In my last couple of posts, I have presented the idea that the greatest crisis facing the church today is its ignorance of the true, biblical gospel message and that this problem carries with it some very clear and drastic consequences, especially in light of eternity.
If this is true, then this is indeed a very big problem, because it is the mission and function of the church to declare the gospel to the nations, to the unbelieving world. It cannot fulfill this mandate if the church itself walks in the darkness concerning the correct message of the gospel. So, if this is the problem, how do we fix it?
The solution may not be as simple as we would like to think. And the reason is because the modern church has not only distorted the essence of the gospel message, they have skewed the meaning of the word itself. As I said before, the church thinks it knows the gospel. They think they are sharing the gospel. But if you would ask 10 professing Christians what they thought the gospel was, you would probably get 10 different answers. In fact, during a discussion I had with a lady this week, who professes to be a Christian and says she reads her bible daily, suggested to me that the gospel is “different to different people”.
Really?
Have we now added the gospel into that pot of subjective, culturally relative soup that says, “what something is to me may not be what it is to you…”? We have done this with truth, with Jesus, with justice… Now, is my gospel different than your gospel?
God forbid!
Unfortunately, it seems in our contemporary culture, that is exactly what we have done with many other basic biblical concepts. We have taken words like salvation, atonement, and love and we have made them so egocentric that we have no clue as to what they really mean in a true scriptural context. They sound so Christian, so churchy, but we have attached our own personal impressions and meanings to them rather than adhering to actual concrete, biblical definitions. This should not be. This is how cults get started. This is how deception is birthed. It all starts out of ignorance.
Not only do so-called Christians not know the gospel, they do not know why the gospel is necessary. They do not understand the true nature of God or their own state and condition. And to make things worse, most of these misconceptions have been propagated from very big and very public pulpits all across our country.
The answer to the problem may be as simple as going back to the scriptures themselves and building a basic foundation on what the true gospel IS and why it is so important.
Before we get into that, let’s first discuss what the gospel is NOT.
First of all, the gospel is not about you (or me). It is not the message that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. It is not that God will give your life destiny or purpose and solve all of your problems. The gospel does not exist to make you healthy, wealthy and comfortable. It is not simply the notion that you can have a personal relationship with Jesus. The gospel is not your own personal testimony or how you live your life, no matter how righteous or holy it may be. While all of these things may be true, it is NOT the gospel. It is not true that you can preach the gospel without using words, even though that sounds noble and wise. Your life may be a testimony to the power of the gospel, but it is not the gospel itself. It may have a profound and powerful effect on you, but it is not ABOUT you. The gospel is FOR you, but its message is not centered on you. We are not the centerpiece, Christ is. And any gospel that Jesus Christ is not the center of, is not the true gospel.
Ok, now that we have that out of the way, a few fun facts…
The word gospel is the English translation of the Greek word “euaggelion” which means a good message. The prefix “eu” means good. As an example, when we give a eulogy at a funeral, we are saying good words about the deceased, or when we are feeling euphoric, we are having intensely good feelings about something. The root word “aggelos” is where we derive the English word angel, and it literally means messenger. So, the word at its root means a good message, or good news.
The word gospel is often translated as a noun, referring to the message itself. It also translated as a verb, referring to the act of announcing the message. We get the word evangelize from this word euaggelion (can you see it now?). An evangelist is anyone who carries or proclaims the good message, or good news. Call me stupid, but I never saw before that “angel” is nestled right in the middle of that word. Makes perfect sense now, doesn’t it, knowing that an angel is a messenger from God?
The next thing we need to acknowledge is that the gospel is the gospel of God (Mark 1:14, Romans 1:1), in other words, it is GOD’S gospel. It has its origin in and with HIM. He, therefore, has authority of it. He decides what it is and what it is not. We who are commissioned to proclaim this good news do not get the privilege of defining it. God help any man who takes the essence of God’s gospel and perverts it to fit into his own twisted theology. It is the good message of the restoration of mankind unto God, their purchase and pardon, the forgiveness of their sin, and rescue from the wrath of God. It is not something men should profit from or use to build names for themselves. No, it is God’s message. It is God’s word and promise concerning His Son and His work to redeem men from the curse of sin and death. It is that and nothing more. It is that and so much more. It is that simple and yet deeply complex.
I hope you stick with me through the next several posts so we can discover together the whole truth about the Gospel of God and His Kingdom. I think it will not only amaze you, but it will grow your appreciation for God and what He has done on your behalf so that you may be with Him for all eternity. My prayer is that once you fully understand the nature of the good message, you will be emboldened to proclaim it like never before. It is why Christ came. It is what He has appointed His church to do until He returns.
“…Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15