Section 1 – What is
the Gospel?
I grew up in church.
I was a preacher’s kid and while I had my moments of rebellion, for the
most part, I have never known my life without God in it. My father had the true privilege of
speaking in many churches outside of ours and I got to rub shoulders with
preachers my whole life. I can remember
countless conversations around our dinner table between my father and other
preachers about theology, the church, the text, and how we should act in order
to reach the world for Jesus. As a pastor for nearly 20 years now, I continue
to not only hear those same conversations, but I am now a part of the dialogue.
I say all that to say this – I have a fairly large frame of
reference for what I am about to say next. I believe that when the modern
church says that we need to share the “Gospel,” it means that we need to tell
someone how to “get saved.” We
frame it all kinds of ways. But in
modern Christian vernacular, “Gospel” means “salvation message.”
Tandem to this conversation, there is always another
conversation that takes place. In
the church where I grew up, it started something like this: “Don’t leave them
dripping wet at the baptistery…” And this conversation was always about the
reality that the Gospel promises power for living, but not many were
experiencing that power. And
preachers would passionately espouse the reality that while Christians talk
about the power of Jesus they don’t experience it much in their lives and in
truth, the world sees that and is repelled by it.
“The church is full of hypocrites.” I would hear this
statement from the pulpit as the #1 problem that the world has with the church.
If it wasn’t #1, it was at least near the top of the list. So, I grew up
feeling like the world was out to get me and that if I were ever going to truly
live for God, love Jesus, and fulfill His mission, I needed to adopt this
almost militant posture. It was
“us against the world” and the world was actively looking to subvert any effort
the church would make to reach people with this salvation message.
Stepping out into the world of paid vocational ministry for
myself simply didn’t bear this out.
The world wasn’t angry at the church. Oh, don’t get me wrong; there are those who would get no
greater joy than to see the church die.
But honestly, those represent a very small percentage of people that I
would encounter in the communities in which I lived. Quite frankly, the people that I ran into didn’t think about
the church much at all – good or bad.
The church is an irrelevant side note to the day-to-day functioning of
any community. It is good for some people, but “whatever.”
I believe with everything in me that as I explore the root
of the church’s irrelevancy in today’s culture, the answer does not lay in
contemporary music or hymns. The
answer is not about preaching style or children’s ministry. And the answer is certainly not in the
location of the church building.
The church needs a more accurate definition of the Gospel.
Please… before you
brand me a heretic and string me up, hear me all the way out.
A simple cursory overview of the use of the Greek word we
use to translate Gospel might start to shed some light on the subject. As we all know, the word used for
“Gospel” is the Greek word “euangelion.”
It means “good news” and is often translated as such in various versions
of the Bible. It is not a uniquely
Christian or even a religious term. Many of the Caesars sent out “euangelion”
(messengers) with the good news of a new reign from Rome. Zeus was referred to as the “Giver of
good news.” This was also a “euangelion.”
It had a broad use for any bringer of good news or the good news message
itself. One thing we might note at
this point is that the term “angel” is also contained within this word. But that is another book for another
time.
To the first hearers of this message, the idea that good
news is tied to the Kingdom of God was absolutely revolutionary. Part of our struggle in understanding
what the Gospel is, is that we forget that this message was written by and
given to real people in a real time at a real place. There is a story behind the story. Understanding that “alongside” story or the “meta-narrative”
will go a long way in shedding some light on the gospel and its meaning.
Jesus was born during the Pax Romana – the 200-year window
of peace within the Roman empire. Rome was and is to this day the most
successful empire in the world at maintaining peace amongst the nations that
they conquered. To put this into
perspective, The United States is 236 years old. How many wars have we endured in roughly the same time
span? The idea that they had no
wars for 200 years is amazing! And this was Rome’s message. The Caesar brings peace to the
world! And it is by the power of
his mighty right hand that Caesar does this.
