The last two posts began to answer a simple, yet critical question. What are the essential elements of the gospel?

The Gospel is the message of God’s plan and work to save sinners from His wrath and bring them into a relationship with Himself through the work of Jesus Christ and the offer of that gift to all who will turn from sin and trust in Christ.

This very pregnant sentence demands unpacking so I began commenting on each phrase. Thus far we have made six statements. First, the “gospel” has a singular definition. Second, the “gospel” is a message or a definitive collection of concepts that relate a specific joyous announcement. Third, the “gospel” relates God’s plan. Fourth, the “gospel” tells of God’s work. Fifth, the “gospel” tells of God’s work to save. Sixth, the “gospel” offers salvation to sinners.

Seventh, the “gospel” offers salvation from “God’s wrath.” The wrath of God is best understood as His settled reaction toward sin. Unlike human wrath, His is never out-of-control, never lacks wisdom, and is never cool or indifferent. God’s wrath is His directed, intense, just reaction to sin. It is not an impulsive, flying off the handle, fit of rage.

The practical result of this wrath is death. We die physically as we pay the penalty for our sin. We also die spiritually as we pay the penalty for our sin. In the Bible, spiritual death is described as separation from God. So, God’s wrath is a reaction to sin that brings us physical death and separation from God. The agony of this separation from God will reach its highest (or we might say lowest) point when God judges all people and brings everlasting punishment upon those men and women who rejected Him. The Bible calls the place where these people will suffer for eternity “hell” and describes it as a lake of unquenchable fire. So, the gospel is the message of God’s work to save people from His wrath, which they justly deserve because of their sin.

Eighth, the “gospel” tells of God’s work to bring sinners into a right “relationship with Himself.” Isaiah 59:2 makes a clear and alarming proclamation about sin and its effect on a person’s relationship to God.

“but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.” (ESV)

As we have just seen in looking at wrath and death, we are hopelessly separated from God because we are sinful and He is perfect. To overlook our sin and welcome us anyway would tarnish His perfection. The gospel is the message of how God has crossed this chasm created by our sin and built a bridge for us to return to Him.

Again, read these statements and consider your beliefs regarding the gospel because this message lies at the heart of what it means to be “Christian.”

Last time I began answering a simple, yet critical question. What are the essential elements of the gospel?

The Gospel is the message of God’s plan and work to save sinners from His wrath and bring them into a relationship with Himself through the work of Jesus Christ and the offer of that gift to all who will turn from sin and trust in Christ.

This very pregnant sentence demands unpacking so I began commenting on each phrase. Thus far we have made two statements. First, the “gospel” has a singular definition. Second, the “gospel” is a message or a definitive collection of concepts that relate a specific joyous announcement.

Third, the “gospel” relates “God’s plan.” This message has been unfolding from the foundation of the world. God is not reacting to man’s whims or figuring it out as He goes along. Through Jesus Christ God is working out His plan and the gospel tells this story. Jesus teaches this truth in Matthew 25:34: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (ESV).

Fourth, the “gospel” tells of “God’s work.” This message tells of God’s activity. He is not a mere bystander nor does He simply direct the affairs of salvation from afar. God is active and the message of the gospel reveals His activity.

Fifth, the “gospel” tells of “God’s work to save.” He is not merely making moral people or helping people find their purpose in life. God is first rescuing men and women from the penalty and power of sin. People are drowning in the lake of their rebellion and God is reaching into the water to “save” them.

Sixth, the “gospel” offers salvation to “sinners.” As Jesus said, “For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13b ESV). This message claims that every person everywhere has offended God’s holy standard and is separated from Him. The gospel makes a strong statement about mankind: namely, all people are sinners and in desperate need of salvation.

Again, read these statements and consider your beliefs regarding the gospel because this message lies at the heart of what it means to be “Christian.”

More than two months ago I introduced a book that deals with seven important topics promising to address each of them in turn. Having written about the first two (truth and evangelism), I come now to #3: the gospel.

