The Transformation of Culture? - Answers for Church Members - October 16

Is The Main Point of the Gospel the Transformation of Culture?

Absolutely not. The main point of the gospel is the forgiveness of sins through the death of Christ (Luke 24:47). 

One promise of God that is bound up with the gospel is that one day God will graciously re-create a new earth in which his people will dwell with him in perfect harmony (Romans 1:18-25; Revelation 21 . So, one day there will be a totally transformed culture, composed entirely of God’s perfected people dwelling in a new earth.

Yet it’s best to view this ultimate consummation of God’s saving purposes as an implication or entailment of the gospel, since the promise that “God is going to create a new heaven and new earth” is never immediately in view any time the New Testament uses the word “gospel.”

Therefore, even though the gospel will, by God’s grace, have some impact on a society in which many become Christians, the gospel itself is not primarily a message about social transformation. It’s about the work of Christ in sacrificially dying and rising again to reconcile a people to God.

For more great resources from Mark Dever and 9Marks Ministries, visit www.9marks.org