The Gospel Makes A Way
Since starting this blog about a month or so ago I often ask God to give me topics, ideas or words to write that would be pleasing to Him. Sometimes I get a pretty clear message and sometimes it feels like I could write about 10 different things all of which would be fine for the moment. Recently though I was engaged in a conversation with Him like I usually am, but wasn’t really feeling much clarity to be honest. I was toying with different ideas, but none of them seemed to really stick. Then this morning I was driving into work and something hit me like a ton of bricks. A certain song was coming on the radio and all of a sudden I remembered that the previous two times I had been in my car, the exact same song had also come on the radio. And it wasn’t like I turned on the car and the song was half way through or had just finished. The song was literally just beginning as soon as I turned out of my driveway. None of the places that I drive to take me longer than about 5-10 minutes so I am not in my car for very long at any one time, so the chances of my hearing this one song in it’s entirety three different days in row (at all different times of the day) is pretty crazy. So now you are wondering, ummmm okay, what’s the song? It’s called The Gospel and it’s by Ryan Stevenson. And by the way, yes, I do listen to Christian music most of the time. Definitely when my kids are in the car because they pick up on every sexual reference, cuss word and inappropriate message in every other song that we listen to, so if they are picking up on scripture from Christian music, all the better. Here are the lyrics of the first verse and chorus:
A restless generation, we’re turning over every stone
Hoping to find salvation in a world that’s left us cold
Can we get back to the altar, back to the arms of our first love?
There’s only one way to the father and he’s calling out to us
To the captive it looks like freedom
To the orphan it feels like home
To the skeptic it might sound crazy
To believe in a God who loves
In a world where our hearts are breaking
And we’re lost in the mess we’ve made
Like a blinding light in the dead of night
It’s the Gospel, the Gospel that makes a way
So it was in the third hearing of this song in it’s entirety on three separate days at three different times of the day that I realized I think God wants me to just share the Gospel today. Ohhhhh, great. Here she goes gettin’ all Southern Baptist, but did you know that one meaning of the word gospel is simply “the good news?” See below.
gos·pel
noun
The teaching or revelation of Christ.
"it is the Church's mission to preach the gospel”
Christian teaching, Christian doctrine, Christ's teaching; the word of God,
the good news
And I really do get it. “Gospel” sounds very TV evangelist doesn’t it? All I picture is Tammy Faye with her make-up running or Jimmy Swaggart with his cement hair. But if someone said, “Hey guys! I have some seriously good news to tell you!” it’s pretty much certain that everyone would become all ears. Well, that’s what I’m hear to tell you in this blog post. I have some really good news (it might even be GREAT news) and I hope you will read on because believe it or not, it has everything to do with you.
Let me stop for a second before diving any further and address those that are tempted to stop reading because you already know about Jesus. I haven’t mentioned this before, but I am currently in my third year as a teacher in the high school department at my church. At some point during every year that I teach, I make it a priority to look each of my girls in the eye and say to them that I will never take for granted that any of them have an actual relationship with Jesus just because they show up at my table on Sunday mornings. I make a point to tell them that I looked and acted just like them while I was growing up at church, but that I also know full well what I was doing when I wasn’t. I tell them that I was a master of the “Sunday School answer” and acting the part within the confines of my youth group, but that in reality I wasn’t truly saved until much later in my young adulthood. Now, most of the girls I have taught in the past and are currently teaching are doing wonderfully in their walk with Jesus. But, in the event that I have even one who might be talking all the right talk while never having taken the necessary steps to trust Jesus as her Savior, I don’t want to miss the opportunity for further discussion on that. So, I say the same things to you now. You already know who Jesus is? That is fantastic! I pray that you are growing and maturing and that your life is brimming with the fruits of the Spirit ("But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23). Nothing would make me happier as a fellow believer. However, I do feel I have a responsibility as well to address any of you readers who may be sort of stuck in your own head over Jesus. I mean, you know His name. I get that. But maybe you’re not completely sure you know Him. For example, I would compare it to having a real, actual friend who you are invested in and they in you versus having an acquaintance who you know on the periphery. More on this later…
