What happens when a person knows absolutely nothing about Jesus or the Bible and is suddenly provided a banquet of nothing but the “Gospel” – What Trevin Wax calls the story for an individual?
- All have sinned.
- Sin deserves death.
- But Jesus died for our sins.
- Believe in Jesus and your sins will be forgiven.
- Now be a good person.
This simple and true has sometimes become the acid which undermines the whole of the Gospel. I’ve seen three major errors develop when this important emphasis because the whole of one’s theology.
1. A Disconnect between the Old and New Testament
If Jesus was the answer to the problem with the world what was God doing with Israel? Was it just a failed experiment? Marcion: God of the Old Testament is not the God of Jesus. This is happening today more and more. A belief in the “Gospel” forms the basis for rejecting the God of the Old Testament.
2. A Disconnect between the “Gospel” and the Gospels
A belief in the “Gospel” forms the basis for rejecting the life and preaching of Christ. The opposite is also the case. The life and teaching of Jesus is used to reject the teaching of Paul. Salvation and the life of Jesus. Paul and Jesus. God and man. Paul started a new religion. From Jesus to Christ. The Gospel of Paul is not the Gospel of Jesus. We have too choose one or the other.
3. A disconnect between Salvation and Discipleship
A belief in the “Gospel” forms the basis for rejecting the necessity of good works, the fight against sin or the need to live in community. Good works. Resist sin. Live in community. A radical break between grace and law, faith and works, savior and Lord, verbal witness and good works, accepting Jesus and participation in the church. What Jesus did for us and what he wants from us now. Savior and Lord
That is the Gospel! And yet it’s NOT the Gospel. It’s the Gospel without an essential context. It’s a summary for a people who already know the bigger story.