With much contemporary debate and misunderstanding about salvation, my goal through these entries is to answer one question. What are the essential elements of the gospel?

Also, please don’t lose sight of our goal with this series and with what will be several entries about the gospel… “I want to challenge you to consider your beliefs regarding seven topics (and now ‘the gospel’) because they provide a foundation for your understanding of Christianity and the Church.”

The Gospel is the message of God’s plan and work to save sinners from His wrath and bring them into a relationship with Himself through the work of Jesus Christ and the offer of that gift to all who will turn from sin and trust in Christ.

This very pregnant sentence demands unpacking. And thus we will over the course of a few entries expound upon the phrases of this important definition. (I’ll try to keep track of my first, second, third, etc. as we move along, but I make no promises.)

First and obvious, the “gospel” has a singular definition. Much of the current discussion about the gospel is an attempt to circumvent any negligible definition. The gospel has become something of a moving target that bends and flexes as we roam along from culture to culture and society to society. However, biblical revelation is our guide to all matters of faith and practice and it most certainly provides a single definition. Thus, one can only embrace or share the ‘gospel’ when he or she has rightly identified it.

Second, the “gospel” is a message or a definitive collection of concepts that relate a specific joyous announcement. Often called the good news, the gospel tells a distinct story. Thus, one can only embrace the gospel as good news when he or she has heard and understood a specific message.

⁵⁷As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶²Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:57-62 (ESV)

By today’s standard, Jesus would make a lousy evangelist. It seems pastors and churches are dressing-up the gospel and ‘pitching’ salvation like salesmen.

Listen closely to the average evangelistic sermon or witnessing encounter and all you hear is a string benefits that will follow if a person will just pray a specific set of words. Jesus sounds more like the last pathetic soul on the playground hoping to be picked or a lottery ticket than the reigning Son of God.

C’mon, pick him. He really loves you. He’s a nice guy. He can help you out. He can give you more than you’ve ever dreamed. He’ll bless the fool out of you if you’ll just give him a chance.

While the blessings that come from knowing God through Jesus exceed the wildest imaginations, Jesus never used blessings as a carrot to invite men and women to follow him. In fact, he often used the costs associated with following him to test whether a person was truly interested in God’s Kingdom.

In this text from Luke 9, notice what a terrible salesman Jesus is as he interacts with three potential disciples.

He tells the first guy that following him could very well leave him poorer than foxes and birds.

He tells the second guy that following him would mean foregoing the family fortune. (The issue in verses 59-60 was not the imminent burial of his dad, but the eventual burial of his dad at some point in the future. It seems the guy wanted to wait for his inheritance first.)

He tells the third guy that following him would mean a trusting God for provision and not family support.

Sounds like Jesus forgot to tell them the good part. Or maybe he did tell them the good part. That following Jesus is the most difficult yet glorious path in life.

Last time I introduced a discussion about evangelism by framing a contemporary conversation concerning how a church can strike the correct balance between welcoming unbelievers into their community while guarding the growth of maturing believers. At the heart of the matter is a proper understanding of ‘conversion’ and ‘faith community;’ thus I turn to these definitions today to wrap-up this two-part series.

A person is converted (or saved) when he trusts in Jesus to pay the penalty for his sin and to reconcile him to God. This trusting involves turning from sin, turning to God, and receiving the gift of eternal life from God on the basis of Jesus’ death on the cross. Obviously, I’ve summarized a great deal here, but at the heart of becoming a follower of Jesus there must be a decisive embrace of Him as Savior.

In a generic sense a ‘faith community’ is comprised of people are joined together by their common trust in someone or something. Thus, in the Christian sense a faith community is a group of converted men and women who are joined together by their common relationship to (or trust in) Christ. Joining a ‘Christian faith community,’ therefore, presupposes that a person has been converted.

With these two definitions in view our approach to evangelism emerges with help from two passages.

First…

¹⁰And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹²But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 9:10-13 (ESV)

Second…

⁵“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Matthew 18:15-18 (ESV)

In the first passage, Jesus meets opposition from religious leaders because he ministers to ‘sinners’ or people who are obviously not part of the faith community. His defends his ministry in the name of evangelism by saying essentially that sinners can’t be converted unless we reach out to them.

