“What is the gospel?” I asked her.

“Jesus died for our sins,”  she responded.

“What does that mean?”

“Uhhh… I’m not sure.”

The gospel is free to propagate here in the United States.  No law prohibits its spread.  Churches are in abundance, preachers buy air time on TV and radio.  Tracts are left in public.  So one would assume that the gospel has been clearly communicated to the majority of the country.  Surely, everyone understands what the gospel is.  Surely, even if they don’t believe, they have knowledge of it.  The gospel isn’t that complicated is it?

Well, as the snippet of a conversation I had with a professed believer shows, people know about Jesus dying for our sins.  But that is about the extent of it.  It is a phrase that has become the catch-phrase of Christianity.

“Jesus died for your sins!” the preacher declares.  “Jesus died for your sins!” the street corner evangelist exults.  “Jesus died for your sins!” the very well dressed televangelist proclaims with a tear in his eye.  “But what does that mean?” asks the wondering.  “How does that help me in this situation?” cries the hurting.  “What difference does that make?” ponders the weary.

For too long, this phrase has been brandished by the eager evangelist without clarification.  This culture knows that the Christian says Jesus died for our sins.  This culture does not know what that means.  They do not know what relevance that has for today.  They do not know what that death has accomplished.  But most importantly, they do not know that Jesus was risen and what that means.

The death of Christ has been seen as the center point of Christianity.  The cross is our symbol to which we look.  A symbol of death and derision has become our banner.  But without the resurrection of Christ, the death would simply be more bad news.  The sting of death would still await all and reign triumphant over all.  If Christ had not been raised, death itself would be sovereign.  We do not worship death.  Death has lost its sting.  Death itself has died.  So why do we assume the gospel is communicated when we tell that Jesus died.  His death is not the good news.  His death is not the gospel.  His death did not save anyone!

The resurrection must be our banner.  The gospel is not that Jesus died for our sins.  That has no meaning and no value outside of the resurrection.  Since he was raised, we will be raised.  His death took the penalty for our sins, but it is His life that gives us life.  We need both.

The gospel speaks hope into every circumstance, every situation.  The gospel needs to be clearly communicated in such a way that it speaks that hope.  It is the gospel that dispels fear, timidity, anxiety, hopelessness, despair, isolation, and every other rotten thing that the curse of sin has brought upon this world.

Tell the world that Jesus died for our sins, but please, don’t stop there.  Tell the world that Jesus lives, and so will his people.

Question posted on Yahoo! Answers: How can I get right with God when, being human, it’s not in my instinct?
I want to dedicate my life to Christ but I’m a naturally-sinful creature, so how is it possible???

Question posted on Yahoo! Answers: If you are a conservative christian, what is the best way to share your faith in a few quick sentences? Imagine you just have just met someone and you have half a minute to as Paul says “give a reason for the hope that is in you.” What do you say?

Question posted on Yahoo! Answers: If sin is sin in the eyes of God, does that mean everyone who lies is going to Hell? I mean, everyone lies, it’s a human trait, anything from answering the age old question “Does this make me look fat?” or “My weight is actually (blank)” We all lie. So does that mean that everyone who doesn’t TRULY repent (meaning trying to NEVER lie, say sorry, etc. etc.) will go to Hell no questions asked just like someone who killed someone?

What are your thoughts?

Question posted on Yahoo! Answers: What does being born again from above really mean?

What are your thoughts?

What is the gospel? Let’s suppose you were given this essay question for your final exam in Gospel 101. What would you say? I hope you wouldn’t say, “Jesus died for me.” Of course, you would fail on principle in this situation since you were asked to answer in essay format and not a single complete sentence. Yet the question remains… was it enough for Jesus to simply die to redeem His flock? If the answer is yes, then why didn’t Emmanuel descend on Good Friday, be crucified, rise on the third day, and ascend back to Heaven? Why on earth did He come as a baby and live among us for thirty-three years before dying?

