What is the "good news"? Part 1
(in response to Jimmy's question several day's ago)
Mark 1:15 - "The time is fulfilled!" he said; "God's Kingdom is arriving! Turn back and believe the good news!"

The Gospel = good news. It's the same thing.
When I was a teen, adults who were leading me in my faith always talked about witnessing to my friends. They needed to hear the "gospel". I was told. I heard this over and over and over again.

Here's a translation of what I think they meant, or at least how I took what they were saying.

The reason Jesus came was for me and my friends. Jesus lived his whole life for one weekend in his 33rd year of life, where he was murdered. He was buried. He stopped being dead and walked out of his tomb. This weekend was the whole reason Jesus came and he did it so that people like myself and my friends could go to heaven.

If i could reduce the "Gospel" down further it would go like this.
God loves me and has a plan for me.
I am a sinner.
Jesus died for my sins.
I receive the gift of life given by Jesus on that weekend.
I go to heaven.
the end.

Growing up, I was trained to lead people through this routine where I knew both sides of the conversation before anyone spoke. I learned to draw bridges and ladders and roads. I even collected "tracks" for a while in college because the church had become very creative in it's "presentation of the gospel" or at least this verse of it.

I spent my life trying to get people to believe this "gospel". So.. when I make this statement you'll understand it's weight in my life.

I don't think this is the gospel.

At least I don't think this is all of the gospel. It's part of it.

Referring back to the verse from "the gospel according to Mark" where Jesus is calling the disciples. He's probably 30 years old here and he's just getting started and he commands the disciples to believe the good news! But Jesus hasn't died yet! What kind of "gospel" can he mean, when he refers to good news here? Esp. since the disciples have no idea at this time that he's going to die, be buried and raise from the dead. In fact, their thoughts are far from that. That there was something amazingly compelling about this other gospel, so compelling that people left their families and jobs to spread it. People gave their lives for it. People were changed by it. People were forgiven of sin, before Jesus paid for it with his death. How could this be?!? Like everything in life, this brings it back to me and my dilemma. 9it's all about me right???) In every church I've been a part of this would not make any sense at all. the gospel is about the weekend, not a life including a that weekend!

Furthermore, when I first noticed this, it seems that the "gospel" is inextricably tied to something called the Kingdom of God. (More later on my complete lack of understanding or misunderstanding of the kingdom of God.)

So what is the good news?
It's seems to have something to do with the move of God to reclaim his creation, including, but not limited to people.

Reducing the "gospel" to a weekend in the life of Jesus and an entire evangelical culture focusing on evangelism focused on this type of emasculated gospel reduces the role of the church to "saving souls from hell", which is not what the gospel is about either! how does it do this?

When we de-emphasize the life of Jesus as part of the gospel, (not simply as leading up to the "real gospel" but as an equally valuable part of the gospel,) then we are destroying what life in the kingdom is about. Instead of living into the kingdom today, our churches are waiting around for a church for eternity.

what do you think???

there's plenty more to come...
after all I did say that gospel changes didn't I.... That's what jimmy wanted me to talk about.
but we have to get there a bit at a time.


posted by riddle at 12:32 PM | |