FBCH The Way 

August 2018 
 

From the Pastor’s Desk 

 
It's easy to lose your way. 
 
Perhaps you have had that experience. You got lost on a road trip (although it’s hard to 
do that these days with GPS). Perhaps you got lost in a forest. Maybe, you got lost in a 
parking lot trying to find your car. We’ve all been there. 
 
My wife and I recently got lost in California. Most of you know we recently traveled 
there to celebrate our twentieth anniversary. We visited the Redwoods, Yosemite and 
the Giant Sequoias. We visited both the tallest tree in the world (the Hyperion) as well as 
the largest tree in the world (the Sherman). What we did not know (and no one informed 
us) is that we would be traveling to parts of the country that GPS does not yet service. In 
fact, while traveling to Kings Canyon, we relied on preprinted, step-by-step directions, 
only to discover that some of the roads it told us to take have not existed for decades. 
Even Google can’t tell you where to go. Add to the fact that there is absolutely no cell 
phone service in these parts, and let’s just say it is hard to NOT get lost. You need a map, 
and a very detailed map at that. 
 
It’s one thing to lose your way physically, but it’s another thing to lose your way 
spiritually. We must never lose our way when it comes to the gospel. I stated last Sunday 
that one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is, “What is the gospel?” 
We must be ready at all times to answer that question. We must teach our children and 
youth to answer it as well. In fact, if you want to know, parents, how you are doing 
disciplining your children, ask them that question today and see how well they answer 
it. 
 
The word “gospel”, or euangelion, means “good news.” It was a common word in the first 
century, referring to any announcement of good news that might be broadcast to the 
people. A military victory over its foes would be the best example of a euangelion. Jesus 
used the word when He told the disciples “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to 
the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15) Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” (Romans 
1:16a) To the Corinthians he added, “…and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 
Corinthians 9:16b) 
 
Simply put, the gospel is the announcement that Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth, 
was born of a virgin and lived a perfect sinless life. He knew no sin, but He died for sin. 
He then conquered death when He rose from the grave. It is therefore through the 
finished work of Christ that we can be reconciled to God, forgiven of sin and have 
eternal life. This does not happen on basis of works, performance or anything we have 
done, but by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. The gospel is the promise 
that God will hear and receive whosoever repents by calling upon Jesus as Lord and that 
no one who comes to Him will be cast out. The gospel is God’s guarantee that if any man 
is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and all things have 
become new. The gospel is not moral reformation. Its message is not “Do better” or “Try 
harder.” The gospel is the power of living Christ in you, enabling you to become who you 
could never be and to do what you could never do. The gospel says there is ONE remedy 
for sin (the shed blood of Christ) and there is ONE remedy for death (the resurrection of 
Jesus Christ). 
 
The gospel is simple. And yet, how often do people, including teachers and preachers, 
lose their way. In my opinion, there are three common ways in which the gospel is “lost” 
in many churches. First, the gospel is lost when we minimize the problem of sin or fail 
to emphasize the condition of man. We must hear the bad news about ourselves before 
we can hear the good news about Christ. And the bad news is that our sin has separated 
us from God. “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a) Furthermore, sin has left us 
spiritually dead. We lack both the desire and ability to please God. Ephesians 2:1-2a says, 
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked 
according to the ways of this world.” There is nothing we can do to erase our sin or 
purchase our salvation. 
 
The sin problem is essential to understanding the gospel because every other theological 
system outside of the gospel is based on human achievement to reach God. This is not a 
possibility. And yet, there are so many who would omit talking about sin altogether. If 
we would be faithful to the gospel, this is not an option. 
 
The gospel is also lost when we omit the lordship of Jesus Christ. That Jesus is Lord is 
central to the gospel. Peter proclaimed this truth when he said, “Therefore let all the 
house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, 
both Lord and Messiah!” (Acts 2:36) Acknowledging this is at the heart of what it means 
to be saved. Romans 10:9 states, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and 
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” And yet, so 
often I hear gospel presentations, or I will read a tract that practically overlooks the 
lordship of Christ. Let me be clear: If you present the gospel and do not convey that Jesus 
is Lord, it is not the gospel you have shared. Jesus is Lord and to confess Him as Lord is to 
surrender our lives to Him. This does not mean that we become perfectly free from sin. 
But it does mean that there is a change of ownership whereby our lives are no longer our 
own, but they belong to Christ. 
 
The gospel is also lost when we omit repentance. To repent literally means “to turn.” We 
turn away from our sin as we turn to Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life. Jesus told the 
disciples that “repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all 
the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Notice that “repentance for forgiveness” is the 
message we are to preach. Some will ask, “Does this make repentance a work whereby 
we gain salvation?” No. Repentance is the abdication of works as a means of gaining 
salvation. It involves acknowledging that we are unable to save ourselves by any kind of 
work. 
 
I would like to recommend that when we share the gospel, we stick with the terminology 
of Scripture. Sometimes, we develop the habit of creating our own vocabulary when 
sharing the gospel. We speak of “accepting Christ” and “inviting Jesus into your heart.” I 
have no doubt that many of you were genuinely saved upon calling out to God using 
these very words. And yet, we cannot improve upon the Bible! The Bible speaks of 
believing (which, in the Greek, means trusting) in Christ. The Bible speaks of confessing 
Jesus as Lord. The Bible speaks of repenting. What words shall we invent that would 
improve upon what God has said? When we substitute modern terminology for biblical 
language, we run the risk that the gospel will be lost in the process. No, I am not saying 
that the only words we can use are ones explicitly mentioned in Scripture. Eternal life is 
called a gift, and whereas a gift must be accepted, I will sometimes (in that context) 
refer to “accepting Christ.” I am saying, however, that when we have gospel 
conversations, we must explain the gospel in such a way that we are faithful to what the 
Word of God says. Use whatever words you need to use to explain the gospel to the 
person in front of you! Make sure it is the gospel, in fact, that you are sharing. Don’t 
omit sin or the lordship of Christ or repentance. Don’t lose your way when it comes to 
the gospel. 
 
On another note, Saturday, August 11 is a day we have been looking forward to for some 
time. We will be celebrating beach baptism at Bayfront Park. A number of you who need 
to be baptized have taken the class and you are ready to go. Others of you know now is 
the time to take the baptism class. There is still time. But I want to encourage EVERYONE 
to plan on being a part of this special service. We will start at 8:00 am with coffee, 
drinks, and breakfast. We will hear testimonies from those being baptized. Then we will 
baptize them. We will take special photos and prepare a video of the event. My oldest son 
Jesse was baptized at Bayfront a couple of years ago and my youngest son, Levi, will be 
baptized this time. 
 
Also, with each passing day, we get closer to the grand opening of our new building. The 
bathrooms have tiles and the carpet will soon be installed. The main thing at this point is 
the elevator. I am not going to make any promises, but I believe it will be very soon. 
Please continue to be faithful in your giving. 
 
One final thing. We will be starting a new ministry in the month of August. August 
marks the beginning of our ministry at Homestead Correctional Institute, the local 
women’s prison. We will be ministering on the third and fourth Wednesday mornings of 
every month. If you have attended the prison training and would like to join, please let 
us know. Keep in mind, we still have a tremendous need for volunteers at the men’s 
prison on Sunday mornings. Please pray about being a part of this ministry as well. 
 
As always, thank you for the privilege of being your pastor, 
Pastor Howard