On The 114th Day of 2011 My True Love Gave to Me The Gospel Again
I guess this is confession time for me. It’s no big secret among those who know me well that I believe there is a death by gospel going on in the contemporary church. We get the gospel in almost every song we hear on CD / radio during the week. We get the gospel in almost every sermon heard on the radio / PC during the week. Then on Sunday—more gospel. Then the holidays come—more gospel with pomp and circumstance. For instance, it’s not enough that the song, “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas ) is symbolic of twelve different truths found in the Bible
( http://www.carols.org.uk/the_twelve_days_of_christmas.htm ); hundreds have written their own “true” version making all twelve verses about the gospel
( http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/xmas/therealtwelvedaysofchristmas.shtml ).
Yes, every verse of a song, like the Bible, must be about the gospel. I look forward to the inevitable, “The 365 days of the Gospel” that will certainly be written by someone, and we are all sure that the church will be the better for it. And since Christ is no longer the King of kings and Lord of lords, the “my true love” part refers to Christ who is now, according to spiritual brainiacs like Francis Chan, our boyfriend and “lover.” Undoubtedly, the 114th day of 2011, Easter Sunday, will be no different. Furthermore, as I have sarcastically predicted before, and I will say again, the days of serving the Lord’s Table and re-baptizing every Sunday in Evangelical churches will eventually become reality as well.
Total gospel overload. Meanwhile, Christians suffer in the torture chamber some call “home.” Someone shared a situation with me last week concerning a sister (let’s call her “Maggie”) who is a member of a “thriving” church that emphasizes the gospel. They are what many call, “gospel centered.” Errrrrr, amen brother. Her husband, who is well respected in said church, has a pornography addiction. But praise ____: they hear the gospel every Sunday!
So, what’s my grip? Well, certainly NOT with the gospel (it means “good news”), but rather what most Christians have come to believe the gospel is: the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ ONLY. There is more to the gospel than that—the gospel is also good news about how we masterfully apply the word of God to our lives. Maggie needs some good news. Will she get it at church? I doubt it. The apostle Paul said Christians are called to peace, and Maggie isn’t finding much, even after here husband has heard 365 different versions of the gospel minus “anything we would do.” After all, “it’s not about anything we do, but what Christ has done.” Is that workin’ for Maggie? I doubt it.
Let me not write a book, but simply state my case. When Christ began his ministry, he went about proclaiming “the gospel” (Matt 4:23). What was that gospel? Our question is answered shortly thereafter in Matt 5:1-7:29; that section of Scripture is commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount. His death, burial, and resurrection is nowhere to be found in that sermon. The sermon is about our role in having life, and having it more abundantly. Certainly, without the works of Christ, there is no good news of the kingdom. But once we are in, Maggie should get more good news—Christ has some news concerning what he wants her to do about the circumstance she finds herself in. He will tell her: how to think about the problem; what attitude to have about the problem; how to pray about the problem; how other Christians should help her; what God himself promises to do about the problem; and lastly, what God expects her to do about the problem. And as a result of this information, Maggie not only finds a future hope, but a present hope. Christ came that we may not only have life more abundantly at the resurrection, but NOW also. Besides, the Maggie’s of the world make poor evangelist. Homes that can’t withstand the storms of life make poor shelter for a lamp (Matt 5:14 and Matt 7:24-27).
The gospel is cross centered indeed—but it is also problem centered. Um, in case anybody hasn’t noticed, the gospel addresses a problem: SIN. But then it addresses all of the other problems caused by sin—there’s a need for that, just in case no one has noticed. And also, just in case anybody missed it, Epahraditus didn’t almost die because Christ was doing everything for him.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
I find it interesting that even though Francis Chan mentions God as our “lover”, he leaves out an important key of any relationship with a “lover.” Now not being married myself I can only say what I have heard from others, but everyone who’s ever had a successful “marriage” can’t deny that it’s hard work. And for both parties involved. Part of the hard work involves putting the other party above ourselves in importance. We listen to their words, or “commandments” if you will, and obey them, even if it seems difficult and hard for us. If God is our “lover” like Mr. Chan claims, it most certainly won’t be all newlywed fun, but rather disciplined work on both God’s part (not a problem for Him) and OURS. But, on the bright side, look at how many successful older couples would say they are more in love after all those years of struggle and hard work, than when they were first married. That’s the key. True “falling in love with God”, as Francis Chan would like to put it, can only come through throwing our will out the window and submitting to God in obedience, putting Him first over ourselves (which is His rightful place anyway).
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Good point. Chan’s horizontal example used to teach our supposed relationship with Christ is not true or realistic. In fact, it panders to the well known fact that Christians are dumbed down and have lost their ability to be critical, analytical, or objective.
> —–Original Message—– >
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