Gospel

Post-Synod 2026 Reflection #1

Well, it’s over.

Synod 2026 has come and gone.

But the effects remain. Important effects.

So, over the next few weeks, my goal is to briefly talk about some of the issues that the delegates discussed and the decisions they made. Some of these issues and decisions could (and probably will) lead to my writing longer articles in the future, but it might be helpful for members of the CRC (and those others who lurk in these little corners) to have some brief comments from someone who was a delegate to Synod 2026 and who can put these issues into a broader perspective.

Gospel-Centered

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” - Romans 1:16

Any description of Synod 2026’s decisions would be incomplete without recognizing the delegates concern for the CRC’s witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether Synod 2026 was discussing the 10-year strategic plan for chuch plantings, the requirements of church membership, the appointment of a new seminary professor or of a new Banner editor, or our relationship with the World Council of Reformed Churches, many delegates spoke to this concern. This concern was shared by others as well. Tim Blackmon and Chad Steenwyk voiced this concern in their sermons and Zach King and Tim Sheridan addressed it as well in their addresses. The 2026 delegates - like CRC members, generally - want the gospel to go forth and change lives. This much was clear.

Gospel Confusion

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” - Eph. 2:8-10

Despite this shared concern for faithful gospel witness, it seemed to me that there was still a lack of clarity around how to best explain the gospel. This is not to say that some delegates believed the gospel whereas others didn’t. I suspect that the differences were more ones of emphasis than of substance. But these differences of emphasis still matter, because they have the potential to create distinct ways of life, ways of life leading in very different directions.

Perhaps the best way to describe the differences that I noticed can be captured by distinguishing between those who want to emphasize “the Gospel of the Kingdom” and those who want to emphasize “the Gospel of Forgiveness.” Again, by putting it this way, I am not suggesting that those who emphasize “the Gospel of the Kingdom” more than “the Gospel of Forgivness” or vice versa are preaching a different gospel. Instead, both the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of Forgivness are different aspects of the one Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of the Kingdom is the good news that, in Jesus Christ, God has acted to reestablish His rule over all creation. All the powers and principalities that harrass and oppress God’s people have been, are, and will be overcome in Jesus Christ. The task of discipleship (including evangelism), then, is to help people become faithful citizens of this kingdom.

At this years synod, the 10-year church planting plan from Resonate Global Mission clearly staked out this ground. When describing the gospel, the Resonate report says that the gospel is “the good news that God is acting to bring the kingdom of God into the midst of history” (Acts 2026, p. 515). It later defines ‘the kingdom of God’ as God’s redeeming work to bring about “the renewal of all things and all of life from the power and effects of sin.” The call, then, is for this gospel “to be embodied” in the church so that, through discipleship, “this good news [may] saturate every community and every crack and crevice of society” (Acts 2026. p. 516).

On the positive side, this gospel of the Kingdom is clearly biblical. Christ’s conquest of the principalities and powers and his triumphant resurrection from the dead means that the church is now tasked with proclaiming the good news that “Jesus is Lord” (Rom. 10:9), that “all authority in heaven and on earth belongs [to him]” (Matt. 28:18), and that He shall reign forever and ever (Rev. 11:15). Furthermore, individual Christians in the their various spheres of influence are to bear witness to this good news of the Kingdom by waging spiritual warfare against the spiritual powers opposed to Christ and His Word (cf., Eph 6).

On the negative side, however, overemphasis on this Gospel of the Kingdom risks transforming the one gospel of Jesus Christ from being a glorious announcement of what Christ has accomplished for us into a social program which we strive to accomplish for him. In other words, overemphasis on the ‘Kingdom-theme’ of the gospel can blur and collapse the one ‘gospel’ into ‘law.’ When that happens, the church makes the mistake of saying that a person’s salvation dependends on the degree to which they 'get with the progam’ or, in the case of covenant children, ‘stay with the program.’ At that point, this ‘gospel’ becomes an ‘anti-gospel,’ regardless of how pious it sounds.

Distinct from the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Gospel of Forgiveness proclaims the good news that God promises forgiveness of sins and an assurance of eternal life to all who place their confidence in Christ’s saving work on the cross. A classic example of this emphasis is found in Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 84. According to this Q/A, the Kingdom of God is opened to all who embrace in true faith God’s gospel promise. And this is God’s gospel promise: “to grant us forgiveness of sins and eternal life by grace because of Christ’s one sacrifice accomplished on the cross” (HC, Q/A 66).

Now, this aspect of the gospel is also clearly biblical. Christ teaches that the purpose for which he came was to give his life as a ransom for many (Mk. 10:45), to lay down his life for His sheep (Jn. 10:14), to be that lamb of God by which the shame of sin is removed and by which the demands of divine justice are satisfied (Jn. 1:29; 1 Jn. 2:2; 1 Pet. 2:23-25; Rev. 5:9-10). Furthermore, the Apostle Paul directly links God’s conquest of the spiritual powers and principalities (i.e., the establishment of His Kingdom) with the forgiveness of sins that Christ has achieved by His death on the cross (Col. 2:13-15).

The danger, of course, is that preaching this dimension of the Gospel message to the exclusion of the other can lead to believers who forget that God’s election and calling are for a purpose, namely, so that we might walk in the good works that God has prepared in advance for us to walk in. Put another way, believers can fail to realize that, by His sovereign grace, God has called them to play a part in a story that is far grander and far greater than they could ever hope, think, or imagine; a part that begins with the prayer: “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”

Conclusion: Like An Apple of Gold In A Setting of Silver

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!…Repent [therefore] and be baptized every one of you for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” - Acts 2:36, 38

The truth of the matter is that both ways of describing the gospel are necessary, but neither alone is sufficient. We need both. The Gospel of the Kingdom without the Gospel of Forgiveness teaters on the edge of confusing law and gospel, sanctification and justification. When it does that, it becomes an anti-gospel. The Gospel of Forgiveness, however, without the Gospel of the Kingdom fails to speak rightly about the true breadth and depths of God’s redemptive purposes.

How, then, should we relate these two aspects of the one gospel? My suggestion is to take inspiration from Proverbs 25:11. According to this proverb, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” It seems to me that the gospel fitly spoken functions in the same way. Based on my reading of Scripture and reflection on our confessions, the Gospel of the Kingdom is the silver frame within which sits the golden apple of the Gospel of Forgiveness. As a church, we are called to proclaim boldly the Gospel of the Kingdom. Yet, this is ultimately only good news, because the King of the Kingdom is the One who has suffered and died so that we might be reconciled to the God to whom the Kingdom belongs.

Following Synod 2026, let us pray and work to the end that the CRC becomes better at proclaiming the fullness of this one glorious gospel of grace.