Prodigal Christianity (6) Gospel

Fitch and Holsclaw suggest that our modern gospel is shaped by Martin Luther. At the time of the Reformation in Europe, there was a strong sense of the justice of God punishing sin and righteousness. Guilt was a major issue for Christians. The gospel of justification by faith was a huge relief for guilt-wary people. It does not work for broken and oppressed people.

They criticise Brian McLaren for reading the Kingdom of God into to the practice of “following Jesus as our model. Talking about Jesus as merely a new way of life can sound like a distant promise to those already in the throes of sorrow.”

If you are among the lowly, oppressed and downtrodden, emphasizing the kingdom of God as a social strategy feels like just another burden to bear.

The justification by faith gospel has focussed entirely on the cross as a place our personal sin is taken away…. Meanwhile, the cross has been ignored as the place where God’s final victory is accomplished.

Here on the cross, God has definitely dealt with sin in such a way that not only are our sins forgiven, but the power of sin and death has been overcome.

What is the gospel according to Fitch and Holsclaw?

The gospel is the good news that “God has become King in Jesus Christ”. In and through the victory at the cross, Jesus is now reigning over the whole world, drawing it into his salvation, including you and me.

They reject the three-point presentation of the Gospel

1. God is love
2. We are sinners
3. Jesus died on the cross the fix up the sin problem.

I agree with them on this, but would note that these three points are fine, if we understand the full scope of the sin problem. If the sin problem has stuffed up the entire universe, then the gospel is that God is fixing up the sin problem through Jesus is a very big one. The problem with the three-point presentation is that the sin problem is narrowed to my personal sin, and escape from hell.

Fitch and Holslaw take their understanding of the gospel from Wright and McKnight.

God is now reigning over the whole world, making the world right. In the victory of the cross, he now rules over all sin, death and evil. Whenever his rule is extended, the world is reordered and restored. In Christ, the blessings promised through Israel are now making their way to all nations. And this is the way that God is making things right.

They highlight four on-ramps to the kingdom.

1. God is reconciling relationships
2. God is at work in all things. Will you be part of what he is doing
3. God has put the power of sin to death and is calling you into life.
4. God is calling you into mission.

There will often be other on-ramps. Forgiveness for guilt and shame of sin will work in some situations.

They say that our gospel must be personal in a community.

Reconciliation, forgiveness and peace are things that you cannot encounter as a conceptual issue. These ideas need context and must come to life in real people. We must therefore live the gospel in communities and share and live the Kingdom of God together.