Back to the actual good news that I need to share (granted this first part doesn’t feel so good and is honestly a bit of a downer, but just hang on!). If you read my last blog post you will remember in one section I referenced that all of us (ALL, not some) were born to sin. Pretty much all you’d ever have to do is go to a nearby pre-school and observe the behaviors of the little people in attendance. Okay, don’t actually do that because you’ll get arrested, but you get the point. We are selfish little boogers and it starts at day one. There is a deep theological reason for this that goes allllll the way back to the beginning in the garden with Adam and Eve. Though for time’s sake let’s just say humanity was originally created to be in perfect union with God, but our self-centered ambition very quickly took over and screwed all that up (“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” Romans 5:12) So, what we have to realize first and foremost is that we are literally born sinners. In the 21st chapter of the book of Revelation, John recounts what he saw in his vision about heaven. Among other things he says this, “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” I realize it can be hard to reconcile in our minds, but since we were born into sin, we are initially included in that “unclean” category that John spoke of. What’s worse, notice when he says that nothing unclean gets to enter heaven either. I told you, the beginning of the story is a bit of a bummer. What in the world are we to do now? Here it comes… the GOOD news!! God in His infinite wisdom devised a plan that would make it possible for all those nasty sins to be wiped away forever thus paving the way for us to no longer be unclean and gain access to heaven! His plan consisted of a young woman who was a virgin named Mary conceiving a child by means of a miracle (“…the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)” Isaiah 7:14). This child wouldn’t be born into sin like the rest of us because this child was the very Son of God Himself. In fact, He would possess all the same powers of God, only now He was in human form just like us. This miracle baby was named Jesus and He would go on to live out a completely sinless existence on earth for roughly 33 years before He would willingly go to His own death in order to make a way for you and I to get to heaven one day. I know that’s hard to fathom, but honestly so is quantum physics, yet somehow both are 100% possible and true (“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15). So what was the point of this big, grand, miraculous event in history and how exactly did he “take away” our sins? I need to stop a sec and give just a brief history lesson (I promise it won’t be long), but I think it’s important in fully understanding why Jesus had to become a sacrifice for us and also why Jesus was the ONLY one who could have fulfilled this duty. If you have ever read any of the Old Testament, specifically the first few books, you are at least somewhat familiar with the animal sacrificial system that the Israelite community was beholden to for hundreds of years. The people had to continually (…and continually) sacrifice animals at certain appointed times throughout the year in order for their sins to be forgiven by God. You may have also noticed that all of the animals offered to God for this purpose had to be completely unblemished (“If you present a gift as a burnt offering to the Lord, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, you will be accepted only if your offering is a male animal with no defects. It may be a bull, a ram, or a male goat. Do not present an animal with defects, because the Lord will not accept it on your behalf. If you present a peace offering to the Lord from the herd or the flock, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, you must offer a perfect animal. It may have no defect of any kind.” Leviticus 22:18-21). Clearly God was not interested in the offering of an animal that was less than perfect and if someone were to bring Him an animal that was, it wouldn’t have been acceptable. There were all sorts of rules and regulations involved, but all in all this system was the only way of atoning for the people’s sins before God. So, knowing what we know about the sacrificial system of a perfect creature for the atonement of sin you can now see why Jesus also had to be perfect with no defect of any kind. He was going to willingly become the final sacrifice that would ever have to be made. The animal sacrificial system that had to be repeated over and over and over again was about to be halted by this one enormous event. The sins of the people that, up to that point, had to be continually atoned for year after year were about to be wiped out forever with one final death. Pretty fascinating, huh? Okay, back to the present. When Jesus offered Himself as our “perfect lamb,” not only the Israelites sins were wiped clean, but OURS too! But how? In the moments leading up to Jesus’ death while He was hanging on that cross, God literally placed on Jesus all of the sins of the entire world. It was like Jesus actually became our sin (“For our sake God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21) and when He died, He took the sins of the world with Him ("Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God." 1 Peter 3:18). Then, three days after His body was taken down off the cross and buried in His tomb, He was made alive again by God and is currently residing at God’s right hand in heaven until He returns for the second and final time (“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 24:1-6). In accomplishing these miraculous events, He gave us the chance to no longer be included in that “unclean-ness" that John spoke of earlier. He gave us the opportunity to have our names included among those who get to enter heaven to be with God for all time. And that, friends, is the really short version of the gospel… I mean the good news!