The answer is that, in and of itself, Christ’s death was insufficient for salvation. What it did do was satisfy God’s justice. This is no small matter; God’s justice is relentlessly demanding. And rightly so; God is, after all, just in the ultimate sense. Satisfying God’s justice was not something we could accomplish on our own, but Christ, through His sinless life, accomplished something else we could never do… earn God’s favor.

Christ’s life was perfect. He upheld every miniscule requirement of the law. This is something, as I’ve said, we could never do. The reason Emmanuel came as a baby was to go through the physical act of accomplishing a truly obedient life. If we are saved through works, then Christ would be the only human to accomplish salvation. And there is the beauty: He did! And He did it on our behalf. We are saved by works, but not our own. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone.

The Bible reveals to us five areas of the overall atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. All five areas are vital and essential, with none being greater or more important than the other. Each area of the atonement is effectual to its particular aspect of required need and each specifically accomplished that for which God intended it to accomplish. Those five areas are: Obedience, Sacrifice, Propitiation, Reconciliation, and Redemption.

A fourth area of the overall atoning work of Christ is reconciliation. The result of the expiation of guilt and the propitiation of God’s wrath is reconciliation of the relationship between God and those saved by Christ’s atonement. This aspect of the atonement of Christ is spoken of in Romans 5:10, For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. II Corinthians 5:18-19 also states, Now all these things are from God, Who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.

This area of the atonement of Christ accomplishes the change of relationship between God and sinners from one of a state of hostility to peace. Man was created to live in a loving personal relationship with God. Such a relationship is the essence of what the Bible calls “life.” Just as a tree has life by its vital union and relationship with its roots, so human beings were created to live in vital union and relationship with God. The severing of this relationship as a result of sin is “death” which is separation from God. Because of the fall of man into sin, the relationship between God and man was changed to one a state of hostilities toward each other. The Bible says that fallen human nature is hostile toward God (Romans 8: 7). And, as we have seen, God has wrath toward man because of sin. But through atoning death of Christ, this relationship is reconciled with all who trust in Christ. Instead of being under the wrath of God, the forgiven and cleansed sinner is has peace with God. As Romans 5:1 says, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ.

There are five important things about reconciliation for us to know. These are:

1. Reconciliation with God is based totally and only on what God has done for us in Christ – We had nothing to do making possible reconciliation with God.  It was totally His idea and His initiative. Human beings are by nature in rebellion against God and run away from God. Romans 3:11 states, No one seeks God.  Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws Him.” There is no such thing as a human being seeking God to find God based exclusively on his own initiative and desire. Left to ourselves, everyone would reject God. The person who finds himself seeking God is doing so only because God has first sought him and is drawing him. God is the One who initiates reconciliation. And the only basis on which a holy righteous God can come and personally seek us is the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  We have done nothing to make it possible and we can add nothing to make it possible.
2. It was a historical reality before it becomes a personal reality – Reconciliation is based on what Christ did for us in history in order to expiate our guilt and propitiate God’s wrath against us. The completed result of Christ’s death for us is then made personal applied to our lives by the gracious work of the Holy Spirit.  Whether one subjectively feel reconciled or not, the basis of our reconciliation is upon what Christ objectively did for us in history. This is a completed fact that then becomes a personal reality to us through saving faith in Christ.
3. It is God’s attitude that is changed first – Before we are reconciled with God, He is our enemy. Romans 5:10 says, While we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son (See also Isaiah 63:10).  On the basis of Christ’s death, God’s attitude toward the sinner who believes in Christ is changed because He is reconciled to the sinner through Christ.
4. Our reconciliation with God affects our relationships with all of God’s children – Because we have received grace, forgiveness and unconditional acceptance from God, we can and are to do the same to all God’s children. Romans 15:7 says, Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.  Ephesians 4:32 says, Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  I John 5:19 says, We love because He first loved us.  Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Our experience of the reality of reconciliation with God will cause us to seek peace and reconciliation with all of God’s children whether in our marriages, our church, or different denominations.  The Bible is very clear when it says the person who does not love does not know God. I John 4:7-8 states, Beloved, let us love one another for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born o God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God for God is love
5. The reconciliation of Christ has a cosmic impact – Speaking of the effects of Christ’s death, Colossians 1:20 says God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross. The structures and relationships of all things that became alienated from God by the fall of Adam and take over of Satan will one day be completely become right with God.

