of Christ

Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: (Romans 1:3-4).

One of the speakers at the conference I attended last week challenged the ministers to read, speak, and think more about Christ. In his commentary on Romans 1:3-4, Martyn Lloyd-Jones offers the following observation:

The first point which we have to make is that the gospel is concerning God’s Son. That is the nerve, the heart and the very centre of the gospel. There is no such thing as the Christian gospel, and there is no such thing as Christianity, apart from Him. Christianity, by definition, is Christ Himself….

Now that is what constitutes the whole uniqueness of the Christian gospel. Take any religion that you like; you will generally find a man’s name associated with it; but in none of these can it be said that the particular man is absolutely essential. You have Buddhism, but you can have Buddhism without Buddha. You have Confucianism, but you can have Confucianism without Confucius. It is more or less an accident that a particular man happens to put forward the teaching, but the man himself is not essential to the teaching; what is vital in all these religions is the particular teaching. But here, when you come to the realm of the Christian faith, the whole position is absolutely different. Take away the Person and there is no message at all. There is no teaching. There is nothing. The connection, in other words, between our Lord Himself, as a Person, and Christianity is obviously something which is of central significance [Romans: The Gospel of God (Banner of Truth, 1985): pp. 98-99].

Let us always remember that Christ is at the center of our faith and our life.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Note: Evangel article 6/2/09.