We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.
A.W. Tozer
The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.
Oh beloved, it is true. And while it rubs furiously against our cultural sensitivities, the immutability of G_d implies something wondrous about the Gospel *. It does not change. It always works in all places and at all times. The Gospel is not a suggestion. It is an imperative. So, independent of anything, the Gospel stays true. Trends don’t change it, our feelings don’t change it, time does not change it; even our theology does not change the truth of the Gospel.
Watchman Nee gives an excellent synopsis of the Gospel and its priority in life.
Christ is the Son of God.
He died to atone for men’s sin,
and after three days rose again.
This is the most important fact in the universe.
I die believing in Christ.
~ (note found under his pillow, in prison, at his death).
And quite simply, that Christ’s work is the most important thing, torques the devil off. As such, those who truly believe, have entered into a spiritual war of utterly cosmic proportions.
And this too, is very good news.
The Good News of the Gospel is that the problem of evil and separation from G_d has been dealt with. AND we have been given the power and authority, in HIM, to go and win this war.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
~Acts 1:8
How do we fight this war? How do we communicate the ultimatum of the Gospel? The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They are mighty:
Intercessory Prayer
- Prayer works. Beloved, just do it. Get up early, go to bed late, turn off the TV… whatever it takes. Go talk to G_d on behalf of others, and listen for His direction. Please don’t be deceived or distracted by the world. Prayer works. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16
The Proclamation of the Gospel
- We are sent to be the very witnesses of Jesus Christ and His message. We are not about starting discussion groups about “how to get closer to god.” Rather, we are to be filled with His very Spirit and present the most important fact in the universe to the world. We do not go out and surrender anything to the world, we present it with the ultimatum of the Gospel.
Sacrificial Love
- A great definition of love is: Love is doing someone good, at my expense, with affection, for G_d’s glory. Jesus did it for us first. He poured out His life for us in Love. Our lives are to be, in fact, poured out by Him for others. This picture, and how it works in our lives is well-captured in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Dear one, this is what we were made for. To set aside our little temporal causes, and to give ourselves to this one great battle. In Him, the victory is assured, joy is complete, and peace passes understanding. But, surer than gravity, this is an epic fight. Get in it friend. Get in and stay in.
This material adapted from the Ellerslie Institute, Windsor, CO.
I believe that the Gospel (or Good News of God) is represented in Scripture with six distinct elements of Messianic triumph and intent.
1)The Sentence of Death Removed
Man is imprisoned in his sin – unable to escape the control of sin, the earthly effects of sin, and the eternal penalty of sin. However, the Good News of God is that the triumvirate of sin’s effect has been canceled through the work of the Messiah, Jesus Christ – the wrath of God has been absorbed by the stricken Son of God – divine justice has been served, sin has been condemned in the flesh. Thusly, the guilty rebels of earth (you and me), if we would only accept this act of divine intervention with faith, have the privilege of legal justification before the bar of Heaven. we can be forgiven of our rebellion, self-will, and lifelong resistance to His rule and reign. Such justification and forgiveness, when accepted through faith, creates a way into the very Presence and Eternal Life of God. The guilty conscience of man can be swept clean and filled with unspeakable joy, and the condemnation of Hell that hangs justly over the souls of every human can be wholly removed and replaced with hope of life ever after with God. 2)The Prison Door to Sin is Unlocked
Man is controlled by sin. And as a result, the pure and holy things he may esteem with his mind and wish to emulate with his life, he is unable to perform and act out. He finds within his being, a barrier to purity, holiness, and righteousness. However, the work of the Cross, the triumph of our Messiah, has done more than merely remove the sentence of Death from the children of God – in fact, for those who believe, it has removed the barrier to purity, holiness, and righteousness IN a believer. That which has always hindered men from living out the commands of God has been removed. The prison door has been unlocked, and now, the people of faith, have the privilege of walking in the light as our God is in the light, and bearing fruit that evidences a regeneration of the human soul.
3)The invitation to live in His Presence
Though man was a rebel prior to coming to the Cross, and though man was saturated with the dark stain of sin when first approaching the throne of Grace, amazingly, Jesus Christ’s work has created the one and only avenue through which sinful man can enter into the presence of the Divine. Not just be forgiven, and not just be freed from the dark oppression of the soul, but actually permitted the privilege of living where the King lives, sharing in the rights and allowances of His Kingdom, the privileges and protections of His Spirit Law, being counted among His people, named amongst His company.
4)The adoption as sons and daughters
Amazingly, the blood of Christ goes even further than even these three astounding realities. It doesn’t leave us mere citizens of a Kingdom, washed clean and set on our feet with dignity, it also makes a way for us to be adopted into His very family and to be called amongst His sons and daughters. Beyond mere forgiveness of sins, freedom from sin, and allowance into His Presence, this is the monumental privilege of sharing in the authority of His Name, the pleasures of His person, and the riches of His personal wealth. we are offered a place not just in His salvation plan, but on His very lap, invited to know Him and become a heart-friend of the Most High God – actually free to call Him Abba, Papa, Father. And thusly, we are privileged to actually share in His inheritance – all of it!
5)The commission to represent the King’s nature and herald the King’s Word to this lost world
We are also chosen to now represent Him to this lost world, to carry His burdens, to stand for His Truth, to preach His message, and to live as He Himself lived. As the One who has called us is holy, so we are to be holy in every thing we do, in order to demonstrate to this world the stunning virtue and excellence of our Champion, Jesus Christ. we are called to be His Body – His very hands and feet to valiantly undergird the weak, His mouthpiece to shout His Gospel, His ears to hear the cries of the needy, and His feet to go into all the world, seeking and saving that which is lost. we are called to follow Him, to do as He did, and to die in similitude to His dying. We are called to absolute purity of heart, mind, and life. we are called to model God’s perfection. And whereas, such a calling is wholly impossible for us to fulfill and carry out, God doesn’t back down in Scripture in clarifying this amazing intent. And this is why the sixth piece to the Gospel of Jesus Christ (see below) is so important – because without it, none of the above features can even be realized beyond a miniscule level. 6)The privilege of becoming the dwelling place of God
The Cross was about far more than forgiveness. It was about more than men being set free, invited into the Kingdom of their King, being adopted as His very children, and being commissioned to represent His Truth to this world. Shockingly, the Cross also purchased the way for us to find the fullness of Life. The Cross created an avenue through which the awesome, all-powerful, consuming fiery Life of God can actually enter into the bodies of believing men and women and make the entirety of this Gospel (as mentioned above) a living, breathing reality. God desires to live inside us, to speak through us, love through us, feel through us, hear through us – live, move, and have His being in and through us. Just as Jesus did nothing but what His Father in Heaven was doing (He only spoke that which His Father spoke and only did that which His Father did), so we are to be baptized with the very living presence of God within, enabling us to do precisely the same thing (speaking only that which Jesus is speaking and do only that which Jesus is doing). Our life is not our own, it’s been bought with a price. And when we yield to this indwelling Life of God, suddenly it is no longer just a human attempt at imitating the magnificence and perfection of God, but it is the magnificence and perfection of God at work within us demonstrating His Life to this onlooking world.
