This question was posed in a pastors’ meeting once. It seems like a pretty basic question, but there was a long pause as we thought about it more deeply. The initial response within the group was to point to I Corinthians 15:1-11, which focuses on Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. It’s a passage that gets a lot of attention in Protestant circles.
But as the conversation evolved we came to reckon with how the word “gospel” as used in the whole of the New Testament, which goes a lot deeper than what Paul was addressing when he wrote to the Corinthians. The Corinthian church, after all, was a very troubled congregation. Its problems included skepticism about the resurrection, which is a core Christian doctrine. So Paul tells them (in I Corinthians 15:14) that “if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain.” It was natural for Paul to focus on Jesus’ passion and resurrection in that setting, but certainly that’s not the whole of it, (much as not every congregation is exactly like the Corinthian congregation, thank God). What are some ways that the word “gospel” is used in other settings? I was drawn to the beginning of Mark’s gospel. The whole of his book is presented as the “gospel of Jesus Christ” (Mark 1:1). And a little later, right after Jesus’ baptism and temptation, the term describes His first preaching – there called “the gospel of God” (Mark 1:14). What does this mean? I think it helps to think about a typical set of church announcements. Most churches have a bulletin with some kind of listing of times and events going on in the life of the church: Time Event 6:00 PM – Wednesday Women’s Bible Study 12:00 p.m. – Thursday Church Association meeting 10:00 a.m. – Sunday Worship service We can think of the gospel in a similar way… Time: One of the Greek words for “time” in the New Testament is “chronos”, which relates to the specific measures of time (year, month, date, time, etc). But Mark 1:15 uses a different word for time – “kairos” – here quoting Jesus’ when He says, “The time is fulfilled.” This gives a sense of God’s providential timing, irrespective of the chronological time-frame. Remember this: the right decision at wrong time is the wrong decision. We all want to be in line with God’s timing. Event: Jesus said “The kingdom of God has come near.” This was spoken in a context of great political frustration. Ever since Pompey’s conquest of Jerusalem in 63 B.C., the Israelites had endured a brutal Roman occupation (not unlike the Nazi occupation of Poland in World War II). There was a deep yearning for the times when Israel had been a strong united nation under the Davidic monarchy – for a Messiah to bring Israel back to that kind of life. There was hope that God would intervene and establish His kingdom. But here Jesus declared that the Kingdom of God is at hand. This is a liberating thing if you think about it. You don’t need to wait for a change in politics. You can focus on God’s reign in your life, in your church, and in your family life right now. The first response to all this that Jesus calls for is to repent – which means to turn from sin and turn to God. This can happen in an immediate and acknowledged sense – but it can also be gradual, where it’s not observable in an instant but over time. In either case, the point is that there’s a lasting transformation that’s rooted in the experience of God. The second response is to believe in the good news. There’s a popular line of thought these days: “Your beliefs don’t make you a better person; your actions do.” That overlooks relationship between the two; it’s like saying “What you drink doesn’t make you a safer driver; your control of the steering wheel does.” What we believe affects what our lives become. It’s good for our minds to be lifted above the idols of the world – all these things that would otherwise shape our course and steer us off track. The good news of the gospel gives us a change of focus – with a positive view of God and of life. These days the world is full of all kinds of bad news: wars, political discord, shootings, climate chaos, racial strife, church closings, etc. But it’s important to keep our focus on the good news: The Holy Spirit is still real; the Bible is still the word of God. Christ is risen; Jesus is Lord; the gospel is true, and the gospel is good news – which means that we’re good news people in a bad news world. God bless you. Pastor Andrew McHenry First Congregational Church of Oroville
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Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
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