The Gospel

Literally Gospel means "good news", but within the context of Scripture, the depth of the good news is life changing. But what is it really? The technical definition is the message of God's redemption in Jesus Christ. In the New Testament it is, first, the proclamation by Jesus that the Kingdom of God (Heaven) has drawn near and, then, the proclamation by his disciples that in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection the Kingdom has been established and that salvation and forgiveness are offered to all who believe. Later it came to be used for those early Christian writings which tell the story of the unique manifestation of the "good news" in the person and work of Jesus Christ (i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Today, we Christians use the word as an ambiguous term to describe evangelism—"preaching the Gospel"-or as an experiential revelation of Jesus which leads to piety and devotion—"hearing the Gospel". And while these ideas are valid and give us deeper insight into what the Gospel is, for those of us amazed by its grace, we know that we are only holding onto a piece of the elephant (to borrow the atheist's metaphor). The whole elephant is still unexplored.

This doesn't mean that the Gospel isn't simple, just that it gets bigger and deeper everyday we are changed by its message of grace. If we were to stop and meditate upon the implications and consequences of the Gospel in history, in theology, in our very own personal lives, I think we would be awestruck by its impact on every aspect of creation. Simply the fact that the Gospel has been at the forefront of God's mind since before creation and has been woven into the threads of history and creation—even unto the end of this age when God will create a new heaven and a new earth. It is staggering, and yet, despite its philosophical and theological girth, it is presented to us as a free gift, given by a loving Father.

However, it is not a gift meant to keep for ourselves, nor is it a chunk of information we know in our minds. It is the life we live and the hope we share. It is praying for a stranger and being a good friend. It is caring for the fatherless and single mothers. It is living with the understanding that no person deserves the grace of God and then giving it indiscriminately and without consideration of personal cost. And most importantly it is living with the understanding that you don't deserve the grace of God, but receiving it with humility and faith in Jesus Christ. It is the life lived apart from Sunday mornings worship with all of its ritual and high-minded charades, where blood and tears are shed everyday because it is a real world bound by addiction and abuse, hate and fear, pain and suffering; where real people fail at life. The Gospel is that Eternal Life that we live out today in the midst of everything else because there is more than this. The good news is the hope greater than all of us and greater than our despair and struggles. That hope is simply Jesus and his Kingdom. The Gospel is the promise to us that we can live in spiritual abundance in a world of poverty.

Now What?

There is an interesting myth that has penetrated the worldview of Christians. This myth is like most lies in that it is a half truth. For some reason we have gotten it into our minds that salvation is defined by "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ". But this is only half of what it means to be a Christian. It is true that regeneration, or being "born again" as the Bible calls it, is a deeply personal and unique experience, and, as a result, intimacy with the Creator comes naturally. However, according to Scripture, this is not the goal.

Time and time again, the Bible reminds us that our belief in Jesus was not for our self-absorbed, naval gazing selves. There are two sides to this coin we call salvation. John teaches us this reality in a subtle way with the last chapter of the gospel he wrote. He ends the previous chapter by writing, "But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ...and that by believing you may have life in his name." But the story doesn't end there. The next chapter has a vivid and memorable discussion between Peter and Jesus.

The story is set up in this way: Peter, the leader among the disciples (and consequently the one who denied ever knowing Jesus when confronted by a little girl barely old enough to see the "High School Musical" trilogy) wanted to go fishing. He takes six of his buddies and fishes all night and catches nothing. That morning, Jesus appears to his disciples for a third time in John's gospel and makes them breakfast after he bails them out of a fishless fishing trip. He then turns to Peter and deals with him in front of everyone. Jesus asks him three times if he loves him. Each time Jesus does this, Peter tells him that he does, and Jesus tells him each time how to love him: "Feed my lambs", "Take care of my sheep", and "Feed my sheep".

On a side note, it is widely taught that Jesus uses a special word for "love", agape, and Peter uses a lesser synonym phileo. Then on the third time Jesus uses phileo, illustrating Peter's lack of commitment or faith. Among several problems I have with the exegetical steps taken to come to this interpretation (including a poor understanding of the Greek language, the disregard for John's writing style, and sloppy word studies done only using a concordance), does Jesus really seem like the kind of guy who lowers his standards to accommodate some body's lack of faith?

What if Jesus is making the point that if Peter loves him, he needs to do something about it. And that something is to think about and live for others. Jesus wants Peter to love him by serving the needs of others. John is showing us that our "personal relationship with Jesus" is actually inter-personal. If we think about it, the person in the Bible who had the deepest relationship with God was Jesus and he did nothing but serve and think of others. When we look at his life, we should feel ashamed about how we have misrepresented the nature of this sacred relationship. His life contradicts just about all of our popular beliefs. He was not healthy and wealthy, Jesus was hated and homeless. He didn't spend hours in the Christian book store trying to find that book that would help him overcome his "bitterness" or actualize his self-worth. He was betrayed by his friends and the Bible calls him a "man of sorrows". Furthermore, what he tells Peter next is that he too will be murdered by crucifixion. This is not the self-affirming, hugabbly soft life Peter was hoping for. This is not the "victorious Christian living" we've read so much about. Instead, this is hard and selfless. It is putting God and others above your own well being.

This notion is entirely antithetical to everything we would expect out of salvation. But it does answer the question of "Now what?" It's that question you confront yourself with sobering realization and say, "My Christianity is all about myself." Do you love him? Then do something about it! And if you don't know where to begin or what to do, start where Jesus left off, breakfast. Invite someone over and be hospitable. Give someone something you know they need. Think less about your budget or your schedule and do something for someone else. Start little and go big.