Ashamed of the Gospel (5/28/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Rom 1:16-20.

"What am I so afraid of?" Haven't we all asked ourselves that question after backing off from sharing the Gospel? We may have a longing to share our faith, but something keeps us from opening up. It seems our family, our friends, and the people we're closest to are the hardest ones to share our faith with. It mostly comes down to what weight we put on the possible repercussions we may face if someone doesn't like us talking about our religion with them. But we must also consider what our Lord expects of us and the repercussions of not letting people know the reality of their need for Jesus.

We all need to trust Yahweh more and become bolder in sharing our faith. Think about it. Trust and boldness is the combination that we need. Some trust Yahweh plenty, but have no guts to actually evangelize. Some have plenty of boldness, and yet don't trust the Lord to help them temper and adjust their approach. Jesus promised his disciples that the Holy Spirit would help them speak about their faith. That promise is still in affect. We can also depend on his help if we're doing our best to be Kingdom builders.

The Gospel means "good news." In today's Christianese many people have replaced the word Gospel with Good News. But all too often people hearing these modern forms of Good news are actually hearing very little of the Gospel. The Gospel is indeed good news, but we must ensure that we're sharing the good news that Jesus desires. Not all good news is the Gospel, and not all news is good. We need an understanding that what people hear when we speak of their need of a Savior can be very different. Some will be thrilled that there's a cure for their sin sickness. Others will be greatly offended that we actually called them a dirty rotten sinner. That's why we need the Holy Spirit's help to rightly approach people.

When does an evangelist fail to do the work of an evangelist? When he fails to proclaim the "evangel," the Gospel. Like everyone else, the evangelist faces the temptation of sugarcoating the Gospel and leaving it without the power to set people free from their sins. The result is that he's not actually proclaiming the Gospel at all. When we say, "Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life," we're telling them good news, but it's not the full Gospel. When we say, "Jesus loves you unconditionally," we're speaking good news, but it's still not the full Gospel. The Gospel offers an either/or proposition. Accept what Jesus did for you and have eternal life, or reject what he did and be stuck with eternal damnation.

The Bible is filled with examples of false prophets who tell people the sugarcoated good news. Jer 8:11-12 says, "They dress the wound of my people as it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush." The shame of this passage is that these false prophets had far more converts than Jeremiah. That trend is still in operation today. It often seems that the Gospel of Nice attracts the crowds, while the real tough Word of our Lord doesn't.

When the people of Jeremiah's day heard "peace," they weren't discerning enough to recognize it was a false Gospel. They saw no need for repentance. They were the "people of God," so why would they need to be set free from their sins. Too many people continue in that delusion. I'm a "good person," or a solid churchgoer, or a believer is often the response to any challenge about their status with God.

In the same way, why should anyone today turn to Jesus if he hears that Yahweh already loves him unconditionally? If that message is true, doesn't it mean that we can continue to sin without fear of judgment? If God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life, how can my unrepentant heart possibly disrupt the Creator's plan? People need to hear the truth of the Gospel. They must be confronted with the fact that they must repent and then volunteer to walk with Jesus for the rest of their lives. They must know that their choice of whether to accept or reject Jesus will be the determining factor in their life after death location.

When we look beyond the modern distortions of the Gospel and return to the original message, we clearly see a major difference between the true Good News and the so-called good news of the modern false prophets. People need to hear the plain truth about God and his plan for salvation, not the watered-down, easier to swallow version. When we soften the tough message, we actually make it harder for people to understand their dire need of cleansing from their sin. When we allow people to make anything less than a full surrender and commitment to following Jesus, we're condemning ourselves as false prophets.

Paul announced, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel." The true Gospel has its origin in Yahweh's revelation. It's Yahweh's Good News about the work Jesus did on our behalf. It's "the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." The Gospel works for anyone who receives the message with a seeking heart. There are many ways to tell the message and many ways in which people will hear it. But the underlying truth that we're sinners in need of salvation and Jesus is the Savior must always be a part of our presentation of the Gospel.

The Gospel is about salvation. Salvation is about our rescue from the eternal death caused by our sinfulness. To be cured of a serious disease is the same as getting saved. To escape defeat in battle because of reinforcements arriving in the nick of time is like getting saved. These are examples from our world, but we must be careful to distinguish these from the ultimate rescue from eternal damnation that's awaiting all mankind without the saving grace of Jesus. Since Yahweh is sovereign, and all matters are in his hands, we must also accept that this is the answer to our great need. To try to come up with new and more welcome versions of salvation is to remove him from his position as Sovereign Ruler and King.

The Gospel found in our Bible is the Good News that Yahweh has provided us with salvation from his wrath. By his life, death, and resurrection; Jesus can rescue repentant sinners from the Sovereign Judge's judgement. The salvation we're talking about is salvation from falling into the hands of God, from the punishment he must enforce on sinful human beings. To be absolutely righteous, Yahweh must punish those who reject or deny Jesus. It wouldn't be just and right for those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus if he allowed someone who hasn't a place in the same Heaven. Mercy is only available to those who believe and act on the Gospel message.

Since salvation comes from Yahweh alone, this proclaiming of unconditional love is not only not the true Gospel, it really undermines and denies the truth of the Gospel. A Gospel without the truth of the wrath of our Creator is insufficient. It's unbiblical and therefore unable to deliver those who trust in this lie, just like the people who trusted in the false peace message of Jeremiah's day. Before mercy can be given a judgment and punishment must be declared. To offer mercy before this is to deny the reality of our need to fully admit we can't be saved without accepting that we're sinners deserving of condemnation.

In verse 18 Paul speaks of the people who suppress the truth of Yahweh that's plainly revealed to all of us. We know, "all have sinned." All of humanity has turned away from their Creator and trusted in lies and idols. As a result, we're all justly exposed to the wrath of our Creator for breaking his Law. The only way for a human to be sinless is to be so mentally handicapped that they never become aware of good and evil, right and wrong. Since our Creator gave us all a conscience to help us determine right and wrong, no one can say they're unfairly judged a sinner when they willfully break any of Yahweh's commandments.

Judged by the standard of complete righteousness, all mankind faces judgment. We have no hope of escaping this judgment because it applies to all of his creation. Only by trusting in the work of Jesus can we avoid judgment and damnation. The Gospel is about real salvation from the very real wrath of our Creator through a very real Savior. When we fail to tell people the full Gospel, we offer bad news instead of good news. There's no Good News apart from a real understanding of the bad news that makes the work of Jesus on our behalf necessary. To give people less than the fullness of the Gospel is to leave them believing they don't have to do anything, they just have to "believe." This kind of belief is often only an intellectual assent to the fact that you're not perfect.

So don't dance around the truth. Our families, friends, and everyone we meet needs to hear the Gospel. Maybe nobody has ever taken the time to explain the real Gospel to them. Just having someone recite John 3:16, or hold up a sign with the scripture reference on it, doesn't mean you've truly heard the Gospel. We've got to be much more thorough and bold and concerned for their souls. Otherwise, they may just end up in Hell.

We need to be more aggressive, especially as we know the return of Jesus is closer than it's ever been before. We need to be bolder, trusting our Lord to speak through us. The Holy Spirit within us knows exactly what the person we're talking to needs to hear. Trust him to give you the right words. Trust him to use you in spreading the Kingdom around the world. Because that's actually the family business, and we're all involved (at least we're supposed to be).

Matt 10:32-33 should encourage us to speak up. "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in Heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown before my Father in Heaven." When you share the Gospel with someone, think about this: "This might be my last time to tell him that you love him."

Blessings & Peace, Mike