When Julius Caesar died, his son Octavian took the throne. Octavian sent out heralds (euangelion –
the same word we use for “Gospel”) with the message that a new star had
appeared in the sky and this was his father Julius Caesar. The star was there because Julius
Caesar had become a God. This made
Octavian, who changed his name to Caesar Augustus, the son of a god and so the
message went out that the son of god is now on the throne. They said that the Prince of Peace had
come. They also said that the mighty one who rules with his right hand is now
on the throne in Rome. This was
Caesar’s “Gospel.” His “Good News”
was that the son of god has come to bring peace and he rules by power and might
and no one can oppose him. Anyone
who tries will be crushed.
Meanwhile, Jesus is born in a small corner of the world. The
Son of God has come to bring peace.
But He doesn’t bring peace by the power of His mighty right hand. He doesn’t control or demand or tax
people. He invites people to
return to the intent of their created design. And it is in letting go of the things that interfere with
that expression of us that we begin to truly experience freedom and peace. God’s agenda is always to maximize our
created potential. The good news –
our Gospel – is that through Jesus Christ, we can realize that potential
without fear or anxiety. There is
a Son of God. There is peace. And there is a ruler on a throne. But He is not
in Rome.
Matthew
4:23 New International Version
1984 (NIV1984)
Jesus went
throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the
kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Matthew
9:35 New International Version
1984 (NIV1984)
Jesus went
through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the
good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
Mark
1:14-15 New
International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
After John
was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom
of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Luke
4:42-43 New
International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
At daybreak
Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when
they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must preach the good news of
the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”
Luke
8:1 New International Version
1984 (NIV1984)
After this,
Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good
news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,
Luke
16:16 New
International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
The Law and
the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the
kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
Acts
8:12 New International Version
1984 (NIV1984)
But when
they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the
name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
I want to make a few observations at this point. When the “good news” is followed by
“of…,” it is always either the good news of the Kingdom of God (or heaven in
Matthew), or it is the good news of Jesus. It is never the good news of salvation – ever.
Second, there are times where the term “good news” or
“gospel” is used with out the phrase Kingdom of God attached to it. But those usages must have the same
connotation as when the phrase Kingdom of God is attached to it. Context and proper hermeneutics demands
that. And Paul emphasizes that idea when he says that if anyone (even an angel)
comes preaching another Gospel, let them be eternally condemned. They had one
Gospel. That Gospel was the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
A couple things to consider here – first, you may be
thinking, “sure, I agree with that. What is the big deal?” The big deal is that Jesus didn’t come
as a man to “save” us alone. He
came to show us what it looks like to live on this earth in a way that is
properly ordered and aligned with God’s agenda. The Gospel is not about saying yes and “getting in.” It is about being a part of a certain
kind of culture that is created by people living out Kingdom principles. Discipleship then becomes unpacking and
applying these Kingdom principles.
That takes time, relationship, and investment. Discipleship has never
been and will never be teaching some nifty concept that I can pack away and
never apply or use.
Second, you may be thinking that this doesn’t change the
Gospel as a salvation message. If
you are thinking this, then you have missed what the Scriptures teach about the
Kingdom. And more importantly, what they don’t teach about the Kingdom.
Let me try to help put our minds around what I am
saying. This is a hard thing to
do, because metaphors fall apart quickly when it comes to the Kingdom of God.
Any attempt to show the relationship between salvation and the Kingdom makes
the Kingdom take up physical space and that is tough (more on that in section
2). The Kingdom is not a space or
a place we go into or out of. The
Kingdom is a way of engaging the world.
It is a new, deeper, more true reality bursting forth right in the midst
of this one. As Dwight Pryor says,
it is a power at work within our midst.
Salvation then becomes the criteria by which we engage this new reality.
If the Kingdom were a large castle, salvation lowers the
drawbridge. If the Kingdom were a
freeway, salvation is the on ramp.
But again, I don’t like stationary metaphors. So, straight and to the point, if the “good news” is that
the Kingdom of God is bursting forth right in the midst of us, then salvation
is the decision to engage that reality with all our heart, with all our soul,
and with all our strength.