I love history.  A fascinating history teacher once said that most of history is the history of the unintended.  We look back on how things happened and think that it all had to happen the way it did because it was inevitable.  Of course, things happen the way they do because God wants to achieve His desired result.  That’s called Providence.

Consider this nearly true story: A professor finds himself angered by the bad theology espoused by a shady faith healer who guarantees a healing in return for a seed-faith gift of only $100.  Now the professor knows his theology pretty well, and posts a notice on his blog asking his subscribers what they think about the faith healer.  Before you know it, the story is posted on the Drudge Report and the professor’s story is the hot news story of the day.

I called this a “nearly true” story because it really happened, but I took liberties with a few facts.  Nearly 500 years ago, an Augustinian monk was very unhappy about some shady business conducted by a guy named Tetzel, and he posted a notice on the door of his church.  A few college students read the posting, translated it into the local language, and printed up a few thousand copies on the newly invented Gutenberg press.  It is said that within 2 weeks all of Germany was in an uproar over the 95 Theses.  Martin Luther went from being a monk and professor to heretic and hero of the Christian faith.

At the risk of oversimplifying what started on the door of the Castle Church, I would like to share five major issues that were at the center of the Protestant Reformation.  They are nicely summarized in five expressions that are easily remembered and central to a proper understanding of our faith:

Sola Fide (Faith Alone): If the reformation was an earthquake, Sola Fide was the epicenter.  The Roman Catholic faith had become more corrupt and polluted over the centuries, built on the idea that one was justified (declared righteous) by faith PLUS good works.  Luther and the reformers understood that it was faith alone that resulted in justification, and that good works were the natural result of salvation.

Sola Gratia (Grace Alone): There is nothing we can do to merit our salvation; it is totally, wholly, and fully a free gift of God.  Our works do not impress God in the least.  He chooses those He will choose, and the basis for this choice is His will, determined long before the foundation of the earth.  Some people think that God will save them because they are, “a good person”, or because they prayed a prayer.  The problem with that picture is that the Bible says we are dead in our sins.  Imagine a corpse doing CPR on itself.  You can’t?  I’m not surprised.  A corpse is dead.

Sola Scriptura (The Scriptures Alone): Some people like to place Sola Scriptura first in the list of Solas, for the simple reason that scripture is the only source of authority for matters of faith.  Regardless of where it falls in the list, it is important to understand why this was a big deal in 1517 and why it is a big deal today.

In 1517, the scriptures were out of reach of ordinary people.  The church believed that people were unable to read it themselves and gain a true understanding of what it meant and how it applied to their lives.  The position of the church was that the Bible could be understood only when interpreted by the Roman church.  The authoritative voice of the church was spoken by the pope and by church councils, and this ultimately meant that the pope and these councils were more authoritative than the plain words of scripture.  This is evident in the faulty logic the Roman church used to explain the basis for salvation (Faith + Works = Justification).

Sola Scriptura did two things: it set aside the authority of popes and councils, and asserted that ordinary people could understand, interpret, and apply scripture to their own lives.

Sola Christus (Christ Alone): It is easy, in our post-modern age, to misunderstand the meaning of Sola Christus and its implications.  Our focus is not on the “many paths to god” heresy espoused by Oprah and her minions, but rather on three elements within the Roman church that robbed Jesus of His full glory:

1. The Roman church believed that the Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a mediator between God and man.  Catholics will explain that Mary represents someone vital to the life of Christ, sort of like a mother who will put in a good word with her son to gain His favor.
2. In the Roman church placed faith in the elements of communion (bread and wine).  Their belief was that these elements became, in substance, the flesh and blood of Jesus when the priest consecrated them.  By implication, the elements then were treated with the same reverence as the living Lord Jesus Christ – they were worshipped.  The reformers rightly rejected this as idolatry.
3. Another area in which the reformers and the Roman church disagreed was the area of the priesthood.  The Roman church believed it was the final and only means for grace to be delivered to the people.  The priesthood became, in effect, the means of access to God.