So what now? Well, I wish I could tell you that this is where the story ends. I wish I could have an Oprah moment and just freely tell everyone, “YOU get to go to heaven… and YOU get to go to heaven… and YOU get to go to heaven!” But the fact is, we have a decision to make. We must actually choose to believe these things about Jesus first in order to gain admission (“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” John 1:12 // “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 // “And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” Acts 16:31 // “...because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9). God’s gift of salvation from our sin through the sacrifice of Jesus His Son is completely FREE for anyone who would simply choose to believe it.
Here’s the thing though, in order for someone to truly believe the story I just told, that person would have to confront their need for salvation in the first place, right? Why would anyone chose to believe in their need for Jesus to “save” them when deep down they haven’t really come to terms with their sin yet? If that’s you, maybe you're still toying with the idea that just living a life consisting of mostly decent choices should really be enough to make it to heaven. Oh man, if it were only so, but here’s the actual truth straight from John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” There’s that word “believe” again. And also notice the phrase “rejects the Son” used to describe the opposite. So it’s either believe or reject, it’s pretty black and white. To those I spoke of earlier who may have a slight knowledge of Jesus in that you know his name and even agree with various aspects of the gospel message I have briefly outlined, I just want to caution you. Acknowledging a few facts to be true about Jesus and actually having a regenerate heart based on a deeply held belief system about Jesus are two completely separate things. Acknowledgement of the facts gets you to an initial acquaintance level with Jesus and can actually be a great jumping off point for the move into something deeper. The trouble is when you decide that being an acquaintance is good enough for you. A heart that is truly ready to wage an internal war on it’s own sin nature requires a relationship that dives MUCH deeper than an acquaintanceship will ever go. This relationship takes a serious investment of time which leads to love, understanding, respect, honor and sacrifice (“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24). A daily taking up of one’s cross to follow Jesus doesn’t happen if you are only His acquaintance. I urge any of you reading this who might describe yourself in that way to dive deeper! Make worship service a regular activity in your life. Pick up a bible and Google “annual bible reading plans” and start with today’s date. Find a quiet spot and pray asking God to draw you into a deeper relationship with His Son Jesus. Everyone’s journey towards true salvation started somewhere, yours can start right now with these three steps: 1) admit that you really are a sinner, 2) believe with all your heart that Jesus is the only One who can take those sins away and 3) confess those beliefs with your mouth and ultimately with the way you live your life. Are you local? Please reach out to me and come with me to a place where you can begin to experience the real Jesus for yourself first hand. Not local? Start visiting churches in your area each and every week that unashamedly preach the message of Jesus that I have talked about in this post. Come (or go) and take part in the GOOD news of Jesus Christ and allow the full impact of His sacrifice to be the defining moment of your life!
A restless generation, we’re turning over every stone
Hoping to find salvation in a world that’s left us cold
Can we get back to the altar, back to the arms of our first love?
There’s only one way to the father and he’s calling out to us
To the captive it looks like freedom
To the orphan it feels like home
To the skeptic it might sound crazy
To believe in a God who loves
In a world where our hearts are breaking
And we’re lost in the mess we’ve made
Like a blinding light in the dead of night
It’s the Gospel, the Gospel that makes a way
So it was in the third hearing of this song in it’s entirety on three separate days at three different times of the day that I realized I think God wants me to just share the Gospel today. Ohhhhh, great. Here she goes gettin’ all Southern Baptist, but did you know that one meaning of the word gospel is simply “the good news?” See below.
gos·pel
noun
The teaching or revelation of Christ.
"it is the Church's mission to preach the gospel”
Christian teaching, Christian doctrine, Christ's teaching; the word of God,
the good news
And I really do get it. “Gospel” sounds very TV evangelist doesn’t it? All I picture is Tammy Faye with her make-up running or Jimmy Swaggart with his cement hair. But if someone said, “Hey guys! I have some seriously good news to tell you!” it’s pretty much certain that everyone would become all ears. Well, that’s what I’m hear to tell you in this blog post. I have some really good news (it might even be GREAT news) and I hope you will read on because believe it or not, it has everything to do with you.
