What IS the Gospel??

What is the gospel?

John the Baptist preached it. Jesus preached it. John, James, Peter, Paul, Silas and many others preached it during the time of the Apostles. But what IS it?

Baptists teach "x". Methodists teach "y". Presbyterians preach "z". Catholics preach "xy+w".

We argue & debate over whether or not Jesus COULD have sinned. Over whether or not you can choose to forfeit your salvation. Over whether or not speaking in tongues is still an active spiritual gift. Over having deacons as servants, or having elders as church rulers. Over associations or synods. Over what wording should be in a "sinners prayer". Over sprinkling or full immersion. Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, Post-Trib. Pre-Millennialism, Post-Millennialism, A-millennialism. So many ways that the different denominations of THE Church choose to dis-unify, in resistance to our Lord's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.

I've come to the point that I want to act in accordance with Psalm 119:63, "I am a companion of all those who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts". I believe that the name on the outside of the church doesn't matter, it's the name of the One that's worshiped on the inside that matters. We spend a LOT of time arguing over differences that honestly don't matter, time that we should be using to preach to the LOST, not our brothers. Are we straining out gnats while the camels march happily to hell?

To that end, I ask this: what is the CORE of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Is it:

1. Everything was created by God, who reveals Himself to us in three aspects of His being: Father, Son & Spirit.

2. The first man, Adam, chose to rebel against God. Because of that, sin entered his line and every person from birth is an enemy of God. Everything we do is tainted with sin and therefore filthy in God's sight. We CANNOT please Him with our deeds & service.

3. Knowing that we could never earn restoration, God sent His Son to us.

4. He spent 33 years walking among us, but NEVER sinned in thought, word or action.

5. Being a perfect and spotless man, He offered Himself as a sacrifice, offering His righteousness as a gift in exchange for our filthy rags. He died, was buried, and rose again on the third day in defeat of sin and death.

6. Anyone who acknowledges their sin, accepts His sacrifice and makes Him their LORD will be given forgiveness and resurrection.

7. At the end of history, everyone will be judged. Those who have forgiveness through Jesus will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Those who have never been forgiven of their sins will spend eternity in hell, being rightly punished for rebelling against the God of the universe.

How much of this did the thief on the cross know?

What about in Luke 18:13, where the publican prays "God, be merciful to me, the sinner"? Jesus said that he went home JUSTIFIED.

Just for clarification, I'm talking about Christians. Jehovah's Witnesses believe in a different god, a different resurrection, and a different eternity. Mormons believe in a different god, a different Jesus, and a different eternity. Again, salvation is from faith alone, not of works, lest any man should boast. Any church or denomination that claims that membership, rituals or baptism is required for salvation is in clear opposition to the Bible.

I DON'T want to start WW3, just a LOVING, RESPECTFUL discussion of where the line in the sand should be drawn on who we should accept as brother and ally, and who is in need of salvation.

Christian Body Building

When I was in high school, I was a runner. I wasn't a jogger. I wasn't someone who just wore running shoes and running clothes. I was a runner. On an average day, I ran somewhere between ten and fifteen miles during my workout. I ran the half mile in a little under two minutes, the mile in under five, and my best time ever in a 5K was 17:15. That's three consecutive sub-six minute miles. Again I say, I was a runner.

It was clearly observable that I was a runner. My parents almost went broke trying to keep me fed, as I ate about 4000 calories a day. Our Tupperware got so little use that it dry rotted. A 10-pack of pork chops meant that my parents and little sister got one each, and I ate everything else. But even eating that much, I couldn't gain weight if I'd wanted to do so. I was a 6', 145 pound lean, mean running machine.

Looking at me with street clothes on, you wouldn't think that I was much in the way of strength, most probably would guess me to the arch-typical "98 pound weakling". But they were wrong. Dead wrong. Since I also pole vaulted, I really didn't want to gain much in the way of mass, I wanted strength instead. And strength is gained by muscle density, not muscle mass.

If you talk to a body building type, they'll tell you that muscle mass is developed by working out using high weight amounts and performing low repetitions. Muscle density, on the other hand, is developed by using low weight amounts and performing high repetition. As an example of this, find an older, skinny automotive mechanic and try to have a hand squeezing contest with him. He'll crush your hand like it's origami. Because for years, he's been using his hands thousands of times a day. When I occasionally went to the gym, I did seated calf raises with 450 pounds. The first 3 of my 5 sets of 15, I slapped the weights. That means that I threw them up so hard and fast that they lifted off my knees. When I did bench presses, I took the 45 pound bar and did at least 100 repetitions straight. Doesn't sound like much, until you try to do it. Finally, definition of muscle groups is developed by doing a multitude of different exercises, making sure not to overlook or overwork any area or areas. Exercise guys have a variety of ways to ensure this, but the goal is to make sure that you don't look like Arnold Schwarzenegger above the waist and Olive Oyl below the belt.

