In my previous article I reported that according to a recent Barna survey, 97% of non-Christians have a negative view of evangelicals. These are those who claim to be the bringers of good news. Apparently, this good news is not thought to be so. And yet, Jesus commands us: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. (Mark 16:15)”
Okay, so we are to go all over and tell everyone. Every single person? Every single place? To those who could care less? To those who want no part of it? How? Well, these questions will be a subject that I’ll address later. For now, we need to figure out exactly what this gospel is. There seems to be a lot of confusion going around. Is it possible to explain it in a single sentence or two? How can we share a thing if we can’t even clearly say what it is?
The meaning of a word, like gospel should be straight forward. Unfortunately, in the midst of thousands of denominations it is not. Layers of details and conflicting implications are piled on. Eventually, we arrive at a hodge-podge of say-sos. As such, the good news loses its ability to resonate. This is critical. Our understanding of the gospel is central; it underpins everything. When we mess with the foundation, the resulting building will look very different. It might even collapse.
As I was preparing to write this article, I viewed a number of YouTube videos. What do popular Christian speakers have to say? I’ll paraphrase a few of these with the examples that follow:
Ravi Zacharias
We are created for relationship with God. Without that relationship life is lonely, desolate, with no satisfaction. Our natural state is to be alienated, lost, and separated. There is nothing we can do to bridge the gap. Jesus came to build the bridge. He changes our worldview and answers the questions of meaning, morality, and destination.
John Piper
The Gospel has six components. (1) It was planned from eternity (2) It was an event in history (3) It was achieved through the Father and Son (4) It was freely offered to the world (5) It forgives sin (6) It brings us to God
Ellerslie Mission Society
We are rebels, born in sin, and are heading towards destruction. We are doomed with no way out. We sit in a prison. Satan is eagerly waiting to finish us off. In strolls the intercessor. God died for us. He changed the sign on the prison door from condemned to forgiven. We only need to walk out and experience our liberty.
I don’t plan to argue about the specifics of each of the above explanations. They all say things about the gospel or what the gospel does. None of them say clearly: “The Gospel is ___”. I remember the days when I was not a Christian. If the Holy Spirit wasn’t also speaking, I might have thought “This is all Christian speak. It is too theological, too complicated, unreal.”
Sometimes the presentation of the gospel comes across like a sales pitch. Consider the four spiritual laws:
God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
You are sinful and separated from God.
Jesus Christ provides the only way out.
We need to receive him to experience his love and plan
Almost everyone has heard this at one time or another. Once it was quite effective. Not anymore. Every day with social media, people are bombarded with focus-group tested marketing. We’ve become largely immune to the onslaught. Simple four-step plans get old real fast. Most will simply tune it out. Something is missing. Something doesn’t click.
It seems to me that Jesus should be the center of the story. It is a mistake to reduce the heart of the issue to my salvation or my benefit. This takes the focus off of Jesus. If it is all about me, he becomes a tool, simply the means to a good end. He turns into my ticket to board the eternal hope train. And what a train it is. As we travel to the destination we get showered with promised immediate blessings. Me, my response, and my repentance are the only things standing in the way. If to close the deal, one throws the threat of hell into the mix, things get worse. The good news is no longer good. It becomes a scary, eternal threat.
So, let’s dig deeper. The word gospel comes from the Anglo-Saxon word god-spell, meaning good story. In the original Greek, the equivalent is euangélion . Change the u to a v and we get close to that controversial word that many in our culture immediately recognize.
The concept of good news (or good tidings) first appears in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word hasar shows up many times, but doesn’t mean something trivial like, “I have good news, we won the football pool yesterday.” It pertains to much more momentous occasions. For example, it can pertain to a king who is about to reign. This was the word used in 2 Samuel when David was informed of Saul’s death, and again when Absalom’s rebellion was crushed.
In Roman days, euangélion had similar implications. One person would say: “Good News!” expecting the response: “Caesar is Lord.” Of course, Christians refused to comply. They changed the interaction. In response to “Good News!” They would reply, “Jesus is Lord.” You could imagine the result if they said this to the wrong person. The Romans did not take kindly to hearing that this Jewish rebel from a backwater province is now proclaimed to be the true king.
This ancient interaction clears it up for me. The gospel simply is this: “Jesus, the Jewish messiah, who died a humiliating death on a Roman torture device is Lord.” Note the word is . It contrasts with the word was . His lordship did not end with the cross. When he rose, he defeated death, and is alive.
One could ask, “Lord of what?” The answer: “Everything!” as written in 2 Cor. 5:19:
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself
This is Good News. Our eternal Lord is the wise and just ruler who will make everything right. To him “every knee will bow.” It is all about Jesus. We are privileged. We get to participate in this cosmic drama and become citizens of this new kingdom.
Okay, but does the bible agree? Let’s look at 1st Corinthians chapter 15. Paul spells it out.
(3-4) Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; And that He was buried; and that He was raised the third day, according to the Scriptures;
In our time, a common Christian interchange starts with a person saying: “All the time God is Good.” The expected response is: “God is Good all the time.” How about if we revive the ancient one known to the earliest followers of the Way? Say: “Good News!” To which, we answer “Jesus the Christ is Lord.” We have declared the Gospel in a simple, easy to understand, single sentence. Perhaps this will resonate, even in the 21st century, and then lead to deeper conversations.
Thanks for listening,secondlooknow.com
“euangélion. Change the u to a v and we get close to that controversial word.” Thanks! That was fun.
I met the real thing when I was 14. I had grown up with kids who were one thing in church on Sunday and something else all week long. Not all of them, but those I had let get close to me.
Then I met a girl who was the same good person all week long. At first I was sweet on the girl. Then I realized what I wanted was to be like her.
This is the great, ironic mystery, the myth that is true, the simple fact that changes every other. He is Lird, and I belong to Him.
Dan, this is your best post yet! I would love for you to continue with the implications of this news. How we respond tells us who we are in the great story.