Rediscovering The Gospel
29 Jan
The “gospel” of Jesus. What is it?
Most of the time when we think of the gospel we think of something to this effect: Jesus died on the cross for your sins so that you can go to heaven after you die. This is pretty standard fare. Of course their are variations that include statements about the resurrection, the bridge to God, etc. But they all basically come down to “Jesus died so that you can live in heaven.”
I think that’s a pretty lame gospel.
There are a few reasons I feel this way. First, it’s selfish. It becomes this weird appeal of “Hey, so do you want to go to heaven? Great, I thought so. All you have to do is believe in Jesus!” What? Since when did this become the gospel? Second, Jesus didn’t seem to preach it. You just don’t see him going around to people saying, “Hey everyone, hope on the J train! We’re heaven bound!” Third, it doesn’t have much to do with the here and now. In fact it tends to lend itself to a sort escapism, where the thinking goes something like this. Well the world is headed to Hell in a handbasket, there’s really not much we can do except spread the word that Jesus is the way out.
As I read the gospels I just don’t see this being the good news Jesus preached.
Instead I see him talking about this mysterious thing that he called “the gospel of the Kingdom of God.” This kingdom was like the reality of God coming down and touching earth. He said this kingdom isn’t “of this world”, meaning it doesn’t come from the systems and ways of men (which tend to get twisted and evil) but instead comes from God. Maybe like the dream of God for this world: what he meant this world to be, full of love. So Jesus heals sick people, opens blind eyes, fills the hungry, and respects women. He tells us to love God, love each other, and even love our enemies. He says that we should pray to God and give to the poor. And all the while he is telling stories and dropping hints that he is modeling the kingdom of God for us. Then one day he prays the most beautiful prayer, and this is one of the things he says, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
I believe that is the gospel. Heaven is coming to earth.
Now that is freakin good news.
If you want more info on the kingdom of God check out this video.
Wow. This is incredible. It’s interesting to see how something so fundamental can be overlooked so easily. To think a prayer uttered daily is never seen for what it truly is. I see myself a victim of this tainted perception of the gospel as well. This is the first time I’ve ever looked at in this light. Amazing. Simply amazing.
I’m so glad this was helpful Charles
Great post brutha. I Loved it. Also really enjoyed the Mclaren clip. Your a really great communicator…have you ever thought about being in ministry?
peace out. SPH
The Gospel is so many things, it seems a little weird to pare it down.
The Gospel is good news, just as a cure for cancer is good news for those afflicted by the disease. On the cross, Jesus put an end to the sin of His children, reconciled them to the Father, and secured their salvation. Where once we were characterized by sin and death, now we hope in the resurrection and eternal life, all for the praise of His glory.
If somebody thinks this is lame, the reason is simple. They left off the last seven words of the previous sentence: “all for the praise of His glory.”
The Gospel WOULD be lame if all it stated was that God is the means to human salvation. This stops short of God’s ultimate purpose in creating the universe in the first place.
Nobody says that God’s ultimate purpose is to save sinners. Rather, God’s ultimate purpose is to display His glory BY saving sinners. Heaven is not the end, but heaven is the means to the end.
On the kingdom of God:
A kingdom is the place where a king reigns. Profound, eh?!!
But this little observation implies that when Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world, He meant his rulership is in the hearts and minds of his people, unbound by any geopolitical border. His rulership is in the heavenlies and the throneroom of God. All the angels and all His children do His bidding, though Greece and Rome and the U.S.A. may not.
Yes, the kingdom of God is coming. But this may be a terrible, horrifying thing for alot of people, as most folks prefer their own sin to the rulership of Jesus in their lives. Because of this, the first message Jesus ever preached was in the style of John the Baptist: “The kingdom is at hand. Therefore, REPENT!” In this case, the gospel becomes an ultimatum. Which it totally is.
Hmmm….my first reply to a blog…ever. The word “blog” is uncomfortable…why do they call it that….sounds like a dirty monster.
In addition, you have some pretty high level intellectuals replying on this site…a bit intimidating. Not sure I can keep up with the high brow-ness of it all!
That being said, here I go. When we one speaks of “…what Jesus meant by this scripture is…(fill in the blank).”, or “…what Paul was implying here is…(fill in the blank)’, I want to SO believe the writer/speaker as having THE insight…like he/she just got a fax from heaven….or just got a confirmation in their text inbox… Frankly, I am repulsed by my history of laziness in this area. It is so easy to be ‘told’ what it all means. Recently, I am finding it ain’t that easy. Maybe being 46 has something to do with it. I think that historically I have feared being accused of being ‘luke warm’, ‘….lost’, ‘…insecure in the TRUTH’, ‘…cheapening the Gospel’, whatever. Not so much now. Actually, I think I am becoming more comfortable in my of my willingness to bend. Listen. See. Expand my incredibly narrow view of God.
God is love. (I can’t believe I just said that….Is Joan Baez in the house?…I am making myself sick). It seems that he wants us to love….all else is a clanging gong. The focus seems like it should be on doing it…loving….not so much on ‘in who’s name we are doing it’. Otherwise we are prone to performing in the King court vs. being the King in his village.
Not sure any of this is relevant. Remember, it is my first post, EVER. Blog virgin if you will. All this ‘love talk’ makes me want to smoke pot.
Love you Brett…thanks for making me think.
To Rex: Welcome Blog virgin. You are amongst friends! Also in Lord of the Rings there is that hideous monster call “Balrog”. Balrog, Blog…pretty close. You remember the scene right? “you shall not pass!!!!!” All that aside that for sharing your heart.
Brett, Sorry! If I have hijacked the direction of this post you can delete me!
Oh, Kyle. You silly Calvinist, you.