About this time, you're asking yourself, what in the world does this have to do with Christianity, or have I been suckered into reading a glory days bragging session? No, there is indeed a theological point to all this.

How does the Bible call a follower of Jesus most of the time? A disciple. One who follows the disciplines of becoming like their Master. 1 Timothy 4:7b tells us "... On the other hand, discipline yourselves for the purpose of godliness." (NASB) The disciplines of a disciple include but are not limited to prayer, reading the Bible, meditation (mulling over Scripture, not contemplating your navel), worship, service, fasting, solitude, submission, humility, confession, stewardship and charity.

Now, let's consider the muscle development rules with regard to discipleship. If you want strength in your Christian life, you need to do small things over and over and over and over and over and over and over (are you getting the point?) Conversely, if you perform large things on a rare basis, it might very well result in you getting a massive ego, that is, getting puffed up. Again, care must be taken to exercise all of the spiritual disciplines, or you might wind up being a disciple with massive arms of prayer and pencil legs of fasting.

To exercise my own discipline of confession, I am HORRIBLE at spiritual disciplines. But I am working on building up my spiritual muscles. I encourage you to do the same.

Why I Love The Movie "Cool Runnings"

As we begin the Winter Olympics of 2014 in Sochi, the Jamaican bobsled team has been in the news due to the fact that their luggage was lost, which also contained part of the bobsled! Many years ago, my bride and I went to see "Cool Runnings", and it immediately became one of my all time favorite movies. While primarily billed as a comedy, it has some VERY powerful messages to tell. Albeit with comedic and dramatic adaption, the characters and the story are real.

If you've never seen the movie, here's a quick plot synopsis, with Spoiler Alert: The primary character is Derice Bannock, the son of a champion Olympic sprinter who is himself seeking to win Olympic gold in Track. During the official qualification trials, another sprinter trips Derice and a third runner, removing them all from contention in the Summer Olympics that year. Desperate to become an Olympian, Derice tracks down Irv Blitzer, a former US bobsledder who was disqualified and disgraced for cheating and has moved to Jamaica in shame and self-imposed exile. Blitzer had unsuccessfully tried to convince Ben Bannock to compete as a bobsledder, based on the idea that four fast sprinters should make excellent pushers, and thus champion sledders. Derice coerces his best friend to help him, and they eventually convince Irv to train them, IF they can find two more members for the team. Of course, the two other members wind up being the guy who tripped Derice and the third runner. No one on the team is happy, most of them have some reason to hate the other, and Irv doesn't believe that they can even make it as a team. After many, many, many hilarious training escapades, the team winds up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the Winter Olympics..without even having a sled with which to compete. Irv buys an old training sled from his former US pals, and they paint it with the Jamaican colors and name it "Cool Runnings", which is said to mean "peace(ful) be the journey". Derice develops an admiration for the Swiss team, who have a watch-like precision in everything they do on the course. Far from home and in front of recognized world-class athletes, the team struggles to fit in, and to overcome their fears and nervousness. The first time they try a practice run, the sled winds up going down the course without them, as they fail to mount properly! During their first competition run, the team fumbles, largely due to Derice trying to imitate the Swiss, but manages to complete the run, landing them in last place. Overnight, the team fights over whether they came as themselves, or someone else, particularly the Swiss. On their second day, the team shows up in full Jamaican flair and not only competes successfully, but does so well that they are actually in contention for a medal. During a heart-to-heart between Derice and Irv, Derice asks why Irv cheated. Irv tells him that he did so because winning was everything to him, and that if Derice isn't enough without a gold medal, he'll never be enough with one. When they take the course on the third and final day, they are ready, sure and prepared to compete, and hopefully win. The team absolutely aces the pushoff, and is on track to win the gold when disaster strikes. One of the nuts on their old, rickety sled comes loose, and they lose control and suffer a horrendous crash, sliding to a stop within sight of the finish line. After determining that they are all okay, they pick the sled up, put it on their shoulders and carry it across the line, because Derice has to finish the race. As they observe what is happening, several of the competitors who had previously picked on and harassed the team begin scattered applause, which turns into a full standing ovation from the crowd, competitors and even the judges as the movie ends. When the lights came up in the theater, my bride was astonished to see tears streaming down my face. Not a lone tear, but a full on gusher. As Larry The Cucumber says, "I laughed, I cried, it moved me, Bob".

