Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
My wife
and I recently took a trip to North Carolina to visit my parents. Several times
along the way I saw a small sign attached to a power poll that simply said “Jesus
saves”. I understand the intent of this signs, but I had to wonder if most
people do. In our secular culture today, the idea that Jesus saves seems to be
passe and meaningless. Most people don’t feel any need to be saved. They
rightly ask, what do I need to be saved from? To just state that Jesus saves
leaves the Gospel hanging in a vacuum.
If the
Gospel is good news, and it is, then what makes it good news? I think the
Gospel needs to be understood in three parts, which are outlined in the Great
Commission. We are saved from something. We are saved to something. We are
saved for something.
The
first component of the Gospel is the hardest to communicate today. The Gospel
holds up a mirror and shows us that we are slaves to sin. The problem is that
most people today don’t believe in sin. Sin is an archaic word that has been
disregarded by our society in general. In a world that negates the idea of any
ultimate authority, let alone God, sin become irrelevant. Today, people don’t
sin, they make bad choices.
Yet the
Bible is very clear that sin is a reality. Coming to grips with the reality of
sin is the first step in understanding the good news of the Gospel. It is
similar to receiving a diagnosis of cancer. Until I know about the cancer, I
will not do anything about it. But once I know, I can take action. Sin is
spiritual cancer. Most people feel its affects but don’t take them seriously or
understand what they point to. In one way or another, we are all slaves to sin.
Sin dominates our lives. It shapes the way we view ourselves and one another.
It shapes our actions, and yet does this so subtly that we do not recognize its
influence.
The effects of sin are all around us; broken
relationships, anger, bitterness, strife, war, abuse. All of these things are
signs that we live in a broken world that has lost its bearings. God created
the world to operate in a certain way according to His design. When we
disregard God’s design and try to live our lives differently, we face the
consequences and that is what sin does and is. Sin is rebellion against God’s
design. As Paul writes in Romans 3:23-24, …for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that came by Christ Jesus.
The good news of the Gospel is
that we can be saved from our sin. We can be saved from our selfish, self-destructive
lifestyle. We can be saved from our open rebellion against God. We can be saved
from the brokenness of our world. The good news is that there is a cure for
this spiritual cancer. Recognizing that sin has the upper hand in our life and
desiring to be free from its tyranny is the first step to receiving the Gospel.
But the Gospel doesn’t leave us
in a vacuum. We are saved to something. This something is first a relationship
with God through Jesus Christ. The Gospel reconnects us with our creator in an
intimate and personal way. The Bible tells us that we literally become God’s
children. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we
should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world
does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 (NIV) Our new
relationship with God comes with enormous benefits both now and in the future.
We have access to the resources of God to help us face all of the challenges of
this life. In addition we have a heavenly inheritance that we will enjoy for
all of eternity.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance
that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith
are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to
be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These
have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even
though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory
and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1 Peter 1:3-7 (NIV)
But there is something else we
have been saved to and that is a community of faith. The Bible calls this the
Body our Christ. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a
part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV) We are not left to figure out this
new life in Christ all alone. Instead, we are incorporated into a genuine
community. A community committed to Christ and moving in the same direction. As
a part of this community, we gain a genuine sense of belonging. At its best, we
are embraced, supported, and encouraged by one another. Unfortunately, we don’t
always live up to the ideal, but even in our flawed state we can experience the
benefits of belonging.
But you are a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the
praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once
you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)
There is a third aspect of why
the Gospel is good news. We are saved for something. When we place our faith in
Christ and become incorporated into His body, we gain a new sense of purpose in
life. We are saved to fulfill God’s plan and purpose in the world. Most people
want to be part of something that really matters. We don’t want our lives to be
wasted on meaningless things. God offers us the opportunity to be a part of
something that not only matters for now, but also for all of eternity.
But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
We have been invited to partner
with Jesus to change our world. There are many different ways that we can
accomplish this task, but they all point back to calling people into a relationship
with Jesus.
The Gospel is really good news. The
Gospel calls us out of our slavery to sin and into a relationship with Jesus.
The Gospel invites us to be a part of a community that spans both time and
distance. The Gospel offers us the chance to live a life that will matter for
both the present and the future.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always
obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to
work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you
to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)
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