Let me stop for a second before diving any further and address those that are tempted to stop reading because you already know about Jesus. I haven’t mentioned this before, but I am currently in my third year as a teacher in the high school department at my church. At some point during every year that I teach, I make it a priority to look each of my girls in the eye and say to them that I will never take for granted that any of them have an actual relationship with Jesus just because they show up at my table on Sunday mornings. I make a point to tell them that I looked and acted just like them while I was growing up at church, but that I also know full well what I was doing when I wasn’t. I tell them that I was a master of the “Sunday School answer” and acting the part within the confines of my youth group, but that in reality I wasn’t truly saved until much later in my young adulthood. Now, most of the girls I have taught in the past and are currently teaching are doing wonderfully in their walk with Jesus. But, in the event that I have even one who might be talking all the right talk while never having taken the necessary steps to trust Jesus as her Savior, I don’t want to miss the opportunity for further discussion on that. So, I say the same things to you now. You already know who Jesus is? That is fantastic! I pray that you are growing and maturing and that your life is brimming with the fruits of the Spirit ("But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23). Nothing would make me happier as a fellow believer. However, I do feel I have a responsibility as well to address any of you readers who may be sort of stuck in your own head over Jesus. I mean, you know His name. I get that. But maybe you’re not completely sure you know Him. For example, I would compare it to having a real, actual friend who you are invested in and they in you versus having an acquaintance who you know on the periphery. More on this later…
Back to the actual good news that I need to share (granted this first part doesn’t feel so good and is honestly a bit of a downer, but just hang on!). If you read my last blog post you will remember in one section I referenced that all of us (ALL, not some) were born to sin. Pretty much all you’d ever have to do is go to a nearby pre-school and observe the behaviors of the little people in attendance. Okay, don’t actually do that because you’ll get arrested, but you get the point. We are selfish little boogers and it starts at day one. There is a deep theological reason for this that goes allllll the way back to the beginning in the garden with Adam and Eve. Though for time’s sake let’s just say humanity was originally created to be in perfect union with God, but our self-centered ambition very quickly took over and screwed all that up (“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” Romans 5:12) So, what we have to realize first and foremost is that we are literally born sinners. In the 21st chapter of the book of Revelation, John recounts what he saw in his vision about heaven. Among other things he says this, “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” I realize it can be hard to reconcile in our minds, but since we were born into sin, we are initially included in that “unclean” category that John spoke of. What’s worse, notice when he says that nothing unclean gets to enter heaven either. I told you, the beginning of the story is a bit of a bummer. What in the world are we to do now? Here it comes… the GOOD news!! God in His infinite wisdom devised a plan that would make it possible for all those nasty sins to be wiped away forever thus paving the way for us to no longer be unclean and gain access to heaven! His plan consisted of a young woman who was a virgin named Mary conceiving a child by means of a miracle (“…the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)” Isaiah 7:14). This child wouldn’t be born into sin like the rest of us because this child was the very Son of God Himself. In fact, He would possess all the same powers of God, only now He was in human form just like us. This miracle baby was named Jesus and He would go on to live out a completely sinless existence on earth for roughly 33 years before He would willingly go to His own death in order to make a way for you and I to get to heaven one day. I know that’s hard to fathom, but honestly so is quantum physics, yet somehow both are 100% possible and true (“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15). So what was the point of this big, grand, miraculous event in history and how exactly did he “take away” our sins? I need to stop a sec and give just a brief history lesson (I promise it won’t be long), but I think it’s important in fully understanding why Jesus had to become a sacrifice for us and also why Jesus was the ONLY one who could have fulfilled this duty. If you have ever read any of the Old Testament, specifically the first few books, you are at least somewhat familiar with the animal sacrificial system that the Israelite community was beholden to for hundreds of years. The people had to continually (…and continually) sacrifice animals at certain appointed times throughout the year in order for their sins to be forgiven by God. You may have also noticed that all of the animals offered to God for this purpose had to be completely unblemished (“If you present a gift as a burnt offering to the Lord, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, you will be accepted only if your offering is a male animal with no defects. It may be a bull, a ram, or a male goat. Do not present an animal with defects, because the Lord will not accept it on your behalf. If you present a peace offering to the Lord from the herd or the flock, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, you must offer a perfect animal. It may have