The Complicated Gospel
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 | A Spirituality Topic | Permalink
To those immersed in the jargon of Christianity and Sunday School curriculum, the crux of the faith - that Jesus' life, death, and resurrection has paved the way for mankind to be reconciled to God - can become comfortably familiar. Yet, to those unfamiliar with the finer nuances of the Christian faith, the Gospel becomes far more complex.
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.” - I Timothy 1:15 (NASB)
It seems simple enough. And it is.
But, in my conversations with friends and strangers about Christian spirituality and the person of Jesus, I’ve come to the conclusion that, often times, to simply say that “Jesus Christ died for your sins and was risen from the grave; he’s coming again to redeem the world, so repent and be saved” simply isn’t enough. There often comes an onslought of questions that the very idea that Jesus’ death and resurrection raises. I welcome these questions, even though sometimes they catch me off guard.
Who, What, Why, Where, When, How?
Why do you think that Jesus is the only way to God? How arrogant can you be?
If God is all-powerful, why did Jesus have to die? Couldn’t God have done all this without requiring the death of his son?
What’s the deal with all the talk of blood and sacrifices? It all strikes me as very ancient world and Hot Topic goths rolled into one.
Do you think that Jesus really did rise from the dead?
Can you believe the Bible?
Saved? Saved from what? What do I need to get saved from?
If God wants to redeem the world, why doesn’t he just do it?
I’m not a sinner!
Can’t I just give my life to God when I’m old? (or, it’s popular cousin: I’ just having fun partying right now; I’ll get serious with God later)
What does it mean to repent? What issues in my life do I need to repent from (”secular” media or hate?)
Do I have to stop smoking cigarettes?
What exactly does Jesus’ death and resurrection do for me?
Why was Jesus’s life so special? Lots of people have died for good causes, why is he different?
I didn’t ask for Jesus to die for me; why should I be forced to believe in him because of a guilt trip?
I’m not a Republican; that means I can’t be a Christian.
Why would following Jesus give me peace? Most church folk I know supported the war!
I’m a good person, why would God send me to hell?
Does God hate me because I’m gay?
et cetera
Let’s Not Be Trite
Fellow Jesus-followers, Gospel lovers, evangelists, and all those who take the command to “go into all the world and make disciples of every nation” seriously, I beg you to not to be trite with your presentation of the Gospel message!
Consider the questions you are asked when you are discussion the beautiful mysteries of God. Don’t brush them away or trample over them with some easily-dispensed & shallowly propagandistic Sunday School answer, please! If you don’t know the answer, then reply with humility that you don’t know.
Many, many people whom God loves dearly in our midst don’t have a grasp of this Christian-ese nomenclature we, as Christians, toss around so effortlessly. Don’t let the life-changing beauty of the Good News fall to the ground unheeded simply because time wasn’t taken to explain it rightly in a way that can be understood to the lister.
“Jesus died for your sins” isn’t cutting it anymore in the postmodern West.
September 16th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Will,
I have found that “listening” can be one of the best tools to have in evangelism. After listening to them for awhile, we can begin to hear what’s in their heart. And then, guided by The Holy Spirit, we can address these issues.
I believe one of the biggest mistakes made in evangelism, is “complicating the Gospel.” The basics need to be shared, if not, than it’s not the Gospel. I know we are always looking at ways to try and make it relevant, but we must have The Spirit of God to lead us in this endeavor. If we let our mind enter in, who knows what we will come up with, and have.
In a nutshell, we must remember that a person who has not yet been born of the Spirit of God, cannot understand the things of God. Thus first things first, they need God’s Spirit. How do they get that? By coming to the giver, Jesus Christ.
Bless you brother as you go,
Richard
P.S. Call me sometime
September 19th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Ah Will, I’m so glad you posted on this.
There’s a pastor from New York I like whose name is Tim Keller, I have heard him talk about a lot of these objections before, and truth be told he’s the first person I’ve ever heard say we need to anticipate these, not just when we are doing evangelism but when we are preaching.
And until we can wrestle with and answer those questions, the gospel will be defeated. So my answer is this: don’t give contrived answers, really wrestle, be honest, sometimes admit “I don’t know that I have an answer to that.”
One of the benefits of me being a post-modern is that when I don’t know the answer, I can say that I don’t understand it, but I do understand what I have experienced, which is that living the Christian life is really a better way to live (even if it is harder, and I will be first to admit that I don’t expect to have a really good life full of money and whatnot, and that the Christians who talk that way just sound silly to me).
I think too often, we are afraid if we admit that we have doubts and things that we’re still wrestling with, that that will give license to non-believers to stop listening to us. I think it is the exact opposite, we will garner more respect for admitting, “You know, I don’t always get all of this and I still have to grapple with it.”