The “Gospel” or “Good News” is that through Jesus Christ, we
have the ability to live in His Kingdom now. Not “some glad morning when this life is over.” We have access through Jesus Christ to
the Kingdom of God right now.
The implication is that we are not waiting for the action to
start some day far off. God is
working right now and He is moving His Kingdom forward. And He is looking for partners. In the second section of this book I
will pull apart what the Kingdom is, but for now, we must realize that the
action is not somewhere else at some other time. God is here and now, fully present working and moving all
around us all the time and He has given us a chance to be a part of His
working. At its core, this is the
Kingdom. Salvation simply gives us
access to what the “good news” is really all about.
The Kingdom message is a really big deal. Jesus was ultimately crucified because
they said He claimed to be a king. Jesus told 38 parables that we have
recorded. Of those, 20 of them
directly say, “the Kingdom of God (or heaven) is like…”
From the beginning of the Gospels, the Kingdom becomes the
central message of Scripture:
John the Baptist’s message:
Matthew
3:1-2 New
International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
In those
days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is near.”
Right after the
temptation of Jesus, He starts His preaching ministry. The Kingdom was His message.
Matthew
4:17 New International Version
1984 (NIV1984)
From that
time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Jesus sends out the 12 apostles in Matthew 10. He gives them specific instructions and
tells them what to preach and what to do:
Matthew
10:7 New International Version
1984 (NIV1984)
As you go,
preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’
In Luke 10, Jesus sends out the 72 disciples. He tells them what to do and what to
preach.
Luke
10:9 New International Version
1984 (NIV1984)
Heal the
sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’
After Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, he had 40 days
with His guys to give them any last parting thoughts they needed. What did He talk to them about?
Acts
1:3 New International Version
1984 (NIV1984)
After his
suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that
he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about
the kingdom of God.
After Jesus ascended and the disciples are scattered from the
Jerusalem persecution, they went everywhere preaching and teaching. What was their message?
Acts
8:12 New International Version
1984 (NIV1984)
But when
they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the
name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
What we have to realize is that the “Gospel” is not a
salvation message. Oh, salvation
is contained in the message, but the Gospel message is an invitation to live
within a new context. It cries out to us to let go of false realities and live
in alignment with God’s ordering of the universe. It invites us to trust the story God is telling with our
lives and within our context. And it also invites us to not only trust that
story, but to engage it – to give our whole energy to God’s agenda for every
moment. To reduce that message to
simply “how to ask Jesus into your heart” misses the very core of what a relationship
with Him looks like entirely.
It also has a secondary consequence. In the minds of many Christians, once I
say yes to Jesus, there is this sort of “holding on ‘til the end” mentality.
You can hear it said in lots of different ways. “Life is hard, hold on until heaven.” It is almost as if once you say yes to
Jesus, life becomes a war zone and you had peace before, but now it is nasty
living in this world that is on the verge of hell at any moment.
If that is the case, then I don’t want to be a Christian
right now. I want to wait until I
am a little closer to death so that the war is not as long. There is no advantage to being a
Christian today. Life sucks then
we die and get our “paycheck.” I
would strongly contend that if you are waiting for heaven like the paycheck at
the end of your life, you have missed the point entirely.
The invitation of the Gospel is an invitation to peace not
to war. It is an invitation to
hope and wholeness and healing and freedom. The idea that the Gospel is about walking into a war zone
and trials and temptations is a popular notion, but it just doesn’t square with
the text.
I am not naïve. I know that there are lots of temptations
and trials to be had. But the
Gospel is an invitation to trust God’s story and the goodness in it. Then fighting temptation is not a
matter of exercising my will over it as Colossians 2:20-23 talks about. It is a realization that once I really
wrestle with how good God is and how much He loves me and has a good story to
tell in my life, why would I want anything else? Temptations truly become second-rate knocks offs of the real
thing. They are not equal but
opposite attractions. As Paul says, they are not even worth comparing with the
glory that will be revealed in us (Rm. 8:18).
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