As Christians, we spend heaps of time (or at least we should!) talking about the gospel. We "share" it with people, we "preach" it, we try to "live it out" and we state it as a huge aspect of our faith.
But, by a show of hands, how many of you can actually give a good definition of the gospel?
I'm guessing most of you either laughed or quizically raised your hand then kind of hesitated and put it back down before continuing to read. It's unfortunate, but a lot of people throw the phrase around without having a really good grasp of what it actually means. Before I continue, I'd like to mention that I am not claiming to have the answer- this is a question I myself have pondered for the last couple of years, trying to get a better understanding of it.
I think my favorite description of the gospel comes from Romans. Paul's letter to the Romans is really brilliant in that, for the most part, it is his way of introducing himself, his ministry and his Jesus to them, and so a lot of it is very straightforward, linear thinking that almost reads like a pamphlet or an essay!
Let's take a quick look at Romans 5:12-21. (ESV)
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned- for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
A little wordy, but I think it gets the point across. The basic message of the gospel is, as far as I can tell:
God created everything and everyone, and we are accountable to Him as our Judge. We turned against Him in one way or another, and our sins deserve just punishment. However, Jesus acts as advocate and offers freedom from sin and grace from judgement. This is dependent, however, on our active participation through repentance and worship.
So, basically: God loves you, but also judges you. You messed up, but Jesus will defend your case if you agree to turn around and get back on the right track and love Him.
So there you go, that is, to the best of my current ability, my definition of the gospel! I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter!
Showing posts with label kingdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kingdom. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Bible in a Year: Week 6
This week, the majority (if not the entirety) of the Old Testament readings involved graphic description of the temple (see most of the second half of Exodus).
I was considering writing up a three-hundred page report about that, but then I decided I would talk about something else instead. You're welcome.
Today I want to take a look at Psalm 34:1-10.
As a student, I find it challenging at times to live out my faith at school. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm barely ever at school to begin with, but the rushed lifestyle of a student makes it difficult to find time to minister to your classmates and such. But we are called to bless the Lord at all times and continually have His praise in our mouths. So this kind of passage, for me, is both a fantastic reminder of God's promise and His love and gifts for us, and also a push to be more intentional about taking whatever time I can to reach out to my peers and share the gospel with them. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to do that yet, but it's something I will be praying about over the next couple of weeks.
So I'd like to challenge you to do the same- find an area in your life where you're having difficulty shining His light, and ask Him to show you how you can make a difference there!
Shalom,
I was considering writing up a three-hundred page report about that, but then I decided I would talk about something else instead. You're welcome.
Today I want to take a look at Psalm 34:1-10.
As a student, I find it challenging at times to live out my faith at school. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm barely ever at school to begin with, but the rushed lifestyle of a student makes it difficult to find time to minister to your classmates and such. But we are called to bless the Lord at all times and continually have His praise in our mouths. So this kind of passage, for me, is both a fantastic reminder of God's promise and His love and gifts for us, and also a push to be more intentional about taking whatever time I can to reach out to my peers and share the gospel with them. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to do that yet, but it's something I will be praying about over the next couple of weeks.
So I'd like to challenge you to do the same- find an area in your life where you're having difficulty shining His light, and ask Him to show you how you can make a difference there!
Shalom,
Friday, January 27, 2012
Romans 14
I just thought this was amazing when I was reading it earlier so I thought I should share it here. Such a beautiful conviction for us! Last week was the week of prayer for unity in the worldwide church and tonight at Emmaus Youth Group Josiah Henderson gave a fantastic talk about unity in the church and why we have denominations and whatnot. I'm not going to say much more, just leave a passage we looked at tonight that I don't want to forget about because it's rad.
The text below was stolen from the ESV website. That's why it has silly html that I'm too lazy to edit. Sorry about the weird background colors and such. If it hurts your eyes as much as it hurts mine, feel free to go get a real Bible and read it from there :)
The text below was stolen from the ESV website. That's why it has silly html that I'm too lazy to edit. Sorry about the weird background colors and such. If it hurts your eyes as much as it hurts mine, feel free to go get a real Bible and read it from there :)
Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another
14 As for mthe one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 nOne person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and olet not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 pWho are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master1 that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 qOne person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. rEach one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since she gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For tnone of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, uwhether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ vdied and lived again, that he might be Lord both wof the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For wwe will all stand before xthe judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
y“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess2 to God.”
Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13 aTherefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide bnever to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus cthat nothing is unclean in itself, dbut it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, eyou are no longer walking in love. fBy what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 gSo do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 hFor the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but iof righteousness and jpeace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is kacceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us lpursue what makes for peace and for mmutual upbuilding.
20 nDo not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. oEverything is indeed clean, but pit is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 qIt is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.3 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. rBlessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.4
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Bury the Hatchet
Hey guys,
This has been a dark week for me- coming to terms with the fact that there's a lot of stuff in my life that is broken and uncomfortable, a lot of things I'm not okay with as much as I thought I was, and a lot of things that I just need to get over. Needless to say, God's at work here.