In the second passage while Jesus is teaching about disciplining members of the faith community, he clarifies the distinction between these sinners (and specifically tax collectors) and members of a faith community. He does not direct us to forget about ‘sinners,’ but he calls us to treat them differently than other believers. In the first text he defends his association with tax collectors and in the second text he names tax collectors as outsiders to the faith community. This distinction is critical to our discussion of evangelism.

We live and work and play among unbelievers and we must use seek opportunities to introduce them to the Physician who can heal them spiritually. Part of our strategy for introducing them to God may be to invite them to spend time with our faith community. We must welcome these ‘sinners’ with love and share the gospel plainly with them. This welcoming and sharing is exactly what Jesus was doing in Matthew 9. They need the gospel because without a clear explanation of it they cannot trust Jesus for salvation. Evangelism assumes that we do not shy from sharing the gospel.

While we welcome ‘sinners’ to interact with our faith community, we must hold to the distinction Jesus introduced in Matthew 18. An unconverted person cannot participate in our faith community the same way a believer can. Our churches must balance this tension. We must welcome sinners so we can share with them the great message of the gospel while maintaining a clear distinction between members of the faith community and those individuals who remain outside because they do not share our common relationship to Jesus Christ.

Therefore, sinners are always welcome to come alongside our faith community to taste and see Jesus AND we are consistently inviting them to join our faith community by trusting in Jesus for salvation.

Almost two months ago I introduced a book that deals with seven important topics promising to address each of them in turn. Through a four-part series last month, I addressed the first of these topics: truth.

Today, I return to this larger series to begin discussing the second of these seven topics: evangelism. More specifically, we’ll seek to answer the question, ‘How can churches strike the correct balance between welcoming unbelievers into their community while guarding the growth of maturing believers?’

Also, please don’t lose sight of our goal with this series and with what will be several entries about evangelism… “I want to challenge you to consider your beliefs regarding seven topics (and now ‘evangelism’) because they provide a foundation for your understanding of Christianity and the Church.”

As in most areas of life, most churches (and believers) are drawn to extremes at the point of evangelism. The seeker movement led many to embrace evangelism as the only goal of their corporate meetings. The pursuit of ‘decisions for Christ’ became the standard for any gathering. Unbelievers were confronted with the gospel and their response to it formed a litmus test for their ability to ‘belong’ to the community. In this model the pursuit of spiritual maturity was often relegated to small group meetings and discipleship classes reserved for those people who had been converted.

The emerging movement pushed in a different but equally dangerous direction by creating welcoming communities that rarely ever call for a ‘decision for Christ.’ Their response to this emphasis on (if not obsession with) conversion was to dismiss it altogether opting for a salvation through belonging. They want to allow people to join the ‘faith community’ trusting that their relationship with the group will bring them to know God. In this model, however, a specific call for conversion is often absent entirely.

Our philosophy of evangelism must be framed by aspects of both these models while being dominated by neither. At the heart of the matter is a proper understanding of conversion and faith community.

Next time I’ll summarize a proper understanding of ‘conversion’ and ‘faith community’ that will lead us to know how a church can strike the correct balance between welcoming unbelievers into their community while guarding the growth of maturing believers.

⁴⁶An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. ⁴⁷But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side ⁴⁸and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

⁴⁹John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” ⁵⁰But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”

Luke 9:46-50 (ESV)

It’s amazing how quickly ministry can become about the minister. Pride is such a sneaky sin that even in the midst of ‘godly’ activity – and often especially in the midst of ‘godly’ activity – it creeps in.

As this passage from Luke 9 shows, the lure of self-centered ministry was often too much to resist for Jesus’ twelve disciples. Their pride is evident in two ways.

First, they wanted to be the greatest. They had access to the One who came to serve, they saw ministry as a ladder to climb to greatness. Sound familiar? An honest evaluation of our motives often reveals a desire to gain notoriety or at least praise from our ministry efforts. At this point ministry is about our glory, not God’s.

