I enjoy watching swimming. Not being much of a swimmer myself, I’m fascinated by how fast and fluid good swimmers are. It appears like an aquatic art form as they splash minimally, move rhythmically, and at the right time grab a breath of air like it’s second nature. One of my favorite things to see good swimmers do is push off of the wall and do a return lap. When they come towards the end and do that flip-sping-thing underwater and then accelerate into the next lap. It’s beautiful. Of course it is not only beautiful it is strategic. Pushing off that wall is an efficient way to turn and it provides a proper push into the next lap.
I have a similar reaction when listening to particularly solid preachers or reading helpful (Christian) writers. In the midst of communicating they seem to effortlessly, but not unintentionally, push of the gospel wall as they steam ahead. It is a beautiful thing.
Some may call it gospel-grammar: we need to have our indicatives (the facts of what Christ did) informing our imperatives (what we must do as Christians). This is the pattern of the New Testament. The Apostles have a gospel reflex. They keep going back to the truth of Christ’s work to inform the priority of our work (consider the commands to husbands and wives in Eph. 5 for example).
You also have the gospel-identity. The fact of what Christ did shapes who we are. Ephesians does this repeatedly. Consider how many times the Apostle shows how we are “in Christ” or “in the beloved” in this book. And this continues throughout the NT. The writers continue to push off the gospel wall to show us that who we are is because of who Christ is and what he has done.
One of the helpful traits of a good preacher is his knack for observation. He could make observations all day (and sometimes talk about these observations all day). But this could also become a bit of a weakness. Sometimes preachers can drill down so low into details that they do not come up to the service to make the connections to the over-arching story of the Scripture. Sure, Ezekiel’s visions are fascinating, but how does it relate to the rest of the Bible? David’s nobility to give Saul a proper funeral in 2 Samuel, especially after Saul hunted him down like a most-wanted terrorist. But how does this apply to the rest of the Bible? How does Habakkuk’s vision of judgment in chapter 2 relate to us today and the world in the future? All of those who communicate biblical truth must be certain to push off the gopsel-wall throughout their messages.
Let us put this art-form of pushing off the gospel-wall on display; not for our glory but for God’s glory and the good of those who hear us. I trust it is beautiful not only in our eyes, but also in God’s—for he loves to do it himself!
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:56-58, ESV)
