RichKao
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PrintWhat is popular is not always accurate or true. This maxim holds for the church as well as for human society at large. Consequently, it is helpful and even necessary at times to reexamine one's knowledge and beliefs, particularly in regard to foundational matters. In terms of the Christian faith, popularly held understandings of the gospel are not always consistent with the biblical witness.
As mentioned earlier, this inquiry into the apostolic gospel was precipitated by a disappointing and troubling television presentation by an enormously popular American preacher that was enthusiastically billed as the preaching of the gospel. Since others can be observed to sincerely hold to erroneous notions of the fundamental Christian message, I thought it best to reexamine the Scriptures themselves in order to reevaluate my own understanding.
One of the primary questions that drove my inquiry was, "What was the core content of the gospel proclaimed by the apostles in the divinely inspired record of the Book of Acts?" In surveying Acts, I identified twelve accounts which especially presented information specifically relevant to my inquiry. These are as follows: 2:14-41; 3:12-4:2; 4:8-12; 5:29-32; 7:1-60; 10:34-43; 13:16-41; 14:8-18; 17:2-3; 17:22-31; 26:1-29; 28:17-31. The answer to the question regarding the core content of the apostolic gospel can be summed up in a single name: Jesus.
With one exception, all of the accounts of apostolic preaching center explicitly upon Jesus. An analysis of the various texts reveals five primary categories of information regarding or related to Jesus that comprised the core content of the message proclaimed. These concern: (1) the identity of Jesus, (2) the historical reality and ministry of Jesus' first coming, (3) the promise of Jesus' second coming, (4) Jesus' fulfillment of ancient Israelite prophecies, and finally, (5) a call for a radical response to Jesus. Imbued throughout all of these categories is the critically important theme (sometimes explicit, often implicit) of the kingdom of God.
Perhaps it should be said that Jesus is not merely central to the apostolic message, but that he is the gospel; that is, the good news. Given Luke's framing of the material found in his Gospel and in Acts, this is of course not surprising. After presenting Jesus as the savior of humanity, the friend of sinners who offers salvation to all, even to the socially marginalized, he closes with the following quotation from Jesus about himself: "This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things" (Lk 24:46-48).
This charge to the disciples to carry on a global apostolic witness centers on himself, the Messiah. Luke quotes him in the opening of Acts, reiterating this same charge: "(Y)ou will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Ac 1:8). The disciples are to be his witnesses, which means they are to serve him by giving witness to him. Peter understood this as evidenced in the criteria he laid out for the selection of an apostolic replacement for Jesus' traitor, Judas. Luke quotes him as follows: "(I)t is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection" (Ac 1:21-22).
All of this makes clear that Jesus as witnessed to in the biblical record must be central to any contemporary proclamation of the gospel. If he is not, we may indeed be elucidating or proclaiming various biblical truths and principles, but we should not make the mistake of thinking we are proclaiming the apostolic gospel. The problem with too much contemporary preaching, especially American, is that it has lost sight of the apostolic gospel and replaced it with a focus on producing and/or receiving the positive fruit or benefits of the gospel. In some cases Jesus becomes a talisman to ward off physical and material evil and to acquire our definition of blessedness in this life. In other cases, he becomes a functional elucidator of spiritual principles, which when faithfully believed and diligently applied produce success as we would have it. While there is a kernel of truth in each of these misconstrued understandings of Jesus, they are nevertheless corruptions of the apostolic gospel.
If we wish to know and experience God in similar fashion to that of the early church as described in Acts, we must encounter through repentance and faith the Jesus known and proclaimed by the apostles. The charge given by Jesus to his first disciples to be his witnesses throughout this world has passed from generation to generation, and now rests with great solemnity and responsibility upon us, even those who believe. It is our duty and privilege to know accurately the original good news, to live by his grace in response to it, and to communicate it to all who live in this world. If we are to please the Holy Spirit, we must become faithful witnesses of this gospel. Therefore, to a study of the elements of its core content we shall turn next.
Entries in Teaching (32)
The Apostolic Gospel: Core Content
By Dr. Bruce Fidler (a theologian friend of mine)
(Entire post reproduced here).
Trinity: God is Community
Here is an excerpt & quote from our "Simply Deep and Deeply Simple" teaching series, which focuses on the "Big Truths" of the bible. Part 1 was on the Trinity.
“The trinity is the first community and the ideal for all communities. It’s the only community that has not beeen stained by sin. In the diversity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there is perfect unity as one God that communicates truthfully, loves unreservedly, lives connectedly, serves humbly, interacts peaceable and serves selfllessly. The trinity is the ideal community in every way. Or, to say it another way, God is a friend, and has Friends.” p.12, Doctrine, Driscoll & Breshears.
God has an ark for you
The life of Noah has been illuminated for me in recent days, and three themes have come to me as I've reflected on his story, all which revolve around that which Noah is most known for - building the ark.
1. God has an ark of salvation for you.
Sometimes in our passion to do good, be light, be salt, we forget there is an end goal to the gospel. And that's to see people get saved. We may not be called to be a Billy Graham that leads the multitudes to Christ, but we do have an "appointed" group of people God wants us to impact. In Noah's case, he saved 7 other people, his three sons, their wives and his own wife (Gen 7:13). Not massive results, but then God wasn't looking for massive results. He was looking for Noah to fill "his boat" with the appointed ones. What mattered to God was not the number, but their "potency" and "future impact." With the seven that Noah saved, they repopulated the whole world. If I had the privilege of being the prayer warrior that prayed Billy Graham into the kingdom (as the story goes), I could leave this earth deliriously satisfied that I got the "one" I was supposed to get into my ark. We may not be called as a full-fledged evangelist, but God does have ones apppointed for us to bring to faith in Him.
2. God has an ark of destiny for you. (Gen. 6:14a)
Noah was called to do something that had never been done before. It was unique. It was novel. It was unheard of. We are all born with a unique destiny and calling. And it requires faith to walk in it because no one else has been down that path in the exact same way God is calling you down the path. No one had built an ark before. Noah had no "mentor" in that sense. And yet, Noah fulfilled his call. And he did it exactly as God told him (Gen. 6:22). Many times we think God just gives us the big picture, the headlines, and then leaves us to figure out the details. Nothing could be further from the truth. God delights to guide us in the details, the hows, whens, wheres, and more. Read Gen. 6:14-16. God was specific with Noah, and He will be specific with your calling. It can take time to unfold. It takes a long time to harvest gopher wood for the ark, but it will come. And when you hear the "rain falling" you will be glad you built your ark.
3. God has an ark of intimacy for you.
Noah was a righteous man that walked with God (Gen. 6:9). It was that ark of friendship, fellowship and intimacy with God that ultimately carried him above the floods of life. It was what kept him safe above the storms, and waves and wind. In actuality, this intimacy was the foundation for the first two arks, as they gave Noah the confidence he needed to walk out his calling, and the authority he needed to call his family "into the boat." This is where is all began for Noah, and it's where it begins for us; living in nearness to God. When that is our life, then it becomes redemptive and a glory to God. And that is the whole point.
