The Gospel Or THE GOSPEL?

Around this time of year, when the weather is nice, something happens on the campus where I work. As I leave my office, I can see – and hear – that a few of the street corners are populated by a handful of gentlemen wearing signboards and yelling to people passing by that they will burn in hell if they do not change their ways and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  One day I decided to play dumb (it’s a gift, really) and ask one of the guys what they were up to, and he said, “Son, we’re here to preach the Gospel.”

I have to admit that I have mixed reactions to these guys. One the one hand, who am I to fault  their zeal for the truth, and for the courage to go where people will ignore and possibly be hostile to them?  But at the same time, it occurs to me that they might be going about things the wrong way and in the process, cementing what many already believe: “Christians are a just bunch of rabid, judgmental  nutlogs.”

For much of my Christian life I also believed that the gospel is summed up in John 3:16. It was nothing more than that God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life if I will turn it over to Him and repent.  But I have come to believe, through reading the four Gospels, that this boiled-down definition of “gospel” might be a little – well – shortchanged.   Incomplete at best.

What I mean is this: largely as a result of the revivalism of the eighteenth century and afterward, “the gospel” has become shorthand for “Repent and believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”  For the sake of preaching a simple message in tent meetings all over the country, it was distilled to that. After all, it's sound marketing strategy to have a slogan, if you will. So the essence of the gospel was reduced to a turn-or-burn proposition. 

Now, is “repent and believe” a true statement, and one that needs to be proclaimed?  Absolutely.  But is that the sum of "the gospel"?  I used to think so.

But it isn't - at least, not as far as the four Gospels seem to indicate. Jesus did preach that people should repent and turn their hearts toward the Father. That was and is the necessary first step. But Jesus spent a lot more time talking about the results of that repentance, namely, living a changed life on an entirely different trajectory. The gospel includes learning why we must forgive others, exercise justice, practice humility, and grow in love for God and people. These things, for Jesus, seem to be as much a part of the gospel as the necessary "fire insurance".  Much more so, if you sum up the time he spent teaching on issues like these.

In Jesus’ words found in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the gospel is about the ongoing radical conversion of our lives. It is about the creation of a new and very different community that bears witness to the fact that God came to live among people  - and in doing so, changed the ballgame entirely. Everything is now to be based on an active love for God and neighbor. Kingdom people are to be servants, continually seeking to have their hearts transformed to exhibit increasing Christlikeness, acting out of purity of intention, freedom from anxiety, and the desire to do His will in the world. Above all, we are to revel in our relationship with God our Father as a child to a loving parent. And, we are called to preach and live this gospel - this whole gospel - before others, to compel them to want to join us on the journey.

Let's face it - preaching turn-or-burn would be a lot easier.  But if I am a gospel believer, it has to go well beyond that. Proclaiming the gospel Jesus taught is both the call and the challenge of our lives, because it is inescapably tied to our own growth and conversion.

I can only preach it to others inasmuch as I am willing to be changed myself.

When I say that I want to follow Christ and proclaim His gospel, do I fully understand what I am saying?