The whole simple gospel
“If you were to die today, would you go to heaven?”
“If you did die tonight and stood before God, and He asked, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ How would you answer?”
“God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”
“Do you want to have peace with God?”
Each of these questions introduces a presentation of what many refer to as the simple gospel. “Gospel” is the literal translation of the Greek term meaning “good news.” Thus, the gospel of Jesus Christ means “the good news” about Jesus Christ. It’s this gospel we’ll consider today.
I’m hopeful you’ll leave here challenged by a new, clear, more holistic and biblical understanding of the gospel. And so, my hope is that you’ll go home committed to be a Berean this week, a Berean. Hello, what’s that all about? Where’s that come from?
In Acts 17:1, Paul and his team were in northern Greece, in the city of Thessalonica. They’d spent three weeks in the synagogue reasoning, explaining, and providing scriptural evidence that the Jesus who’d suffered and been raised from the dead was, in fact, Israel’s Messiah. Some had been persuaded and came to faith. However, the ministry precipitated a riot caused by the jealousy of some unbelieving Jews. Things got so violent that Paul and Silas were forced to slip out of town under the cover of darkness. Their next stop? Berea, a small town a short distance away, where, once again, they explained the gospel in the local synagogue. In 17:11 we find an interesting comment:
Now these [folks in Berea] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether the things [taught by Paul and Silas] were so.”
…to see whether the things [taught by Paul and Silas] were so!
The Bereans didn’t simply take Paul’s word as proof. They went directly to the Scriptures to verify (or disprove) what he was saying. In like manner, it’s not enough that you know what I believe the gospel to be. Nope, not by a long shot. What’s essential is that you be very clear for yourself and in your own words what the gospel is. To do this, I challenge you
• listen carefully to what I say and
• eagerly engage in your own personal study of the Scriptures and
• decide for yourself: Is what I’m saying faithful to the whole counsel of God’s Word?
THEN, and only then, will you not merely embrace the gospel as “true,” but, in increasing measure, you’ll orient your whole life around this good news.
I love this community. I want God’s best for each of you. And God’s best for you, and for your families, is not simply intellectual acknowledgment of the gospel, but lifestyles and behaviours shaped by the gospel.
We’re several weeks into a series titled Be disciples who makes disciples. This thesis statement begs a few questions: What’s a disciple? Why is being a disciple central to Christian faith? How does one become a disciple, live as a disciple? AS a focal point, we’re studying Matthew 28:18-20:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. As you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. I’ll be with you to the very end of the age.
From here we’re building a detailed description of disciple: a disciple is one who
• Trusts in Jesus Christ
• Declares that commitment publicly
• Strives to learn a lifestyle of obedience to all that Jesus commanded
• Invites others to join in the same journey
• Relies on the empowering presence of Jesus Christ
Today, we’ll look more deeply at the first element: a disciple is one who trusts in Jesus Christ. What do I mean by this? Simply stated, a person who trusts in Jesus Christ is one who
1. Has heard the gospel, or, literally, good news, of Jesus Christ,
2. Repents, experiences a change of mind, and
3. Believes that gospel and trusts in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
Has heard the gospel,
Has heard the good news, repented and believed….
Clearly, our description of disciple leans entirely on our understanding of the gospel, the good news. And, even further, I would hazard this statement:
• As disciples, the gospel we trust shapes the church we become and the message we live.
• As disciples, the gospel we trust shapes the church we become and the message we live.
So, what is this gospel we trust? I’ve already referred to the phrase: the simple gospel. Each of those questions I opened with moves quickly into a simple gospel presentation like this:
(1) God made you and wants to have a relationship with you,
(2) but, your sin separates you from God.
(3) Jesus took the punishment your sins deserved,
(4) so if you repent of your sins and trust Christ for your salvation, you’ll be forgiven, accepted freely by grace, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit until you die and go to heaven.
But, before the Berean-like people embrace this gospel presentation as gospel truth, they’ll look closely at how the NT authors used the term. Then, they’ll evaluate this simple gospel.
Some of the first mentions of gospel, or good news, are
1. Matthew 4:23 – Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom….
2. Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
The gospel, or good news about the Kingdom, about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Now, here are some more uses of “gospel” and “good news,” references that require us to consider whether this simple gospel is, in fact, multifaceted and a bit more complex.