In Matthew, Jesus tells us, "If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny." Essentially, the idea he's trying to get across here is that we need to keep short accounts with people. If someone wrongs us, we need to be very quick to forgive and reconcile that relationship. And vice versa. And if that's hard to do, which it often is, we need to make that effort regardless and try to fix things.
In a lot of churches, there is a time of 'passing the peace' that happens before the giving of Communion. This part of the service, though often just coming off as a time to greet your brothers and sisters with a few words of well-wishing, is actually traditionally meant as a time to go and do what Jesus tells us in the passage above. The idea is that you're supposed to leave your offering, go fix whatever's wrong in your relationships with people, then come back and with a light heart give your all to God.
So I know what my prayers will be this week- that God helps me to get over and reconcile my broken relationships, so I can more effectively and wholly love His people.
Amen!
This has been a dark week for me- coming to terms with the fact that there's a lot of stuff in my life that is broken and uncomfortable, a lot of things I'm not okay with as much as I thought I was, and a lot of things that I just need to get over. Needless to say, God's at work here.
In Matthew, Jesus tells us, "If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny." Essentially, the idea he's trying to get across here is that we need to keep short accounts with people. If someone wrongs us, we need to be very quick to forgive and reconcile that relationship. And vice versa. And if that's hard to do, which it often is, we need to make that effort regardless and try to fix things.
In a lot of churches, there is a time of 'passing the peace' that happens before the giving of Communion. This part of the service, though often just coming off as a time to greet your brothers and sisters with a few words of well-wishing, is actually traditionally meant as a time to go and do what Jesus tells us in the passage above. The idea is that you're supposed to leave your offering, go fix whatever's wrong in your relationships with people, then come back and with a light heart give your all to God.
So I know what my prayers will be this week- that God helps me to get over and reconcile my broken relationships, so I can more effectively and wholly love His people.
Amen!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
A Servant's Heart
Yo!
Sometimes my non-Christian friends will ask me why I do so many things* (youth group, worship, etc) and usually follow up by saying that I'm such a good Christian for doing these kinds of things out of "the goodness of my own heart" (what the heck does that even mean?). And while it might be true that doing things to serve others is definitely good, and I am definitely a Christian, I don't know if I would say that being a good Christian necessarily has anything to do with our actions. I'd like to say no, since our salvation comes from the blood of Christ alone, but I also definitely acknowledge that we are called to be faithful servants, to love and serve the poor and needy without condition, and to give of ourselves for others.
*For the record, I do so many things because I love God, He loves me, and I want other people to experience that love.
I think one of the biggest things about having the heart of a servant in the Kingdom of God is the attitude behind it. We have to be loving in ways that are unconditional; this means that if the motivation behind our good deeds is anything but to bring glory to God by showing love to His people, then our actions are empty. Sure, they're still going to make people feel good, but they're meaningless without Jesus. This is why I argue that service is more of a heart issue than an action issue. If your heart's not in the right place, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do whatever you were planning on doing- because God can use that to bless people all the same- but you definitely need to pause and re-evaluate your priorities, and pray that God will help you lose whatever idol you're clinging onto that is preventing you from dedicating everything to Him.
It can be really easy to fall into the habit of doing things for God that are really for us. I won't lie- I have to constantly check myself to make sure I'm not being selfish in my service. But I think it's super important for a leader to acknowledge that we are all broken, selfish humans, and to be actively praying against the attitudes that come to us so easily.
/End rant
Sometimes my non-Christian friends will ask me why I do so many things* (youth group, worship, etc) and usually follow up by saying that I'm such a good Christian for doing these kinds of things out of "the goodness of my own heart" (what the heck does that even mean?). And while it might be true that doing things to serve others is definitely good, and I am definitely a Christian, I don't know if I would say that being a good Christian necessarily has anything to do with our actions. I'd like to say no, since our salvation comes from the blood of Christ alone, but I also definitely acknowledge that we are called to be faithful servants, to love and serve the poor and needy without condition, and to give of ourselves for others.
*For the record, I do so many things because I love God, He loves me, and I want other people to experience that love.
I think one of the biggest things about having the heart of a servant in the Kingdom of God is the attitude behind it. We have to be loving in ways that are unconditional; this means that if the motivation behind our good deeds is anything but to bring glory to God by showing love to His people, then our actions are empty. Sure, they're still going to make people feel good, but they're meaningless without Jesus. This is why I argue that service is more of a heart issue than an action issue. If your heart's not in the right place, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do whatever you were planning on doing- because God can use that to bless people all the same- but you definitely need to pause and re-evaluate your priorities, and pray that God will help you lose whatever idol you're clinging onto that is preventing you from dedicating everything to Him.
It can be really easy to fall into the habit of doing things for God that are really for us. I won't lie- I have to constantly check myself to make sure I'm not being selfish in my service. But I think it's super important for a leader to acknowledge that we are all broken, selfish humans, and to be actively praying against the attitudes that come to us so easily.
/End rant
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