As a Christian, there are many, many truths that can be gleaned from this story:

1) You might not wind up running the race that you prepared for and thought you would run. Several of the Apostles were fishermen, one was a tax collector, and Paul was a Pharisee.

2) You might not like everyone on your team. One of the Apostles was Simon the Zealot. Zealots were a nationalistic political group that hated the occupiers and collaborators. Another of the Apostles was Matthew, who was a tax collector for the occupying Romans. Imagine a Tea Party activist and an IRS 501(c)(4) application inspector playing on the same softball team.

3) You might not run your race in an environment that you would choose. Paul was a Jew's Jew, who would up preaching salvation to the pagans and barbarians of the world.

4) You have to run your own race in your own way, without worrying about other runners. Peter asked Jesus what would happen to John, to which Jesus reminded him "follow ME".

5) You might not have the best and newest equipment to run with. David went into battle carrying only a sling and five stones...and the presence and protection of Almighty God.

6) Your contentment cannot come from your circumstances or even your results, but instead from the fact that you are precious to Jesus, and that you are working diligently to follow Him. The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:12&13 that contentment comes from relying on Jesus.

7) You may not win according to the standards and measures of the world, but you have to finish your race. Paul himself speaks of this in 2 Timothy 4:6-8. Jesus rewards those who finish their race, not those who run the fastest, best, or most attractively.

I encourage you to watch this film! It's funny, it's entertaining, and it is indeed a moving picture. Then share with me your insights into Cool Runnings!

Where Are You Looking?

The other day, I re-Tweeted a post from the pastor of a large area church, who was sharing his excitement and burden to share the message that the Holy Spirit had given him for Sunday morning. I have heard him preach several times, know several members of his church and see him to be a very godly and energetic preacher of the Word.

About an hour later, I saw a notification in my Interactions feed that he was now following me!

Let's be honest for a moment. On Twitter, everyone WANTS followers. Some pay for them, some follow others just to be followed back, and some just take whomever decides to follow. But seeing "@ChrchCurmudgeon and 6 others followed you" will put a smile on your face! Especially when it's someone like the pastor I mentioned.

However, that still, small voice whispered into my heart "Are you more excited about him following you, or are you more excited about you following ME?" #OUCH

Jesus didn't tell Peter and Andrew "Come, follow each other, and you will become fishers of men." He said "follow ME, and I will make you fishers of men."

Now, I'm not cancelling my Twitter account, or suggesting that anyone else should. My point is simply this: Our greatest passion and excitement should and must come from the fact that the Creator of the universe has invited us to personally follow HIM.

Surely not him!

Some Christian brothers and I were discussing the story of Zaccheus from Luke 19 the other day, and something came to my mind that I had never considered.

When most church-raised Christians think about Zaccheus, they almost immediately start head-singing a song about him being “a wee little man, a wee little man was he”. He was indeed a short man, but he was also a publican. That is to say, he was a tax collector for the Romans. That meant that he was shunned and despised by almost everyone.

Of course, there were those that were more than just unfriendly to the publicans. They hated anything Roman, but absolutely and totally hated anyone that was working with the Roman occupiers. This group was known as the Zealots. The Zealots known as Judas the Galilean and Zadok the Priest actively opposed the Jewish census ordered by Cyrenius (or Quirinius). The Zealots were the ones who barricaded themselves in the mountaintop fortress of Masada in AD 73 and ultimately killed each other instead of allowing themselves to be captured by the Romans.

Of course, the most famous of the Zealots was a man named Simon. Referred to in the Bible as “Simon the Zealot” to keep him from being confused with Simon Peter. That is, to keep one apostle of Jesus Christ from being confused with another disciple of Jesus Christ.

Scripture doesn’t mention the disciples in this passage, but as this scene takes place almost immediately before Jesus enters Jerusalem for the Passion, it is doubtful that any of them were missing.

Imagine Simon the Zealot’s reaction to seeing Jesus talk to another publican. As a man, I do not doubt that he would wish to drive Zaccheus from Israel entirely, if not just kill him where he stood. But Jesus showed Simon the Zealot through publicans what He showed Simon Peter through a vision: no one is too sinful or too unclean to hear the Gospel or to respond and be saved.

Most importantly, it is not our duty, nor our right, to decide to whom we should and should not interact, relate and witness. It doesn't matter if they are a leftist, liberal, progressive, pro-abortionist, socialist, atheist, whatever, they can be convicted by the Holy Spirit of their sin and be led to repentance.