In one paragraph, the Gospel is thus: God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He made mankind to have a relationship with him. Man sinned and rebelled against God. Because God is pure, holy, and just, he has to punish sin. And he found a way to punish the sin without destroying the sinner. He sent Jesus Christ to pay the price so that we might live and have eternal life. Jesus died to pay the Penalty of Sin.
There is a problem however. It's not with the Gospel itself but with what we do with it. Most people stop right there at the dealing with the Penalty of Sin. Jesus died for more than just forgiveness. Jesus also dealt with the Problem of Sin. We are no longer bound by sin. We no longer have to do it. I have heard this phrase many times. "I'm still a sinner. I'm just forgiven." NO! That is not the Gospel. That is not Bible. We are removed from sin as a Christian. We no longer have a sin nature. How does this happen? The Gospel is not just about the Penalty of Sin. It's not just about the Problem of Sin. It is about a new Identity.
When we become a Christian we have a new identity. We have a Change in Nature. Our old nature is bound to sin and to self. Our new nature is focused on Christ. We are created to eat, sleep, breath, live, Jesus Christ. Our every inclination is designed to point towards Christ. We don't do a very good job at maintaining it. But that is our nature. I believe it is possible to live a sinless life from this point on. And I say this fully understanding what James said "If we say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves." And at the end of this, that idea on living sinless will be made clear. We have a new Nature.
There is more. We are Adopted into the God's Family. This is not based on the American adoption system. It is based off the Roman system. In Rome, a father could expel a rebellious blood son from his house and from his will. But he could not do that with an adopted son. Because an adopted son was chosen. God adopts us into his family. We are joint heirs to the Throne of Heaven and we are made Citizens of his Kingdom. The Gospel is not just about the Penalty of Sin, the Problem of Sin, the New Creation, the New Identity, the Adoption. It is also about a Job, a Task we are called to do.
God calls us on a Commission. A Job to do. We are to Represent Jesus Christ. Everything we say and do, every action we do, every word we speak, tells the world "this is what Jesus is like." If we are to associate ourselves with the name of Jesus, everything of who we are represents his name, his power, his authority. And we don't do a very good job at it. Jesus tells us, "Why do you call me 'Lord' if you do not do as I say?" We have a Job and that is to represent Jesus Christ. But there is more.
A good manager always equips his employees to do a task that needs to be done. He equips them with all the tools they need, the personnel they need, and the authority they need to get the job done. Same here. God gives us all we need to get the job done we need to get done. And authority is a big part of that. Aside from Jesus, no one understood this more than the Roman Centurion. He understood Jesus was a man under authority by how he exercised it. The Centurion was under the authority of Rome and in doing so, when he spoke, it was as though the Caesar himself spoke. And the men under him obeyed. The same is true for us. In order to carry the authority of the Name of Jesus Christ, we must submit to the authority of Jesus Christ. And if we do not do that, we will not be able to get the job done we need to get done.
But there is a challenge to our Commission. We are called to be Ambassadors from God to this world and this world we live in is enemy territory. God is not the only one who cares about the souls of men. So does Satan. God wants to save them and to dwell with them. Satan wants to destroy them and show them off as trophies. And we are called to Rescue the Lost and deliver them from sin by the power and authority of Jesus Christ. Satan will wage war on us for this and he does not fight fair. We must be ready for battle and this battle comes at a cost.
We must be willing to count the cost if we are to claim to be associated with Christ. Your job, your name, your money, your reputation, your friends, your family, your life. You can lose it all for following Christ. But God has shown me that there is NOTHING that we can lose for following Christ that we are not going to lose by the time we die anyway. Your job and money? You can't keep it. You will quit, retire, get laid off, at some point. Your friends? Your Reputation? If they aren't willing to stand by you, are they really your friends? You need to be concerned about what God thinks of you, not what man thinks of you. If your family doesn't know Christ, they are going to hell. You will lose them. But what you gain for following Christ is something you can never lose. If you lose your life for the sake of Christ, you will find it. Your friends and family? If they know Christ, you will find them again. There is a Cost.
But The Gospel is not just about getting hit. God sends us out as sheep amongst wolves but he did not send us out to get run over. The Gospel works completely against how this world thinks and turns it upside down. How? The weak are the strong. The poor are the rich. The foolish things of the world will shame the wise. And though God sends us as sheep amongst wolves, it is the lambs of God that will rise up and BEAT the wolf pack. We are not called to lose the battle. We are sent out to win.
Everything that I just described is absolutely impossible. We can't do it. We don't have the strength, the intellect, the endurance, the skills. We cannot do it. But Jesus can. And this is how it all works. Let Jesus be your eyes, your ears, your hands, your feet, your mouth, your tongue, your mind, and your everything. When God looks at me, I don't want him to see Charlie Wolcott. I want him to see Jesus Christ. We are being conformed to the image of Christ and when we let Jesus live his life through us, that is when it all works. Many of us will fail and stumble, but that is what the Gospel is all about. It is about Christian living and being who God made us to be: the Image of God himself. We are heading that way as we grow in our faith and in our relationship to Christ, but this is just the short roughly 30 minute version of the Gospel.
For reference on where this came from and what inspired it, see the video below.
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