Which and Whose Gospel?
Which and Whose
Gospel?
This blog will be a little
different. I have been in a cocoon the
last several weeks after listening to a sermon series by Andy Stanley call Brand:New (click the words for
the series). I recently taught a Sunday
School lesson based on my cocoon and gizzard grinding in my mind and wanted to
share it. You will need your Bible, as I
am not going to put the entire Scripture passages, just the references. Prepare yourself to be challenged. I continue to be in my cocoon about this, and
members of the class I taught have told me they are still wrestling with it in
their minds and hearts. Without further
ado here it is!
What is
in this picture? You probably said “an
apple.”
Please
read Matthew 28:19-20. You may be able
to quote it without looking it up.
Hopefully you know what this passage is about before you look it
up. If you aren’t familiar with this passage,
you need read your Bible more often. I
think it is obvious from Jesus’s command that we are all (Christians) commanded to be ambassadors for the Gospel. I have often thought how someone can be a
Christian and not share the Gospel.
Jesus told the woman at the well that if she drank of the water he
offered, out of her life would flow rivers of living water. Sharing the Gospel is a natural outpouring of
the Holy Spirit through us. There is not
a spigot to turn it on it off.
So, let
me ask you a question. Feel free to
cogitate on it before reading further.
As you contemplate this question, pretend you are answering the question
for someone who have never heard of Jesus, Christianity or the death, burial,
and resurrection of Jesus. The
question: What is the Gospel we are
commanded to preach in Matthew 28:19-20?
What Gospel do you believe? What
is the Gospel you live? Is that the same
gospel I would see you live out if I observed your daily life? Is that the same Gospel to which your daily
conversations would lead me if I could listen to them? Is that the same Gospel to which your “thought
life” and “self-talk” would lead me if I could read your mind?
The
topic here is a powerful word called “integrity.” Integrity is something I hold very
dear. If you had to define integrity how
would you do it? If you can’t define it,
can you think of examples of integrity or a lack of it? Dictionary.com give three definitions for integrity:
1.
Adherence to moral and ethical principles;
soundness of moral character; honesty.
2.
The state
of being whole and undivided.
Most people equate integrity with honesty. I prefer the second definition. Based on the second definition it is safe to
say that something that ceases to be whole or becomes divided has lost its
integrity. If I break a pencil in half, it is no longer a
pencil, but a broken pencil (or as one person put it, two pencils). You see my
point though.
Ships
are built to be impervious to water or watertight. A ship with a hole in its hull that is
allowing water into the ship is said to have lost its “watertight integrity.” The hull is no longer whole but has a hole
and is divided.
God’s
ambassador for delivering the Gospel to the Gentiles was Paul. Paul’s conversion was different than most,
because he came face-to-face with a risen Christ, and was confronted by the
person he was persecuting. His
conversion is recorded in Acts 9. Read
Acts 9:1-19. Not only was Paul
converted, but the same Christ he persecuted he was now preaching. Let’s read Acts 9:19-22. I think the key part of this passage is “proving
that Jesus was the Christ.”
You are
wondering where our discussion about the Gospel and integrity went. Reflect a moment on where we are. Go ahead, I
will wait …….
Go with
me to Galatians. I came to the
realization over the past few weeks that Galatians is about … integrity. Specifically let’s read Galatians 1:1-5. In this passage Paul is establishing what the
mountain me of the 1700’s and 1800’s called “bona fides.” He is giving
his good faith credentials for saying what follows. What is Paul’s topic in this letter to the church
at Galatia? His topic is the integrity
of the Gospel.
Read Galatians 1:6-10 with me. What makes Paul an authority on the
Gospel. Read Galatians 1:11-2:6 with
me. Paul tells us that he is preaching
the Gospel revealed to him by Jesus.
Additionally, he has not been influenced in his preaching by others or
added anything to the Gospel. Thinks on
this: If I take an apple, put a popsicle
stick in it and dip it in caramel, is it still just an apple?
Why was Paul addressing the
integrity of the Gospel with the Galatians?
There were some in the church at Galatia that were attacking the integrity
of the Gospel. Jewish Christians were
teaching that you had to be circumcised to be a Christian because Jesus was
Jewish and circumcised. They were
clinging to Jewish law while accepting the grace of salvation. Go back to Galatians and read Galatians
2:15-21. How dare they add to the
Gospel?
Wait!!! Don’t we do the same thing in our lives, our
thoughts, our self-talk, our daily conversations, and our spontaneous judgment
of others. Let’s read a few Scriptures
that challenge the gospel we live in our daily lives, our thoughts and
conversations:
Ephesians
2:8-9 James 2:18 2 Corinthians 5:17
Galatians
2:20 Romans 5:1
When we
sin or behave unlike Christ, don’t we say in our minds, “that’s just like me!” Is that the truth of the Gospel as elucidated
in 2 Corinthians 5:17?
The
Gospel is faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Romans 10:9 tells us that, “if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is
Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead we will be
saved.” The Latin term for this is
solo fide. Solo
fide means faith alone, or faith plus nothing. We cannot make the Gospel any more Gospel by
adding to it. We cannot justify ourselves, we are justified by faith in Christ.
Interestingly
we claim the truth of 1 John 1:9 and confess our sins because we feel
guilty. Paul tells us our sin crucifies
Christ again, and questions the integrity of the Gospel.
As
Gentile believer we have something in common with the Galatians in that we
attack the integrity of the Gospel. We
let ourselves bring worldly standard and church tradition to the Gospel just as
the Jewish Christians brought the law.
We think being a disciple of Christ is:
-what
we wear.
-what
translation of the Bible we use.
-How
we pray, when we pray, or how much we pray.
-Acts
of service apart from faith.
-Acts
of service to prove our faith or earn our salvation/God’s favor.
Paul
addressed this very succinctly with the Galatians. Let’s read Galatians 5:1-6. This passage should take us back to the time
when Jesus was asked by the Pharisees what the greatest commandment is. Do you remember his response? Take a minute to read Matthew 22:36-40.
So we
are back to the original questions. Is
there agreement between the Gospel and the gospel we preach, live and
think? Do we consciously or
unconsciously add to the Gospel? Do we bring
worldly standards and tradition to the Gospel?
Fortunately
Paul does not leave the Galatians or us with guilt but words of
encouragement. Let’s read Galatians
6:1-10!!!
Welcome to my cocoon! Still a work in progress here. A last thought … do we use these measures
for those who say they are Christians:
-You
are not a Christian unless …
-You
are a Christian if …
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