“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,” (Romans 1:1 (ESV)
For the next week, we will suspend our study of the Gospel of Matthew in order to answer the question, What is the Gospel? It’s a simple question but requires a serious and biblical answer. The reason I believe this question is so simple, but significant in how we answer it, is because many people, including professing and church going Christians, get it wrong. You read that correctly. Many people in the culture, but also many people in the church, are getting the gospel wrong.
Christian Smith, a sociologist and professor at the University of Notre Dame, coined the term moralistic therapeutic deism in describing what American youth religiously believe. Breaking down the title, we can see that for many American youth, religion, or the gospel, is about something far different than what the Bible teaches.
First, for many the gospel is about being a good moral person. Do unto others as they would do unto you. It’s the so-called Golden Rule. The good moral person believes in the existence of someone called God and seeks to live a life that will be pleasing to this God they acknowledge exists. However, who this so-called God is probably has more to do with their own imagination of who they believe God to be as opposed to what the Bible says and reveals Him to be.
Second, for many the gospel is about feeling good. That’s why you go to church, to feel good about oneself and about one’s relationship with other people. You sing and listen to high energy music, hear a ten minute story from the pastor or worship leader and go home feeling energized and excited. It is a form of therapy which doesn’t cost as much as going to a psychiatrist. Put your five bucks in the offering plate and you are good to go. At least until next Saturday night, or Sunday morning, when you will need another high energy concert fix. Church becomes about hearing what you want to hear, and not what you need to hear.
Thirdly, for many the gospel is about a Deistic God and not the God of the Bible. Deism was a religious philosophy formed in the 18th century which basically taught that while God created the world, afterwards He then left the world on its own. Therefore, God does not intervene in the world He created. Mankind has to figure out what it has to do to solve its problems. The world should not expect any help from God so we look to entertainers, politicians or television personalities, Oprah anyone, to help us solve our problems and to give us a purpose for living.
Dr. Steven J. Nichols comments, “Sociologist Christian Smith coined the phrase moralistic therapeutic deism to describe the prominent religious view of American youth. His description sticks, but how should we respond? To simply cater to such tastes is to pander. In doing so, the gospel and the demands of the Christian life are lost.”
How then do we respond, as Dr. Nichols asks? Do we throw up our hands and say “to each his own?” Or how about, “your truth is your truth and my truth is mine.” Do we reject the biblical gospel which propositions absolute truth to a culture which rejects absolute truth? Even though in rejecting absolute truth claims, the culture in doing so makes its own absolute truth claim. Or how about continuing to do what many churches are doing? This is because moralistic, therapeutic deism works for many and having auditoriums filled with people has for many pastors become more important than filling pulpits with biblical truth.
If the church in general, and Christians in particular, are to make any impact in the culture in which we live, the answer does not lie in becoming more like the culture. That road leads to a dead end with the culture setting the agenda, rather than the Scriptures.
Instead, the answer is to proclaim and live out the biblical gospel: both and, and not either/or. Churches and believers must clearly articulate the gospel, but at the same time they must also live it out in everyday circumstances. One cannot be done without the other. Both must be lived out in a delicate and consistent balance. Both are equally important and equally necessary.
Jesus said as such in His familiar statement known as the Great Commission. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Jesus said we are to make disciples, baptize these disciples, and then teach them how to live for the glory of God. In other words, we are to proclaim the gospel and then disciple new converts into how to live out the biblical gospel while at the same time they are verbally sharing the gospel to others who do not know God.
This then leads me back to my original question. What is the gospel? In the next several days, we will examine what the Bible says, and how it illustrates, the gospel of God. There are four major truths to explore. We will examine all of them.
I trust if you already know these truths, you will be strengthened and encouraged as to their veracity. If you’re are wondering what exactly are the truth claims of the gospel, my hope and prayer is that you will become convinced of not only what these truth claims are, but you will also become committed to share them: not only verbally but also in the way you live your life for the glory of God.
Let’s begin!
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 