WHO IS THE GOSPEL FOR?

Is the gospel for Christians or for non-Christians?

How you answer that question reveals a lot about what your concept of the gospel is. Your answer to this question may also explain a lot about how you how you view the Christian life and your role in this world.

There is, in my experience of some twelve years in Christian ministry, a sense in which the old Sunday school joke touches a little too close to home. The story goes that Ms. Sandy, the stereotypical Sunday school teacher, in an effort to engage her pupils, begins class with a series of questions. “What is brown, has a bushy tail, eats nuts, and lives in a tree?” Jimmy, the self-appointed spokesman of the group, raises his hand and boldly responds, “I know it sounds like it could be a squirrel, but we all know that the correct answer is Jesus, Ms. Sandy!”

This joke could very well serve as a parable for the current state of Evangelical Christianity. We know that Jesus is supposed to be the answer to everything, but we often struggle to see what He has to do with the daily kinds of questions we are asking. What does Jesus have to do with my anger problem? What does Jesus have to do with my marriage, how I parent, how I do my job, which major I choose, which friends I choose, how to overcome temptation, etc.? What does Jesus have to do with global warming, the environment, war, racism, corruption, and poverty? Yes, Jesus is the answer, but is He the answer to any of these questions?

I am challenged by what I find in the New Testament—Christians communities, in many cases communities that have been Christians for twenty, thirty even sixty years, who are still looking to the gospel for nourshment, who are still wrestling to understand the meaning and the implications of the message, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Take the Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) for example; each was written primarily to communities of believers in the mediterranean world.[1] They all in their unique way are dedicated to explaining who this Jesus was, what he said, what he did, why he did and said all these things—and why it should matter to us now as Christians in our given circumstances.

Letters like those of the Apostle Paul, give us glimpses into the life of the early church as they struggled with very real issues: selfish ambition, ministerial competition, wanting to be liked by their host society, sexual immorality, racism, fear and cowardice, peer pressure, temptations to compromise the faith, unresolved conflict, jealousy, self-absorption, false teachings, leadership struggles, guilty consciences, social injustice, laziness, and social elitism (to name a few!). For Paul, much like Ms. Sandy, whatever the issue, the answer truly was Jesus!

For instance, we know that one of the reasons why Paul was writing to the Romans was because they were having leadership problems caused by racism—Jews vrs. Gentiles. How is he going to solve this problem? What is the solution as he sees it? We get a hint of from the first chapter:

I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. (Rom. 1.15) 


For Paul a better, more fuller understanding of the gospel and its implications is the solution to the problem. Accordingly, he writes sixteen chapters explaining the gospel and its implications for their specific situation. Many more examples can be found of this kind of approach in Paul’s letters, but for the sake of time we won’t be able to go into those.[2] What is important to see, however, is that Paul saw the gospel, not just as the ticket into the club, but the sustaining bread for the daily struggles of life. For Paul, the gospel gives birth, nourishment, sustenance and direction to the people of God, the church. According to Paul, failure to reflect upon and integrate the gospel, results in a failure to grow spiritually.

I wrestle with this breach I perceive between the two worlds in which I live. In the one world, the gospel, the message about Jesus, tends to have little to do with the Christian life. Sure, it will help a non-Christian get into the club; it may even serve as milk for young Christians. But it doesn’t appear to be viewed as the meat of the Christian life. In the other world, that of the New Testament, the gospel has everything to do with real life. The gospel is the center of both individual and church growth. What are we to make of this all?

As a result of this tension that I experience, one of my life projects, both as a Christian and as a professor of New Testament, is to explore this phenomenon by asking two principal questions:

(a) What is the gospel?
(b) What are its implications for my life and our world?

In the following posts, I will be looking at various texts that I consider to be ‘gospel’ texts. I will look at both what the texts reveal about the content of the gospel, and how these texts are intended to work, that is, what they are intended to do in the community reading them.

In short, I am convinced the gospel is essential to Christian growth. And I hope that these studies will show how.


* One word before I start this series. This is a project in development; an argument in development. I will not say everything I will want or need to say about the gospel in each reflection. Please read with a hermeneutic of trust; if I haven’t emphasized something yet, it may simply be because the text I am working with hasn’t emphasized it. If I have seemingly left something out, instead of assuming I don’t believe in what I have left out, keep reading to the end of the project. With that, I do welcome your comments, even concerns, and look to be shaped by our interactions.

[1] Yes, even the Gospel according to John, who writes, “these things were written so that you may believe (or keeping on believing) that Jesus is the Christ”, was written primarily to Christians, intended to keep their loyalty to Jesus in the midst of trials.

[2] See also Col. 1-4, esp. 3.15; Ephesians, esp. 1-3; 1 Cor. 1-3; Titus 2.11-15.