The Gospel in Your Words

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

I don’t think he planned ahead to have the perfect answer. He probably didn’t spend six Wednesdays in Lent trying to piece together the perfect response. He was caught off guard. Put on the spot. Taken by surprise. The answer he gave was still pretty good. He used more than seven words, but I guess we won’t hold that against him.

“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked His disciples. Peter spoke up on their behalf, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”. It was a good answer. Jesus himself spoke well about it. “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” It is a good reminder that when we confess the gospel faithfully, it’s not because we are so wise to have figured it out. It’s not because we are so smart, or so clever. It’s because God has come to us. It’s because God, through His Word, has revealed himself to us.

Peter also knew what it was like to give a wrong answer. It wasn’t too long after his faithful confession that he found himself in the courtyard of the high priest. It was the night that Jesus was betrayed and arrested. The disciples had scattered in fear. Again, Peter was caught off guard. Again, he was put on the spot. But this time didn’t turn out so well. Three times in that courtyard he was asked about his connection to Jesus. Three times people approached him, searching for his connection to Jesus. Three times Peter denied his Lord. “I do not know the man!” he insisted. And the rooster crowed.

I don’t know what was going through Peter’s mind some thirty years later when he wrote what we now call 1st Peter. Maybe he was thinking about those two different answers. Maybe he wanted to spare us the shame he bore early on that first Good Friday. Maybe that’s why he insisted and commands, “Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that you have”.

Throughout this season of Lent we’ve been thinking about how we would summarize the reason for our hope as Christians. We’ve been preparing ourselves to give an answer, to share the good news of Jesus with people in our lives. And so I’ll ask you: after these weeks of Lent thinking about the Gospel in seven words, do you feel more prepared? As you think about the people in your life that do not believe, or who have fallen away, are you ready to proclaim what they so badly need to hear? If not, then I’m glad you’re here today! Hopefully you can leave with a few more ideas.

One thing I have appreciated about the work we’ve done together this Lent is that it has given me bunch a ways to think about what God has done for us in Christ. There’s no one single way of summarizing the gospel. When Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am? he could have given many different correct answers. The people in your life who need to hear the gospel probably need to hear it in different ways, too. Each of them is in their unique situation and has their own unique experiences. We probably need more than one way of confessing the gospel if we are to be prepared to share our hope.

So what I would like to do today is spend a few minutes with you reflecting on the various responses that you have sent me. I’ve been very pleased with the response. At the start of the service I had received 34 different versions of the gospel in seven words. Well, most of you kept it to seven words. They are on a bulletin insert for you tonight. I would like you take these home with you. Circle or star the ones that you find helpful. Helpful not just sharing the Gospel with others, but also for yourself. There are plenty of times when we need encouragement and the comfort that comes from the Gospel.

Read through all the responses…

I think it is pretty unlikely that we’ll actually use these seven words and only these seven words as we share the gospel. For example, I don’t think any of us would (or should) go up to someone and say, “Ransomed for my release; set me free.” That might be a little weird. But perhaps those seven words can help you frame a conversation. Imagine, for instance, someone in your life who tends to feel burden by their mistakes of their past. It shouldn’t be too hard to think of someone. As you are talking with them, you might acknowledge how hard it is to be burdened by sin - where it feels like you are in chains or in captivity. Then perhaps , you’ll describe the freedom and life found in the forgiveness of Jesus. You won’t gloss over the challenges of life; the difficulties of shame and sin. But you’ll talk about the fullness of the victory Christ has - how He has come to set us free, to give us life. Even if you don’t use these words, the message you convey to this person will be, “Ransomed for my release; set me free.”

One vital seven word confession, that I have heard especially with Easter around the corner. “Christ is risen. He raises us, too.” One way to summarize the Gospel is using this death to life metaphor. It’s the hope we have of the empty tomb. Because He has conquered the grave for you and for me. That’s the heart of the Gospel. Jesus through His work on the cross has come to give us life! “Christ is risen, He raises us, too.”

As I read through your summaries, I found quite a few that I found personally meaningful. One in particular, “Jesus, our helper in life and death.” What a great summary of the good news! No matter what is thrown our way, in the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, Jesus is there beside of us - “Jesus our helper in life and death”.

Next week, we are going to celebrate the most important events in history. My prayer for you this Holy Week is that you will see our suffering and rising Savior. I pray that His glorious resurrection will fill you with hope. That His passion and love will bring light to all that is dark in your life. That He will fill you with life - new life, real life, joyful life, abundant life, and ultimately, eternal life. He has come to help you - do the work of salvation for you that you may be near Him forever! He has gone through death that you may life.

“Jesus, our helper in life and death”