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SPC In Focus – A Biblical Foundation
By Alan Hager
We do a lot of activities and promote a lot of ministries here at SPC, but underlying all of them is the solid founda-tion we have in the Bible. SPC has been a Bible-based church throughout its history. Of course this is a good thing and an emphasis that should be maintained. But what does it really mean to be a Bible-based church? I believe it begins with a conviction that the Bible is the Word of God and contains God’s revelation of His plan for all of life.
This conviction or confidence in the power and rele-vance of God’s Word shapes and informs the various ac-tivities we share together as a church. For instance, the Bible is the guide that directs our weekly worship services. We experience God and grow in our covenant relationship with Him according to His truth revealed in the Bible. We sing the scriptures, pray as we are taught in the scriptures, teach and preach the gospel according to the scriptures, and decide what should and should not be done in worship based on the scriptures. This is a practical application of what it means to have a Biblical foundation.
In addition to worship, our programs and ministries are shaped and directed by the Bible. We select particular mission groups with which to partner based on a shared conviction in the authority of the Bible. We structure a comprehensive educational plan for all ages based on the Bible. We handle the stewardship of the church’s re-sources according to the teachings of scripture. We gov-ern our life together including selecting leaders, setting priorities, and making decisions in light of the Bible’s message. This, too, is what it means to have a Biblical foundation.
As important as these factors are, there is another com-ponent of what it means to be a Bible-based congregation. That is, we reflect the mission and focus of God Himself. Our Biblical foundation means that we are centered on God’s grace in Jesus Christ. This can be called a Christ-centered or a gospel-centered approach to the Bible. It lifts up the truth that the Bible first and foremost is about God’s salvation that culminates in the person and work of Jesus Christ. All that we teach as a church and all the dif-ferent ways we seek to apply the Bible (mentioned above) have to keep this perspective in mind.
Another way to think of this gospel focused approach to the Bible is to think of how we try to live out the teach-ings of the Bible. If you find yourself at anytime trying to do what the Bible says apart from the transforming power of Jesus Christ (the gospel), then you are not really being true to the Bible. (You are also in for a big challenge as this is never the way God intended you to follow His Word.)
I think it is safe to say that a number of individuals and a number of churches in our day are trying to take the Bi-ble seriously but, nonetheless, are not being Biblical in their approach. The popular claim to have "practical" or "relevant" teachings form the Bible can be a sign of peo-ple trying to apply the Bible’s principles without the power of the Bible’s central character- Jesus Christ. So yes, we are a Bible-based church, but we also mean by that a church that is growing in the grace of God given to us in Jesus Christ.
We are blessed with the biblical foundation provided to us through the godly legacy of those who have gone before us at SPC. Let us pray that we can be faithful to that legacy and build our church on the foundation of God’s Word.
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