What Is The Gospel?
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“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
- Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
The Gospel may not be what you think or what you've been told it is. What many of us have been handed in the name of God and Church is foreign to what Jesus actually said and did.
We need more conversations about this. We need safe places for the wrestling.
WHAT THE GOSPEL IS NOT
The Gospel is not an altar call with an ultimatum on the side. Nor is it the promise of a good life provided you show up and have an authentic experience of desiring to worship via songs and sermons. Nor is it a message you've got to get everyone to believe and live out. Nor a kingdom you've got to bring and extend.
The Gospel isn't something you do. It's something that has been done. It’s not a lifestyle, a statement of belief, or a body of doctrine. Simply put, the gospel is Jesus Christ.
The Gospel isn't something you do. It's something that has been done.
THE GOSPEL IS THE GREAT EXCHANGE
The whole point of the timeless saga of Jesus of Nazareth is that God became in him what we were trying to overcome - our humanity. As God laid down the only thing we want - being God - he revealed to us the sheer glory of just being who we are. He delighted to become what we strive to overcome.
God doesn't dwell in you if and when you get it together. His dwelling in you is reconciliation. Sanctification is what the presence of God does. The Gospel is not something you use to improve yourself; the Gospel is definitively about resurrecting dead people; and dead people offer nothing toward their resurrection.
"Just as the sun is not defiled by the contact of its rays with earthly objects, but rather enlightens and purifies them, so he who made the sun is not defiled by being made known in a body, but rather the body is cleansed and quickened by his indwelling."
- Saint Athanasius, On the Incarnation.
This is the miracle and mystery of the Gospel. Jesus was not polluted by our humanity; our humanity was sanctified by his divinity.
When Jesus was raised from the dead, he forever left buried in the grave the self-inflicted disease of human shame, self-hatred, and self-justification. In his resurrected body he ascended into the family of the Trinity. This means that in him we eternally have a seat at THEIR table. If that’s not good news, I don’t know what is!
Jesus was not polluted by our humanity; our humanity was sanctified by his divinity.
THE GOSPEL IS SHEER GRACE
Take a closer look at our obsession. It is an obstinate resistance to dependence. Remember the story of Adam and Eve? Just like them, we gag on being freely given what we need and opt instead for the illusion of independence. It's as if we choose the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil again and again.
What's unchangeable about God is that he is love, and he helplessly, hopelessly, scandalously loves us: every single one without exception or limit. What's changeable about us, but not by us, is our unbelieving hearts.
The whole of Scripture tells the story about our dead, hard hearts being replaced with beating hearts of flesh. It's the story of the sheer grace and compassion of the One who made us, who breathed the breath of life into our lungs in the first place.
What's unchangeable about God is that he is love and he helplessly, hopelessly, scandalously loves us: every single one without exception or limit. What's changeable about us, but not by us, is our unbelieving hearts.
THE GOSPEL IS LIFE
God's scandalous love means you and me have become permanent residents of, with, and in the Trinity (you may need to read that a few more times). Sure, we persist in the delusion of thinking it would be better to be free of our need for a Sustainer, but “…you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3, NRSV). Faith has always meant trusting that God’s Tree of Life is everything we want and need.
You can't have life without God and hope to live. It's like wanting to be a fish without water. You are invited to enjoy the endless home you have in the ocean.
The Gospel is freedom from our distaste for being human and our disdain for being dependent on the mysterious provision of the Divine. It is the restoration of life itself.
This blog explores what Jesus said and did. Everyone’s questions deserve conversation, not answers. You are invited to press in with us. Hit the link above to reach out or access all our resources. We'd love to hear from you.
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