Why aren’t more people more enthusiastic about the gospel (i.e., the gloriously good news about what God has done for us through Jesus)? How does this revolutionary message become secondary, peripheral and ho-hum? I suppose there are many reasons. Here are a few.
- Because it isn’t new. It’s been around for two thousand years but that’s not what I mean by it isn’t new. I mean most disciples have been in Christ a while—so the “newness” of their experience in coming to Jesus has worn off. It’s like that vehicle you bought new years ago. You still appreciate it and get around in it—you just don’t view it in the same way you did as when it was brand new. We can look at the gospel the same way.
- Because it has been hijacked and misappropriated by those who don’t understand it. The word “gospel” has lots of different connotations. For some, it stands for a legalistic approach to God. For others, it becomes an excuse to live any way they want to because God has forgiven them. Of course, neither of these approaches are representative of the real good news, but hearing a glorious word like gospel associated with them is like seeing a dirty diamond—it’s hard to look at, much less be enthusiastic about it.
- Because it hasn’t always been taken seriously by other disciples. We know all about Christian people talking one way and living another. And when it is someone we really respect, it can be hurtful and disillusioning. That disillusionment can easily be transferred to the gospel.
- Because we don’t experience its success often enough. We do hear about success in some places (in jail ministries, and some missions), but in the world we live in—we don’t see that many people we know coming to Jesus. This can create a perspective that causes us to lose sight of the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16-17).
- Because it sometimes brings us things we don’t want. Some people are just looking for a Savior—they don’t want a Lord. Even people who are looking for a Lord don’t always understand that if sacrifice and suffering belonged to Jesus, they will belong to those who follow Him. We’re not sure how we feel about that.
- Because we are distracted. I’m not talking about distractions as we normally think of them. I’m thinking about how we are distracted by the world. Too often we let the world set the agenda for our lives—and the gospel is of no concern to them. We then find ourselves up to our eyeballs in activities that leave us little or no time for spiritual matters. It’s good to be involved with the world—but we’re supposed to do it as salt and light. The boat has to be in the water, but when the water gets in the boat it dissolves our values.
All of these things (and you can think of more), can get between us and seeing the gospel. None of them changes the gospel (they can’t do that)—but they do make it harder to see its glory. Maybe we need to re-look at the gospel through the eyes of a man named Paul.
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 