All of these alternatives (Mary, communion, the priesthood) were unnecessary because we have direct access to God the Father through His son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria: The final of the five solas is the summation of them all meaning Glory to God Alone.  Nothing we can do, have done, or ever will do, is worthy of glory.  Any works-based theological system, including Arminianism, attacks God’s glory by taking some part the glory that is rightfully God’s and placing it before man.  The Ordo Salutis, or order of salvation, as understood by the reformers, begins with God’s will (His decree) and bears fruit in His effectual calling, faith (His gift to us), justification (His declaration of our innocence, based totally on Christ’s atoning sacrifice), sanctification (the Holy Spirit working in us to make us more holy), and ultimately, our glorification (the fullness of salvation revealed in us, all as a result of His work). 

To the extent that we receive glory for any work of Christ, we are guilty of stealing God’s glory.  This would include assertions that we chose Christ of our own “Free Will”.

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It may appear that this short essay is a bit harsh on the Roman church, so allow me a short opportunity here at the end to mention a few things that God did in using the Roman church that positively benefit us today.  The concept of Providence is clearly illustrated in these examples.

1. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire, it received the protection of the most powerful earthly kingdom of the day.  As a result, the church spread far and wide.
2. One of the side effects of being a state religion is that the heads of state tended to interfere in church affairs.  This wasn’t all bad – when a dispute arose among theologians, the government was in a position to help resolve the situation.  The Roman Emperor would send a call out to the bishops telling them to meet for a church council and the issues would be debated and decided.  Once the matter was put to rest, the Emperor would put his stamp of approval on the matter and no one would dare question it.  As a result, the church’s theological basis was established.
3. Bad theology didn’t keep popping up over and over again.  As a contrast, consider how many popular “Christian” teachers & musicians continue to receive wide support in the church despite their clearly unbiblical and heretical underpinnings.  The music group Phillips, Craig and Dean denies the Trinity, as does the popular teacher T.D. Jakes.  Many Word of Faith teachers hold aberrant beliefs but are well-received at Christian conferences.

I want my first article on this site to show my heart clearly. I am a full-time missionary committed to a lifetime of serving my Lord and King, and I must say I love this idea. I love Jesus, and it is because I know Him. I want to submit that this mindset is the core of salvation.

I will never pretend to be a scholar. Nor will I attempt to impress anyone with fancy words I have learned. I will, however, have to occasionally make some references to Biblical Greek. Once again, not to impress anyone but to make some concepts clearer than they can possibly be in a readable English translation of the Bible. With that said I want to look at Jesus’ words in John 17.

Jesus was talking to the Father right before He was to be crucified, and we must assume He was talking about things of most importance to Him. He spent an evening talking with His disciples and then prayed, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.” Then He makes one statement that changed the way I lived and thought. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” This is eternal life.

This is what it’s all about. This is what salvation is. He did not end the statement with “Heaven”. “And this is eternal life, that they may all be saved from Hell and go to Heaven.” No! Jesus was intelligent. He knew what He was saying. This is where the Greek comes in. “This is eternal life, that they may know You.” The word “know” here is the Greek word “γινώσκω” Strong’s number 1097. It is the same word used for how a man knows his wife. It means to experientially know.

There is a restaurant in my hometown of Anderson, South Carolina that sells one of the most amazing foods I have ever tasted. I tell people around the world about their food. It is called Skin’s Hotdogs, and they sell hotdogs. Now I can describe the flavor, the smell, the texture, the colors, even the exact weight and dimensions of it. If I do this, you will know about the hotdogs. You will not experientially know it though. You will not γινώσκω it until you have experienced it for yourself.

According to Jesus, salvation is knowing God in this way. Once again, salvation is not a ticket to Heaven. Salvation is knowing God. It is having an experiential love relationship with the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He sent. I now know God. He is my friend. I know Him to be infinitely loving, infinitely intelligent, and, the most mind boggling part of God – interactive. For this, I choose to give Him my whole life. He deserves it.