“The gospel is not good advice on how to reach up to God; rather, it is a declaration about what God has already done to reach down to us. It is good news about a historical event that changes everything”

Tim Brister continues his review of Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission by Darrin Patrick (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), 238 pp. with Part 2: The Message.

The Apostle Paul, missionary and church planter, is someone practitioners reference in developing missional paradigms, approaches to cultural engagement, and philosophy of ministry. However, what is most significant in Paul’s missionary labors is the message he preached. In fact, he spoke very plainly when he told churches that the gospel of Jesus Christ was “of first importance” (1 Cor. 15:1-4). What matters more than Paul’s method was Paul’s message—the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul was very clear about this and spent much of his letters to church plants explaining the gospel (Romans), defending/confirming the gospel (Galatians), and encouraging believers to remember and remain faithful to the gospel (Philippians).

In the second section of his book, Darrin Patrick focuses on the gospel message with theological precision and practical exposition. This section represents well what the resurgence of gospel centrality looks like among the younger generation of evangelicals, and those looking for a concise yet profound summary of the nature of the gospel will be encouraged by what they find in this book.

Summary
The five chapters can be broken down in two categories: theological exposition and practical implication. What I really appreciate about Patrick’s treatment on the gospel is that he does not shrink back at any point. In his chapter on “The Historical Message,” he makes it very clear that the gospel message is historical, not mythical; objective, not just subjective; and public, not just private. He writes:

“Euangelion is the announcement of what God has done objectively in history, not just the subjective experience of one person. The gospel, then, is fundamentally an announcement: it is not just about who God is or what he might do, but about what God has done in history. The gospel is not good advice on how to reach up to God; rather, it is a declaration about what God has already done to reach down to us. It is good news about a historical event that changes everything” (111)!

In “Salvation-Accomplishing,” Patrick spells out the nature of the atonement, focusing primarily on penal substitution and double imputation. In it, he shows how Jesus died for God—to vindicate His righteousness, and how Jesus died for sinners—to redeem, reconcile, and rescue them from their sin. Laced with Scripture, Patrick ably guides the reader into the depths of the glorious great exchange, addressing such important doctrines as propitiation and expiation while emphasizing how the voluntary death of Jesus was efficacious to save to the uttermost all who believe in His name.

In “Sin-Exposing” Patrick focuses on the nature of wrath and sin—two topics very unpopular in our age of tolerance and relativism. Patrick gets Edwardsian speaking of God’s wrath against rebellious sinners, showing how their essence of sin is independence from God, the latter section addressing the relationship of law and gospel. He explains:

“If there is no challenging of the sinful heart, there is no gospel preaching. If there is no astonishment of the forgiveness of sins, there is no gospel preaching. If there is no joy in Christ’s victory over indwelling sin, there is no gospel preaching” (151).

The practical implications of the gospel are addressed in his chapters “Christ-Centered” and “Idol-Shattering.” The chapter on Christ-centered is an overview of redemptive history with a gospel-centered hermeneutic, as Jesus taught us that everything written was about him. Those familiar with the work of Goldsworthy, Greidanus, and Keller would particularly appreciate Patrick’s emphasis on Christ-centered preaching over and against unbiblical alternatives such as moralism, relativism, activism, and self-helpism.

Not only does Patrick emphasize the necessity of preaching Christ from all of Scripture, he shows how tragic and dangerous the alternatives are–many which exist today in evangelical pulpits.

The most lengthy and unique contribution in this section on the gospel is the chapter on “Idol-Shattering.” Much like the chapter on triperspectival leadership, the subject of idolatry as it relates to the gospel has been discussed rather frequently in recent years, and Patrick has done a great job summarizing what people mean when they speak of idolatry today.

The fingerprints of Tim Keller’s writings can be seen throughout this chapter, and the explanation on surface and source idols (from Dick Keyes and Dick Kauffman) was a very helpful addition, especially since it is not easily accessible in today’s gospel literature. Though I am not particularly a fan of illustrations (as they often break down), I found Patrick’s trampoline illustration on repenting of idols an accurate depiction of what a high view of God and sin does when there is deep repentance and sincere faith regularly operating in gospel renewal and heart transformation.

Conclusion
Those who love the gospel will love the treatment Patrick has given to this all-important subject matter. For the theologians, you may be surprised to see references to the hypostatic union of Jesus and simul justus et peccator with sources such as John Stott, John Calvin, Richard Lovelace, Michael Horton, and Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

But for the practitioners wondering what is the usefulness of a robust understanding of the gospel in ministry, you will discover the essence of biblical preaching as fidelity to the gospel and its sufficiency having inexhaustible implications. In a day where the gospel is watered down, Patrick has kept it unfiltered by human sensibilities.

During a time when gospel explanations are often fuzzy and unclear, Patrick has brought much needed clarity and profundity in our milieu. Of all the things a church planter needs to get right, nothing is more important than the gospel message, and I am grateful to see that indeed, Darrin Patrick gets it right.

Tim Brister (@timmybrister) is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida. He describes himself as a Christian, Husband, Photographer, Cyclist, and Blogger. This review appeared at www.plntd.com, a network whose vision is to cultivate community for church planters and assist churches in the process of becoming church planting churches and is used with their permission.

[Editor’s note: The link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]