DangerousGospel
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Salvation story
Salvation story
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Who is Jesus?
Read from book
What is the Gospel?
https://youtu.be/UiXsgH-n8kI
I showed you this video because this is so often what we as Christians tend to do
We tend to be the guy running into a lemon on a house and telling them we have good news
The only way news is good is if it outweighs the bad news happening all around
Yet I think we tend to offer up the Gospel as something that only helps a small amount
That the world and people around are struggling with everything, yet we only offer the Gospel as a get out of hell free card
Consider this story
A pastor was out sharing the Gospel and started talking to a drug dealer about the Gospel
He told him to leave the hustle and “get saved”
The drug dealer told him “That sounds good and all, but what are we supposed to eat tonight? My children can’t eat your Bible.”
How would you respond to this?
This got me thinking, what are we doing with the Gospel
Better yet, how are we thinking about the Gospel?
So often I think that we shrink the Gospel to where it is only about the Soul
We only see the Gospel as something for the soul, but not for the body
And the soul is important, but what about the hear and now?
Why would the drug dealer want the Gospel when his family is hungry now?
Yet listen to this
It’s near and relevant to all those who believe, and yet there is a depth to it that will take an eternity to plunge. Like the ocean, an infant can walk the gospel shores unharmed, yet there are depths that would drown an elephant. Both touch its substance, but neither fully master its scope. All can wade in its shallow waters, but none can fully explore the depths of its reservoir.
KB
The Gospel is deep and wide
Anyone can touch it
It is for anyone
And no matter how deeper we go, we can never reach the end of it
A Fuller Gospel
A Fuller Gospel
I mean listen to how Jesus is talking to the Pharisees here
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
Jesus talks to the Pharisees and condemns them for being so focused on their own religious piety that they ignore the other parts of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness
They were so focused on praying, reading the Bible, that they completely forgot to show love for others
They forgot to show justice, and mercy
We can’t let this happen to us
We can’t get so stuck on the “good things” of God that we miss meeting people where they are
We can’t get so stuck on Loving God that we miss the second part of loving our neighbor
And what is love?
Love: seeking the greatest good for the object being loved
Look at how Jesus approached faith with the rich young ruler
Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
This gets spritiualized all the time of - maybe Jesus didn’t really didn’t mean give everything, but just some
But I am tending to take this section more literal
Jesus is looking a man who has studied and knows the Law perfectly and is asking him - where is your heart?
Where is the change?
Jesus is approaching faith not from the angle of dogma (“say yes to these truths”) but demonstration (“how ya livin’?”).
In other words we need to stop trying to get people to just agree with the gospel, and instead get people to obey the gospel
Part of the Gospel is work!
Think we are introduced to God in Genesis 1, and what is He doing? Working
What was the thing that He then commanded Adam and Eve to do? Work
So we are called to do, and obey, that our faith isn’t just a blindly accepting these beliefs, but a action of putting those beliefs into action
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
God does great things when we obey His words
When we listen to Him he takes the ball and runs with it
Multiple times there Paul is talking about obeying, and working
About taking what we believe and putting it into practice
James says it this way
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
People see our faith by our works
That we should be known by our works
That in my personal opinion it is easy to see if someone is saved or not - what is their fruit
What are their actions that they claim to believe
If there is no change, do they really believe the things they say?
NOW before you write me off as a works based salvation guy, I’m no
We are saved by Grace, through Faith, as Paul tells us - I even have that tattooed on my side
But if we believe these things, we should be doing something
Dallas Willard, an American theologian and auther, says it this way
Grace is not opposed to effort, but is opposed to earning
Dallas Willard
We need to have faith and works
We need to be seeking and serving others
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
To fully show the Gospel we must show love for people
To show love for people we must help them
Workin’ it
Workin’ it
Paul made it clear we don’t earn our salvation, but work is how we show the Gospel and the Kingdom
How can we explain God’s love for the world while maintaining that God isn’t really concerned about loving people while they are in the world?
Why would someone care about the Gospel we preach, if we look down on the marginalized and refuse to help?
For the Christian ethical problems get solved pretty simply in th phrase love your neighbor
Abortion? Love your neighbor
Immigration? Love your neighbor
Race? Love your neighbor
If we are showing love to people and seeking their greatest good, then people will see that the Gospel is for so much more than just their soul
The Gospel is for all of mankind
Conclusion
Conclusion
I think we mistake the Gospel
Our job isn’t to make the Gospel more attractive or relevant for people
I believe when we try to do this - present a sexy gospel - we end up undercutting what the Gospel is
The Gospel is relevant for every person who has ever existed because the Gospel is for sinners
The Gospel doesn’t only save us from our spiritual sins, but if we are obeying what Jesus is calling us to do, it will help us in the hear and now
The Gospel is greater
Who is Jesus?
Back to the commerical, why does it feel like that when we present the Gospel?
The drug dealer saying my family can’t eat your Bible. How would you respond to him?
How can we ensure that we don’t become like the Pharisee’s that Jesus was condeming?
What makes the Gospel important for everyday life?