Second, they wanted to protect the exclusivity of their ‘calling.’ They wanted to stop people who were not part of their circle from engaging in their brand of ministry. Again, sound familiar? At some level we all like to think we’re participating in some unique type of ministry. At this point ministry is about our glory, not God’s.

For whose glory do you minister?

In case you’re considering reading through the Bible this year, I wanted to pass along a few resources that you might find helpful. Even if it takes you longer than twelve months, I would challenge you to use a systematic Bible reading plan.

Anyway, the folks that translated and print the English Standard Version Bible have offered 10 Bible reading plans. Take a look and pick one… and enjoy.

Read, study, digest, memorize, learn, GROW!

http://www.esv.org/biblereadingplans

In three entries thus far I have tried to frame a contemporary debate regarding the nature of truth, argue for why believers must care, and introduce the biblical explanation for how people can know what is true.

Last time I introduced three approaches to explaining how we arrive at what is ‘true.’ First, some argue that we know truth through certainty. Second, others contend that we know truth through community. Third, I would argue that we know truth through God’s revelation.

My goal today is to provide some closure by mentioning three biblical statements that frame our perspective of truth and the pursuit of it.

God is the Source of Truth

Objective reality or those things that are constant regardless of circumstances come from the One who is constant regardless of circumstances.

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

John 17:17 (ESV)

The Bible defends the existence of objective reality and points to God as its Source. Even more, the Bible presents itself as the source of God’s word. Thus, if God’s word is truth and His word is found in the Bible, then the Bible contains objective reality.

Even though the Bible does not make declarative statements about all issues, it presents objective reality about those issues to which it speaks. In other words, the Bible does not answer every conceivable question about creation, but it presents God as the divine Creator of all.

Jesus is Truth Personified

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.’”

John 14:6a (ESV)

The Bible identifies Jesus as God in the flesh. As such, He is the physical representation of truth. To this end, we can find truth by looking to and learning from His life and teaching.

The Holy Spirit Guides Believers to Truth

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth,”

John 16:13 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit is a Guide into matters of truth. Believers can have confidence that God will reveal truth through the work of the Spirit in and through them.

Finally, these three statements reveal how God, working through the three persons of the Trinity, works to reveal truth. God reveals truth through His word, Jesus is reveals truth through His life, and the Spirit confirms the truth in our hearts as we read and see.

So even though truth seems elusive at times, believers are given help to navigate difficult waters. Our search follows a clear pattern. First, we look to the Bible to see what God’s word and Jesus’ life reveal about a specific objective reality. Second, we seek the guidance of the Spirit to understand and apply these statements to specific life situations.

Lottie Moon stood 4 feet, 3 inches tall and weighed roughly 50 pounds when she died at age 72. Her frail, weak, nearly starved frame had endured 39 years on the mission field in China.

Her life was not perfect, but her life was powerful. She was a living sacrifice to God.

Lottie lived and ministered to women in remote villages in China giving her life to share the message of Christ. Her letters to her friends and family express her inability to understand why more wasn’t being done to reach these people for Christ.

She couldn’t understand why Christians in America could live in wealth refusing to give more money for missions while people in China had no one to tell them about Christ.

“It fills one with sorrow to see these people so earnest in their worship of false gods… with no one to tell them of a better way. Then, to remember the wealth hoarded in Christian coffers! The money we lavish on fine dresses and costly living!”

“One cannot help asking sadly, why is love of gold more potent than love of souls?”

She couldn’t understand why Christians in America could ignore the call of God to reach the people in remote parts of the world for Christ.

“The needs of these people press upon my soul, and I cannot be silent. It is grievous to think of these human souls going down to death without even one opportunity of hearing the name of Jesus.”

She couldn’t understand why more Christians won’t present their lives as living sacrifices to God. Will you present your life as a living sacrifice?

*The factual information and quotes in this blog entry comes from Daniel Akin’s Five Who Changed the World.