Is Our Gospel Too Small?
I find having a conversation with many brothers and sisters in Christ about the topic of the Gospel too boring! I know! I know! I am being a little harsh by making such a blanket statement. But lets' be honest for minute. Have you ever had one of those conversations with a precious brother or sister in Christ and just felt like your conversation with them was little more than frivolous dribble. Again, I know I am being harsh. I first recognize that I have been one of the soul contributors to this "dribble." Recently, I have been thinking deeply about the nature and extent of the Gospel and how it relates to everyday living for the average Harry and Mary. I don't know about you, but there has to be more than some of the modern reflections of the Gospel that is displayed in the church. All to often we become one dimensional in our understanding of the Gospel. Paul tells his Corinthian brothers and sisters that everything he does, he does "for the sake of the Gospel." In the opening words of his first letter to the Thessalonians, he tells them that the nature of his letter to them is rooted in God's entrusting him with the Gospel. Do we have this ame sense of urgency with the Gospel? Have we thought out all the practical implications of the Gospel for the world we live in?
The Gospel as Redeeming Man's Soul
Let's take a moment and think about some of the practical extensions of the Gospel. First and foremost, the Gospel is the good news of the God's provision for sinful man. In other words, we must never forget that the Gospel is primarily the redemptive story of Jesus coming and dying to rescue mankind from the shackles of sin and death. Our pastor noted this past Sunday that if Adam and Eve fell while living in the garden, how much more are we fallen now that we have been expelled from the Garden? Quite a sobering thought! What glorious good news we find in the Gospel. Helpless mankind finds peace and rest outside of himself in the loving arms of Jesus. For the glory of God, this is the most fundamental purpose of the Gospel. All other extensions of the Gospel should lead one back to this amazing truth.
The Gospel as Reconciliation and Rational in Culture/Society
If indeed the Gospel stands as the core of revealed Truth, then it must also speak to all of creation. God has created all that we know and see. He is the great creative force behind all of creation. He upholds all of creation by his righteous right hand. If these are true (and they are), we must see the Gospel as a source of reconciliation and reason with in culture. God desires to redeem culture so long as we live in this day. Culture is reeling from the effects of hopelessness, anger, death and evil. This is simply amazing to me in light of the fact that society has gotten its wish. For the most part, God has been eradicated from the public square. Society has freed itself from the shackles of "religious terrony" as they call it. But there is a problem. With all of its advancements and enlightenments, no one seems to know how to explain the pervading sense of hopelessness in our culture nor explain the presence of evil. Human advancement through rational thinking should have produced a "utopian" type of culture by now. That has not happened. Why? Because we have abandoned reason at its core. Christians extend the Gospel to an unregenerate culture by means of being a force of reconciliation between peoples and a voice of reason with in a culture of absurdity!
The Gospel as Restoration of Beauty
Christians are so afraid of beauty. We are afraid that it will taint the Truth. Nothing could be further from the minds of the first century church nor the early church fathers. Art was a way of reflecting and giving thanks to our God who makes everything beautiful in its own time. We serve a God of infinite creativity and beauty. If thus, the church should be a force of restoration. We noted above that no manner of advancement has been about to shake the hopelessness that rapes the soul because of the effects of sin. By restoring the beauty of God in creation through art, culture, music and the like, we enable people to see the gloriousness of the Gospel and the God that stands behind it.
Again, all of the truth of the Gospel is found in these simple words, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died" to take away our sin! One of the greatest ways we connect people to God's redemptive agenda is through the means of reconciliation, reason and restoration! To God be the glory for ever and ever!
The Gospel as Redeeming Man's Soul
Let's take a moment and think about some of the practical extensions of the Gospel. First and foremost, the Gospel is the good news of the God's provision for sinful man. In other words, we must never forget that the Gospel is primarily the redemptive story of Jesus coming and dying to rescue mankind from the shackles of sin and death. Our pastor noted this past Sunday that if Adam and Eve fell while living in the garden, how much more are we fallen now that we have been expelled from the Garden? Quite a sobering thought! What glorious good news we find in the Gospel. Helpless mankind finds peace and rest outside of himself in the loving arms of Jesus. For the glory of God, this is the most fundamental purpose of the Gospel. All other extensions of the Gospel should lead one back to this amazing truth.
The Gospel as Reconciliation and Rational in Culture/Society
If indeed the Gospel stands as the core of revealed Truth, then it must also speak to all of creation. God has created all that we know and see. He is the great creative force behind all of creation. He upholds all of creation by his righteous right hand. If these are true (and they are), we must see the Gospel as a source of reconciliation and reason with in culture. God desires to redeem culture so long as we live in this day. Culture is reeling from the effects of hopelessness, anger, death and evil. This is simply amazing to me in light of the fact that society has gotten its wish. For the most part, God has been eradicated from the public square. Society has freed itself from the shackles of "religious terrony" as they call it. But there is a problem. With all of its advancements and enlightenments, no one seems to know how to explain the pervading sense of hopelessness in our culture nor explain the presence of evil. Human advancement through rational thinking should have produced a "utopian" type of culture by now. That has not happened. Why? Because we have abandoned reason at its core. Christians extend the Gospel to an unregenerate culture by means of being a force of reconciliation between peoples and a voice of reason with in a culture of absurdity!
The Gospel as Restoration of Beauty
Christians are so afraid of beauty. We are afraid that it will taint the Truth. Nothing could be further from the minds of the first century church nor the early church fathers. Art was a way of reflecting and giving thanks to our God who makes everything beautiful in its own time. We serve a God of infinite creativity and beauty. If thus, the church should be a force of restoration. We noted above that no manner of advancement has been about to shake the hopelessness that rapes the soul because of the effects of sin. By restoring the beauty of God in creation through art, culture, music and the like, we enable people to see the gloriousness of the Gospel and the God that stands behind it.
Again, all of the truth of the Gospel is found in these simple words, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died" to take away our sin! One of the greatest ways we connect people to God's redemptive agenda is through the means of reconciliation, reason and restoration! To God be the glory for ever and ever!
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