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The Gospel is for Everyone

 

There is an unmistakable Scriptural mandate for evangelism. The cultural confusion lies in who that call belongs to. To bring clarity to the conversation, I wish to address what the gospel is, from a biblical and even a practical perspective. Then, looking to Jesus’ last command, we will examine what the Great Commission found in Matthew 28 means to us today. We will identify that the responsibility lies with the whole of Christendom, and there should be an urgency in the task at hand because life and death hang in the balance. Therefore, the biblical mandate for Christians is anchored in the gospel, commanded by Christ, and every Christian is beholden to obey, and in light of eternity, this task demands urgency.   

What is the Gospel?

If we have a professed faith in Christ, I am sure we are all aware of the fundamentals of the gospel. However, where we tend to lose sight of the gospel is when we go to share it. My dear friend Matt Queen often exclaims, “If you know enough of the gospel to be saved by it, you know enough of the gospel to share it.” The gospel message goes beyond Jesus loves us so much that He died on the cross to forgive us, yet this tends to be where we live. But what if I told you that the reason we tend to stick here is that Evangelicalism (the term used to discuss interdenominational cooperation) has found this to be the common ground of the gospel.

When I was serving as a youth leader several years back, we took the youth to a concert. In between sets, each band gave some variation of a gospel message. To my surprise, they employed an evangelist to share the gospel mid-way through the concert. Between the bands and the evangelist’s proclamation of the gospel, I realized just how misunderstood the gospel can be among Christians. Some of the bands provided powerful testimonies of the greatness of God. Clearly articulating the necessity of Christ dying for our sins and compelling the crowd to respond. Others—including the evangelist—offered up a narcissistic message in the gospel. They emphasized Jesus's love but never addressed the necessity of Jesus. The presentations ranged from comprehensive to surface-level.

Centrality of the Gospel

However, Paul identified the foundation of gospel proclamation. Paul was passionately concerned that the early church maintain the centrality of the gospel in their lives and teaching. He wrote:

"Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor 15:1–4, CSB).

He gave them the core of the gospel—what was most important—that for their salvation Christ died, was buried, and arose on the third day. Fundamentally, this serves as the central tenet of the gospel message. As we grow in our relationship with Christ, our understanding of the gospel becomes clearer. Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection stand at the center, but as we know Him more, we can see that His whole person and work testify to the gospel message. Had Christ not lived a sinless life, there would be no remission of sins through His sacrifice. Had Christ not been born and taken on flesh, the gospel would be incomplete. Had Christ not existed with the Father in eternity past, there would not be a complete gospel. Looking forward, had Christ not ascended to the right hand of the Father and granted authority over all things, then we would be left with an impotent Savior. Finally, if we did not have the hope of His advent to make all things new, our faith—to borrow from Paul’s words—would be the most to be pitied.

The Simplicity of the Gospel

The reality is that the gospel is the person and work of Christ, to the extent that He is both Savior and Lord. It is as Paul wrote, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Rom 11:36, CSB). As such, the gospel depends less on us and more on the Holy Spirit, whom Christ sent to us. Gospel conversations should discuss the problem of sin, the need for Christ, and the hope we can have in and through him. For the unbeliever, this is the essential understanding needed to accept or reject the gospel. To address that Jesus loves you falls woefully short for a reasonable person to comprehend the depth of the gospel. But let’s say we rely on “Jesus loves you” to communicate the gospel. What does this really communicate? Well, subconsciously, it communicates that you are loved just the way you are. While Christ does love us, apart from a relationship with Him, our sin holds His wrath against us.

Imagine if I took my 2006 Toyota Highlander to the mechanic. Let’s say that this mechanic specializes in Toyotas. It wouldn’t make sense if I went in with a blown head gasket (a pretty serious problem for those unfamiliar with cars) and the mechanic talked about how excellent Toyota reliability is. The mechanic went on and on about how great the gas mileage is for a mid-size SUV. Or how JBL premium stereo delivers crisp, clear sound. Even how Toyotas maintain their value over time, interestingly, providing all the compliments about my car may make me feel better about driving it. I might feel like a cool guy for driving a cool car. But the mechanic’s failure to address the glaring engine issue right in front of us is dishonest. The engine needs grievous help. Apart from repairing the engine, the car is just a driveway decoration. What’s more, when the car finally stopped running because of the issue resulting in catastrophic engine failure, I would be livid. I would be stranded on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck. I would have accumulated more damage and costs than the car is worth. I would be destitute with the Highlander and without any hope of repairing it other than a complete engine rebuild.

The same truth applies to sharing the gospel. This equates to sharing that “Jesus loves you,” all the while, there is a grievous sin problem. This is the lie of easy-believism that refuses to address the glaring sin problem that stands at the heart of the need for the gospel in the first place. This emphasizes the love of God to the neglect of His holiness. Yes, unmistakably, God’s love should be the central motivation of our gospel presentation. It is His “kindness is intended to lead [us] to repentance” (Rom 2:4, CSB). God’s mercy is on full display through the work of the Cross. His mercy leads to the very redemption for which Christ died. Without the sacrifice—the shedding of blood—there is no forgiveness of sins because He is equally Holy. From His Holiness, there is a standard to which all of creation is held. Peter asserted, “But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15). The call is to a life of holiness and by inference from sinfulness. To neglect the former—who we all are apart from Christ—is spiritually dishonest. Dietrich Bonhoeffer identified this as “cheap grace.” He wrote, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”[1] We must be cautious in delivering cheap grace to those around us. By doing so, we provide a false sense of security in a message ultimately devoid of Christ.

Conclusion

The gospel is the good message of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection for His creation, culminating in salvation and entrance into His kingdom to all who surrender to Christ as both savior and Lord. Understanding that our sin is the root cause of the necessity of the Cross is crucial to the gospel. Acknowledging that salvation only comes through Christ is essential. Moreover, seeing that Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords must demand our fealty. We must strive toward honoring our King. If Christ is not your Lord, then He is not your Savior. The Lordship of Christ compels His servants to the work of His kingdom. Devotion to Christ demands obedience. Christ, our Lord, requires us to carry the message of redemption to the lost. L. R. Scarborough wrote, “Christ calls from Calvary for us to carry the saving efficacy of His cross to a lost world about us.”[2]


[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship. trans. R.H. Fuller (SCM Press, 1959), 47.

[2] Scarborough, With Christ After the Lost, 3.

 

 

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