The Gospel of Sin Management with Joseph Lewis

“The gospel of sin management” is a phrase that was coined by Dallas Willard. For Joseph Lewis, that phrase perfectly encapsulates the way many people make being a Christian primarily about avoiding sin and following a set of rules. In this thought-provoking episode, Wes McAdams and Joseph Lewis expose the problems with reducing Christianity to mere moralism. They discuss how an obsessive focus on not sinning can paradoxically make us more likely to sin, as well as undermine the true meaning of the gospel.

Drawing from biblical passages like John 5 and Galatians 5, the discussion explores the core of what the gospel really is – not a rigid system of dos and don’ts, but the amazing news of God’s grace, mercy, and transformative work in our lives through Jesus Christ. The conversation illuminates how the gospel reorients our entire lives around Christ rather than reducing faith to mere behavior modification. It examines the importance of focusing on Jesus rather than dwelling on a checklist of sins to avoid.

The guest for this episode is Joseph Lewis, an evangelist at the Flower Mound Church of Christ. Joseph is known for his rich theological insights and his passion for helping believers develop an authentic, Christ-centered faith. With wisdom and personal examples, Joseph unpacks the life-giving power of the true gospel as opposed to the hollow, powerless “gospel of sin management.”

Links and Resources

• Watch This Episode on YouTube
• “The Gospel of Sin Management” (Sermon by Joseph Lewis)
• Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
• Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church by Kenda Creasy Dean

Transcript (Credit: Beth Tabor)

Welcome to the Radically Christian Bible Study podcast. I’m your host, Wes McAdams. Here we have one goal: Learn to love like Jesus. Today we’re going to talk about the false gospel of sin management. Why is the gospel not just mere