Let me just say this at the outset. You MUST comment on this blog. The question at the end is your MIDTERM evaluation. (Smile) Don’t pass this opportunity up. Share with others!
The heart of any Church must be the Gospel. For no other social group can possibly be considered a Church without the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jews have synagogues, Muslims have mosques, business men have the Rotary/Kiwanis/Lion’s Clubs. Christians organize as a Church. The central tenant that keeps Christians together is the Gospel. But what is the Gospel? As you have read through Dever’s chapter on the Gospel he points out some common fallacies with the Gospel.
The Gospel is not that I’m OK and you are OK. I thouroughly enjoyed the first chapter of this section where Dever points out that some view “church” as a religious therapy session, where we plumb the depths of our souls, trying to make ourselves feel better with a few Bible verses. On the previous page (79) Dever mentions that quite often the Gospel is just placed as a thin veneer over the cultural values we already have and taking shape accordingly.
Question: Is Bethel Grace a place where this happens? And be careful here. It is easy to take somebody else’s culture, juxtapose it with Scripture and claim that we don’t conform to it. For example, we may look upon a sub-culture in America – American Youth, the skateboarding culture, the Rap music culture and see that Bethel Grace “hasn’t been swept up into that terrible state.” However, has Bethel Grace substituted those cultures for more traditional/acceptible cultures instead of the Gospel?
Continuing on with the “I’m OK, you’re OK” section,” Dever points out that sin has a lot to do with the Gospel. Dever states, “one of the early stages of becoming a Christian involves beginning to realize that your problems fundamentally are not that you have messed up your own life or that you have failed to realize your own potential, but that you have sinned, not primarily against yourself or even against someone else, but against God” (83).
Question: “Does the preaching and teaching of Bethel Grace conform to this message of the Gospel? When you look at your own life and testimony of salvation… where does sin enter into the picture?”
Dever continues the next section stating that another fallacy of the Gospel is that God is love. While the Bible does teach that God is love, mistaking the Gospel, the Good News, with God is love is fatal. It is a head-first dive into Hell. God is also Just, Holy and deeply offended by sin. The message of the Gospel is not that God is so loving He will forget sin and take you as you are. The message of the Gospel is that God is so offended by your sin, that you can’t clean yourself up for Him, but that He has provided a way to purify you through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
Question: Have you yourself experienced this line of thinking? How about while sharing the Gospel? Maybe even in your own thoughts before turning to Christ? Share with us how so.
The third section deals with us viewing the Gospel as the story about how Jesus wants to be our friend. This disturbs me a lot. Recently there has been much written about this issue. A few popular authors are stressing that the Jesus way of life is what we are to live, and if we live His way, then that allows us to be saved. God did not come just so that Jesus could be our friend – His sacrifice was not just for friendship, it was for redemption, reconciliation and restoration.
Finally, Jesus did not come with a new set of rules for us to live morally right. If the Law was enough to save, there would be no Gospel. When I read Scripture, I find that Jesus is more angry, upset, sorrowful and sick when He encounters individuals who are trying to live morally right. Just take notice that the gentle answers Jesus gives are to the “morally unpure” who know they live sinfully. However, those who try to live morally upright lives, who claim God’s grace through Abraham, are the victims of Jesus’ rebukes. Religiosity is something that God abhors. Matthew 9:13 is a great picture of this.
Question: How does Bethel Grace stand in light of this? Of all four misconceptions, do you see any signs of misunderstanding as a whole in the church? How about in individuals lives? Take what you now know to those you see who misunderstand the Gospel.
MUST ANSWER QUESTION
According to the Bible – what is the Gospel?
Can you say it in a minute?
Can you tell me what God requires of me after I’ve heard it?
What must I do to be saved?
I have really enjoyed our time together in our group as we have discussed the different “Marks of a healthy church”. This topic in particular is one that can put a person into action. The previous “Marks” which are extremely important, are how we are to have certain things evident in a church, and how we (the Church) communicate the gospel is critical.
Since I am a member of the Church, I am then responsible to see that the Truth/Gospel is communicated in the church and in my life, and to others. After our group met for the week, I met with a fella in my industry that I don’t get the opportunity to speak with that often. Knowing that I might not see him again soon I felt led to turn our lunchtime discussion to one that pointed to the Lord and specifically the Gospel of Christ.
After getting to a point in the discussion where I could ask, I said, “what is the gospel?” He said that it is “doing good to others”. Doing good to others? This comes from a person who considers himself very religious and a very good person. Sadly this “good person” does not know the Lord.
We spent the next hour talking about Man’s condition of sin and God’s holiness, and the work of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is what we discussed to where this man found himself in tears over the thought of his condition, as well as to how it shines light on his family. He realized that there is something more to this life than what he knows it to be. God seems to be calling to this man.
When we find ourselves discussing Truth with our Brothers in this “Men’s Group Format”, we can find it a whole lot more comfortable than to discuss it with those outside of “The Family”. We need to speak the Truth in love to those in the family and out of the family.
As I reflect on the questions posed on this blog posting, I am often reminded of how we all have a “story” of how we were saved. So many times I’ve heared people share their story, but many stories I hearit do not match up to what Scripture says.
I would encourage the readers of this response to write out their “story” of how Christ has redeemed them. Does our very own written story of God’s Saving Grace match up to what Scripture says about the Gospel, Sin, Redemption, Atonement, Sanctification? Do we really know what the Gospel is and how a life is transformed? It may be a great exercise, and something to share as an encouragement to others, as a life that has been changed by the power of the Gospel that leads to Salvation.