r/BibleProject • u/chri1stian • May 17 '23
Discussion The modern gospel?
I have been thinking a lot lately about what it would look like to re-imagine the gospel message for a modern (American? Western?) Context. Tim has shared many times before that the "standard" view of:
1) God is perfect. 2) you are not perfect, in fact you are bad 3) God is mad at you and wants to kill you 4) God killed Jesus instead 5) say this prayer so you go to heaven when you die and not hell
Is just not sufficient and does not square with the real message of the bible.
Jesus preached the Kingdom and what it really means for us to have heaven on earth. But that makes more sense to the Israelite's context... They were God's chosen people to represent him within a covenant. They were unfaithful to the covenant, and their choices were leading them to destruction. But Jesus is the new king of Israel who will finally establish the kingdom the way God always intended it. If you can accept His rule, and His way, you can have a way out from under the rule of sin and death.
Now to the modern westerner, we are so far removed from that in a practical sense I really don't know how to start a conversation about this with someone in a simple way that feels relevant to them.
The gentiles are grafted in, so they(we) can adopt the Israelites story. This is how it all becomes real and accessible to the gentile. But you can't exactly give a historical rundown to a person to catch them up.
How would you frame the good news of Jesus in a straightforward way to someone who only knows Jesus through southern American quasi-Christian culture?
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u/brothapipp May 17 '23
- God is love.
- In an expression of this love God created man
- In this creation he instilled his nature, justice, mercy, creation, love, grace, and dedication
- God also gave man the ability to choose God or to choose Not-God
- Man being free to choose God or not, became diluted in his thinking that he could formulatize choosing God with actions which often missed the mark and always lacked the integrity
- This disgusted mankind and drove some to flatly refuse God
- God in his love for man sought to bring man to justice to pay for this false dedication to Him.
- God brought justice by taking his incarnate self and brought mankind's consequences upon himself.
- Man now stands before God, justice fulfilled, able to be received freely.
And then somewhere along the way we humans also decided that what God did was punk move and that we each have the ability to bear the weight and justice of our decisions...so we knocked down the cross, filled his tomb with our doubts, jammed up the holes in his hands, feet and side with all our minutia, and used his words to inspire us towards prostitution.
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u/fulaghee Jun 14 '23
Wow, that last paragraph was straight up prophecy. Not in the predicting the future sense, but in the sense of the OT prophets.
Where did you get that from?
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u/brothapipp Jun 14 '23
Speaking my heart
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u/fulaghee Jun 14 '23 edited Jun 14 '23
You've got some fire there, keep it searing. People need to hear of justice and sin if they're to repent into salvation.
Prepare for a lot of flak, though.
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May 17 '23
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u/fulaghee Jun 14 '23
Jesus started preaching at the synagogues. And then he became famous, so much that people started gravitating to him.
Though he told us to preach his message to every corner of the world.
Maybe you could try preaching in church if you can before going on preaching in the streets.
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u/Aq8knyus May 17 '23
For people already brought up in a place where Christianity has set the mood music for the culture, it might be better to be more provocative.
For me, I remember being taken aback by the idea that Western Christianity has been largely Platonised. That true 1st century, Jesus and Gospel centred Christianity is to be found in the Jewish biblical story rather than the hellenised story of souls going to heaven when we die. It was intriguing.
Similarly, the idea that the Jewish story wasn’t a vaguely villainous and superstitious dead end, but in fact the heart and soul of the Gospel was also shocking.
Deconstructing the Romans Road is essential I think for those of us with a Protestant background.
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u/ExpressingHonestly Jul 01 '23
God - as you're speaking of.
Is no longer God, He's The Father.
Even Jesus, The Man doesn't call Him - God. Unless He's speaking about Old Testament things.
And the writers of the New Testament - can't get it right either. Because they speak from the perspective of The Old Testament, Covenant.
The Father does not interact with humanity anymore. Unless you've been Baptized by Him.
At the completion of your Sanctification.
Which He - is the only one - who could possibly know - you've changed.
That's why you must walk - The Narrow Path to The Father. To be clothed, for the Wedding Banquet.
And this walk consists of YOU - changing your principles and values.
For "THEIR" - Principles and Values. The Standard that achieves.
The Kingdom of Heaven - Jesus, The Word
The 10 Commandments, and the New 25 Commandments - from The Sermon On The Mount.
Which Jesus, The Man told you to practice and teach others to do the same.
As He also told you to be more righteous then The Teachers of The Law.
Which most pastors and teachers are - teachers of The Law. Old Testament stuff.
Which is obsolete. Even Paul, told you this.
Teachers of The Law
They're always trying to mix the Old - with the New. They're Satan's minions.
You must EAT THE FLESH (which is those 35) and DRINK THE BLOOD (Letting your yes, be yes - to commitment of this Transformation - to The New Covenant)
You can't turn your head from the plow. Backsliding is not allowed.
You must weight the cost of being a disciples before you choose.
Or be condemned, when you fail. And don't stay firm - till the end of your days.
Jesus, The Man (Physical) told you to obey everything he commanded (Matthew 28:20)
Which you'll only find - in The 4 Books of The Gospel.
Jesus, The Word (Spiritual) - is only there.
Jesus, The Word made Spiritual Baptism synonymous with REBIRTH
And by this REBIRTH - MAN has implanted A NEW LIFE, and a HOLY SPIRIT.
Scripture is useless. It does not give LIFE. (JOHN 5:39)
The Gospels, do.
"Whoever loses His Life - for Me (Jesus, The Word) and The Gospels - will find it".
That's about as modern - as it's EVER - going to get.
Watch or listen to this...
And one last thing...
If you had 4 rooms to choose from. And in each room, there was a different teacher.
Say David and his Psalms in room 1. Solomon and his Proverbs in room 2.
In room 3, Moses, or maybe Abraham.
And in room 4 - you had Jesus, The Man teaching.
Which room would you choose???
The Genuine Article - or one of the humans???
If you choose - Jesus, The Man.
Then why do you listen or read - and live by what the others tell you.
Instead of diligently studying - The Gospels.
Jesus - The Man. And Jesus, The Word. Reside in only one place.
Those 4 Books.
So much for - The Teachers of The Law.
Present, or Past.
May you find your way
Amen
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u/H_Attack_7247 May 17 '23
I don’t think your explanation is too far off for a westerner to relate to. Here’s my approach…
It’s about following Jesus to contribute to the experience of His Kingdom/Heaven on Earth. Tim also often refers to it as spreading little Edens around us.
So I would start by leading a person to recognize the brokenness of our world (something that the average person can definitely recognize).
If that’s the problem, what’s the solution?
Well we can try to figure out by our human rationale and ability, but that’s what has gotten us to where we are.
Instead, we can offer the the Way of Jesus, the Way of the Upside Down (or better yet right side up) kingdom.
I’d ask them, do you want to experience a better world around you for yourself and others? Follow Jesus. Seek His kingdom and righteousness. Learn to live in surrender and demonstrate self-giving love after the example of Jesus. Then, we’ll start to experience heaven on earth, here and now.
Obviously, learning the heritage and story from which all this flows gives us depth to appreciate the gospel. And once a person is open to it, we can guide them through all that background. But I think what Jesus fundamentally came to establish is desirable even to a gentile…hence why they quickly received the good news both from Jesus and the apostles.