• The good news of God’s grace (Acts 20:24);
• The good news of the cross of Christ (1Corinthians 1:17);
• The good news that, by confessing Jesus as Lord and believing God raised him from the dead brings salvation (Romans 10:9,10);
• The good news preached to Abraham in the OT, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you” (Galatians 3:8);
• The good news that Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6);
• The good news preached to Israel in the wilderness (Hebrews 4:2).
As you imitate the Bereans this week, ask yourselves whether these references are reflected in that simple gospel or whether they provide some truthful elements for understanding but fall short of a full description of the gospel of our salvation.
(1) God made you and wants to have a relationship with you,
(2) but, your sin separates you from God.
(3) Jesus took the punishment your sins deserved,
(4) so if you repent of your sins and trust Christ for your salvation, you’ll be forgiven and made right with God, accepted freely by grace, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit until you die and go to heaven.
Was this the gospel preached to Abraham in Genesis, so that he could have a wonderful life and go to heaven? Was this the gospel preached to Israel in the wilderness? Does this gospel reflect the crucial reality that a new humanity of Jews and Gentiles from all nations is created for God’s eternal purposes?
I believe some essential elements are missing in this simple gospel, leaving the impression that the gospel was simply parachuted into history in the first century, unconnected God’s work in Israel and providing a way to jump over whatever remains of history right into heaven.
⎫ the presence, or nearness, of the kingdom of God, the present rule or reign of God;
⎫ Jesus role as Israel’s Messiah; our necessary historical and theological connection to Israel;
⎫ the provision of peace between Jew and Gentile that creates a new humanity;
⎫ God’s covenant promise to Abraham that God would bless the nations through Israel.
Don’t forget my earlier statements:
the definition of disciple rests on our understanding of the gospel.
And,
for disciples, the gospel we trust shapes the church we become and the message we live.
Has this simple gospel, joined together just a few core pieces of a complex and beautiful jigsaw puzzle, then proclaimed the puzzle complete, the picture whole? Are there some vital missing pieces in this so-called simple gospel? If so, this not only distorts the message we share and places emphasis where it shouldn’t be. We miss the whole beautiful picture of salvation. As Bereans, consider whether
1. This simple gospel is more about me and my happiness than about God and his purposes
2. It’s more about individuals being saved more than about the creation of a restored community of God’s people living out Kingdom purposes
3. It provides a way into heaven rather than the way into God’s life and his purposes right now.
A gospel that gets people forgiven and into heaven shapes a church and lives
1. …more focused on people’s personal happiness than on God’s pleasure in and through His eternal plans and purposes for all creation.
2. …more focused on saved individuals than on a called and restored community of God’s people
3. …more focused on getting saved people into heaven in the future than getting redeemed people into life—into God’s life and God’s purposes—in the present.
4. …that fails to move God’s people to fully engage in and with the world Jesus loves and died to save.
In place of this simple gospel, and here’s the homework for Bereans, I’m suggesting that the gospel needed to be a disciple who makes disciples is
the good news that, through repentance and trust in Christ, we receive
• the forgiveness needed for an eternally-restored relationship with the Father,
• responsible membership now in his redemptive community,
• active participation now in his present Kingdom rule and
• privileged partnership now in His ongoing plan to rescue all creation and reconcile all things to himself in Christ.
God loves his creation and has a wonderful plan for it…using us! That’s gospel, good news!
For disciples, the gospel we trust shapes the church we become, the message we live.
…the good news that, through repentance and trust in Christ and his death, we receive
• the forgiveness needed for an eternally-restored relationship with the Father,
• responsible membership now in his redemptive community,
• active participation now in his present Kingdom rule and
• privileged partnership now in His ongoing plan to rescue all creation and reconcile all things to himself in Christ.
Which gospel have you embraced?
Which gospel shapes Fall River Chapel?
Which gospel shapes the message you live out each day?
A gospel that trusts Jesus, sits and flies under the radar to await heaven? Or,
A gospel that, with forgiveness and eternity assured, thrusts you into community of God’s redeemed people who demonstrate represent the rule of the King in their own lives and engage redemptively with those whom God loves and misses.
* Which gospel produces disciples with the focused commitment to make disciples?
* Which gospel draws on all your passions, gifts, experiences, dreams and desires?
My challenge: embrace a gospel that not only gets you into heaven, but also gets you into life!The whole