Answers to 5 Questions about the Gospel

My responses to questions asked in a recent small group- What do you think?

Reflect Questions

1.      What does the Gospel mean to you? What does the Gospel FOR ALL mean to you? How do you define it? The Gospel is the bad news that all humans are dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and, as dead in sin can do nothing good (Romans 3:10-18) As such, they are all under condemnation (John 3:18-20). The Gospel is good news in that Jesus Christ the Word made Flesh (John 1:1-5) dwelt among us, made in every way such as we are yet without sin (Hebrews4:15) and though he was without sin, he was treated as though he had sinned so that those who repent and trust in Him alone can be counted as righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The Gospel for all means that all who believe (the Elect, Predestined~Ephesians 1: 3-7 ) on Christ alone for salvation, not of their own will ( John 1:13, John 10:14, 27-29, Ephesians 2:8-9) but because God has chosen them from before the foundation of the world. The “all” is limited to those who will believe. Those who will believe do so because God has given them all they need to believe through the regeneration of His Holy Spirit.

2.      When you hear that the gospel is for everyone, how do you feel or what thoughts run through your mind? I think that this is a misrepresentation of what the scripture clearly teaches, or an incomplete sentence. The Gospel is for everyone who believes. The Greek for believes is pisteuo, and like the word ‘love’, the English word does not do justice. The idea of belief is threefold.  Many people believe in Christ (historical figure) some believe in Christ and follow up by attending church, and doing good church like activities, and even identify as Christians. However, they have never trusted Him alone for salvation. You must have all three aspects of belief for it to be effective for salvation. This faith is wrought by God.

One of my favorite illustrations for this is the parachute. Imagine you are in a plane 35000 feet in the air, and the pilot comes on and says “Folks, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you have a parachute under your seat. The bad news is we have lost all our engines, and if you do not exit the plane soon, you will die. Thank you for flying with us. What will save you in this situation?

a)      Knowing about the parachute?

b)      Strapping it on?

c)      Jumping out and pulling the rip cord?

d)     All of the above

The correct answer is D. Knowing about the parachute will not help you, even if you can go into great detail about it. Strapping it on will only make you uncomfortable. Pulling the rip cord without jumping out or strapping it on will be uncomfortable and worthless. You must do all of the above for the parachute to save you from the sure crash to come.

And remember, if you are dead, you cannot respond to the Captain’s orders or know anything about parachutes, strap them on, jump, or pull the rip cord. You need to be regenerated, brought from death to life in order to be able to even respond.

3.     If you where to look at God’s invitation list, are there some people you wouldn’t want to include? Why? Who are they? If I were not a believer, I would say yes. I used to hate certain groups of people. As a Christian, I know that my responsibility to tell everyone I know about the good news found only in Jesus Christ.

4.     How have you experienced the grace of Christ? How do you feel when the Bible says that grace is extended for everyone? I have experienced both the common and saving  grace of Christ. The Bible does not say that the saving grace is extended to everyone, it does, however, intimate that common love or grace is extended. God allows all people to live and breathe and enjoy things like good food and shelter even though prior to repentance and faith they are hateful and rebellious towards Him. He allows the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. He is patient with those who are elect; and he will save them (Romans 5:8, 2 Peter 3:9).

5.     If there are two kinds of unhealthy perspectives on grace — one where grace is given to self but not to others, and the other where grace is given to others and not to self — which one have you experienced before? I have experienced neither, honestly.

a.    What switch has to happen in order to go from an unhealthy view of grace to a healthy one - where grace is freely available to all, where the invitation list is limitless? The invitation list is not limited by me; it is limited by God as scripture clearly teaches (Matthew 22:14, 1 Peter 2:8-9, Matt 1:21, John 6:35-40, John 10:3-4, Acts 20:28, Ephesians 5:25)