To me the gospel means God wants us to be reconciled with him.
That he wants to live with us and take care of us and he wants us to take care of each other.
I think a lot of people hear a lot about, If you don't believe in God you will go to hell, or die in your sins.
And that's as far as it gets. Just do it because God said so.
I think what gets forgotten is the why.
That hits the nail right on the head! But don’t we first have to know what the “good news” is exactly?
So many speak about “the gospel” (good news) without knowing what it is in a nutshell. What is the NEWS, and what is good about it?
You look around today and you see most kids are raising themselves. Or they have mixed families. Don't matter if they are the same gender or race, they still being neglected in many ways.
The figure of the father head has gone by the wayside for a long time now. Kids have no respect for their parents, parents have no respect for their kids. Everybody just doing their thing.
It was the devil who first told humans that they would be better off deciding what is good and bad for themselves, and he has been promoting that idea ever since. We can clearly see where that has led the human race....down a very dark path to self destruction.
Then you bring God into the picture and people are like, I don't need anyone telling me what I should or shouldn't do.
It truly is a rebellious spirit that rules the world today.
The ruler of this world is also its god. (2 Cor 4:3-4) He has the power to “blind the minds” of those who reveal a rebellious spirit...the ones who don’t want to be held accountable to anyone for what they do. But he can only do that to “unbelievers”....those who like his way of thinking. What quality is God seeking in us?....humility and an obedient heart that puts God's will before our own.
And when a man comes around and tries to take the reigns in the family, or assert himself as provider and law maker,
Then everybody becomes defensive and lashes out.
Some mock saying, what's the matter with you, you have daddy issues?
It's this authority any authority that challenges their own that makes them rebellious.
Who do they take their advice from? It’s like they are completely unaware of the fact that their lives are so unhappy and unsatisfying because they have no direction from someone wiser than themselves. They keep stumbling into the same gaping holes and wondering why they keep ending up the there, hurt and bleeding.
So how do you bring the good news that God wants to be reconciled to his children, when the children don't want reconciliation because they don't want to be under ANY authority whatsoever?
You do what Jesus commanded his disciples to do....you take the message out to the people and like Jesus, you allow their own hearts to respond as they will. (Matt 10:11-14: Matt 28:19-20)
Jesus said that he would be “with” his followers in this work, that he said would be carried out right up until “the end”. (Matt 24:14)
Who are out in the world preaching the same message in every nation? Not the divided churches of Christendom because they do not know what “the gospel” actually is, so therefore they have no specific message but.... “Jesus loves you” and “you can be with him in heaven when you die”. Is that really what he told us to preach? Is that what people need to hear?
Jesus never ran after anyone pleading with them to listen to him...he told his truth, and honest and humble hearts responded to it and came to him. He did not need to bribe them or threaten them, but simply told them that their choices had consequences.....they could choose as their heart dictated...because God's will is going to take place...with us or without us.
This give Jesus a basis for his coming judgment.....those who want what God wants...and those who only want what they want from God.
Some people out there, lost and lonely, looking for love and direction.. these ones NEED the gospel.
God loves you. He wants to take care of you, he wants to be your friend and provider, and he wants you to lean on him.
The truth is that these people see no evidence of God’s existence in Christendom....all they see is a multitude of differing views and doctrines and are left to wonder how you can possibly make a choice?
Who is teaching the truth?...because they cannot all be right.....Jesus taught one truth and the devil came in and did what he does best...he planted seeds of doubt and led men off in a multitude of different directions....yet Christendom claims to be “Christianity”.....however, there is no resemblance to what Jesus and his apostles began.......but this was foretold. Why are we surprised that the “weeds”' sown by the devil' grow so well in a large "field" with so much ‘fertilizer’?
How do you get the ones who say they need nothing, realize they need God more than they know?
You don't. You go out to the people with the message of the Kingdom...the one that explains what the Kingdom of God truly is and what it will do for mankind now and in the future. But you can't go out to the people with no real message of hope for their lives NOW....not only after they die!
Thankfully Jesus does...he has been sending his disciples out to the people for almost 2000 years, despite stiff opposition....but the people were swayed by the ones who took the power of God and turned it into a threat, rather than a promise. Fear is a powerful weapon in the wrong hands....fear of death, particularly if people have swallowed the lie about a hell of eternal damnation. (Hebrews 2:15; Matt 16:26) There is no such place.
Is God really interested in those who are not interested in him? Does he care what these people want, if it is in opposition to his will and purpose? How has he treated those kinds of people in the past to show us what he thinks of them? Why would he not continue to do so now? He is actually allowing humans the freedom they demanded, and took for themselves......to judge their worthiness for citizenship in his Kingdom. We are telling God every day, who we really are, and that in itself will determine our eternal future. It is our humility and willingness to obey God and his Christ, even when it is difficult, or even if it means losing our life.....this is the example of the martyrs who have lost their lives rather than compromise with an evil religious or political system.
The truth is there, right under our noses...but some are so blind that they can never see it. Only God can open our eyes to his truth. (John 6:65)
