Don't Just Preach the Gospel at the End

Every sermon should include the gospel. I agree with Charles Spurgeon, who said, “A sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.”

We can't afford to give moralistic sermons devoid of the gospel. The good news of Jesus needs to be the primary message that we preach and the centerpiece of every sermon.

One way to preach the gospel is to include it at the end. I've done this frequently, and it can work. It works something like this: Preach the text, including the demands of the text. Near the end, explain how we're incapable of following the message of the text apart from the gospel. Show how we need the gospel and all its entailments if we are to have any chance of applying the message of Scripture.

That can be an effective way of preaching the Bible, but perhaps there is a better way. Don't add the gospel to the end of your message. Instead, begin with the gospel and then preach the implications of the gospel.

That seems to be the New Testament pattern. In most of the epistles, the first part of the message, or letter, is an explanation of the gospel. The second part is an application of the truths of the gospel, showing how it changes how we live.

In Ephesians, Paul devotes chapters 1-3 to the gospel's foundations. In chapters 4-6, Paul switches to application, calling Christians to live worthy of this identity through transformed relationships, work, and spiritual battle.

Romans follows the same pattern. In chapters 1-11, Paul unpacks the gospel, and in chapters 12-16 he launches into practical guidance for gospel-shaped lives of love, service, and unity.

This consistent structure reveals the heart of Christian living: not striving for God's approval, but responding to God’s grace. The gospel indicatives comes first. The imperatives come second.

I wonder if that might be a better way for us to preach. Start with the good news of what Jesus has accomplished, then demonstrate how we respond to it. Let the gospel be the foundation, not an afterthought tacked onto the end of the sermon. Show how it transforms every aspect of our lives, making it central to both the message and its application.

As the epistles show, there are endless ways to approach this. The gospel is endlessly rich. The good news of what Jesus has done has so many facets that there's no need for it to become old news. We'll spend eternity exploring its riches, and we'll never tire of it.

I’m not advocating for formulaic or predictable preaching. Our approach must flow from the text and address our congregation’s needs. But ultimately, I want people to walk away saying the gospel wasn’t just tacked on at the end. Instead, it was the foundation of the entire message, clearly explained and powerfully applied to how it transforms our lives.

Spurgeon was right: “A sermon without Christ as its beginning, middle, and end is a mistake in conception and a crime in execution.”

Don't just preach the gospel at the end. Make it the foundation of your entire sermon, and weave it into every part of your sermon.