no defect of any kind.” Leviticus 22:18-21). Clearly God was not interested in the offering of an animal that was less than perfect and if someone were to bring Him an animal that was, it wouldn’t have been acceptable. There were all sorts of rules and regulations involved, but all in all this system was the only way of atoning for the people’s sins before God. So, knowing what we know about the sacrificial system of a perfect creature for the atonement of sin you can now see why Jesus also had to be perfect with no defect of any kind. He was going to willingly become the final sacrifice that would ever have to be made. The animal sacrificial system that had to be repeated over and over and over again was about to be halted by this one enormous event. The sins of the people that, up to that point, had to be continually atoned for year after year were about to be wiped out forever with one final death. Pretty fascinating, huh? Okay, back to the present. When Jesus offered Himself as our “perfect lamb,” not only the Israelites sins were wiped clean, but OURS too! But how? In the moments leading up to Jesus’ death while He was hanging on that cross, God literally placed on Jesus all of the sins of the entire world. It was like Jesus actually became our sin (“For our sake God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21) and when He died, He took the sins of the world with Him ("Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God." 1 Peter 3:18). Then, three days after His body was taken down off the cross and buried in His tomb, He was made alive again by God and is currently residing at God’s right hand in heaven until He returns for the second and final time (“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 24:1-6). In accomplishing these miraculous events, He gave us the chance to no longer be included in that “unclean-ness" that John spoke of earlier. He gave us the opportunity to have our names included among those who get to enter heaven to be with God for all time. And that, friends, is the really short version of the gospel… I mean the good news!
So what now? Well, I wish I could tell you that this is where the story ends. I wish I could have an Oprah moment and just freely tell everyone, “YOU get to go to heaven… and YOU get to go to heaven… and YOU get to go to heaven!” But the fact is, we have a decision to make. We must actually choose to believe these things about Jesus first in order to gain admission (“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” John 1:12 // “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 // “And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” Acts 16:31 // “...because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9). God’s gift of salvation from our sin through the sacrifice of Jesus His Son is completely FREE for anyone who would simply choose to believe it.
Here’s the thing though, in order for someone to truly believe the story I just told, that person would have to confront their need for salvation in the first place, right? Why would anyone chose to believe in their need for Jesus to “save” them when deep down they haven’t really come to terms with their sin yet? If that’s you, maybe you're still toying with the idea that just living a life consisting of mostly decent choices should really be enough to make it to heaven. Oh man, if it were only so, but here’s the actual truth straight from John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” There’s that word “believe” again. And also notice the phrase “rejects the Son” used to describe the opposite. So it’s either believe or reject, it’s pretty black and white. To those I spoke of earlier who may have a slight knowledge of Jesus in that you know his name and even agree with various aspects of the gospel message I have briefly outlined, I just want to caution you. Acknowledging a few facts to be true about Jesus and actually having a regenerate heart based on a deeply held belief system about Jesus are two completely separate things. Acknowledgement of the facts gets you to an initial acquaintance level with Jesus and can actually be a great jumping off point for the move into something deeper. The trouble is when you decide that being an acquaintance is good enough for you. A heart that is truly ready to wage an internal war on it’s own sin nature requires a relationship that dives MUCH deeper than an acquaintanceship will ever go. This relationship takes a serious investment of time which leads to love, understanding, respect, honor and sacrifice (“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24). A daily taking up of one’s cross to follow Jesus doesn’t happen if you are only His acquaintance. I urge any of you reading this who might describe yourself in that way to dive deeper! Make worship service a regular activity in your life. Pick up a bible and Google “annual bible reading plans” and start with today’s date. Find a quiet spot and pray asking God to draw you into a deeper relationship with His Son Jesus. Everyone’s journey towards true salvation started somewhere, yours can start right now with these three steps: 1) admit that you really are a sinner, 2) believe with all your heart that Jesus is the only One who can take those sins away and 3) confess those beliefs with your mouth and ultimately with the way you live your life. Are you local? Please reach out to me and come with me to a place where you can begin to experience the real Jesus for yourself first hand. Not local? Start visiting churches in your area each and every week that unashamedly preach the message of Jesus that I have talked about in this post. Come (or go) and take part in the GOOD news of Jesus Christ and allow the full impact of His sacrifice to be the defining moment of your life!
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