The "Foolish" Gospel

(Photo cred: Pixabay.com via PEXELS.com)

(Originally written for Douglas County Publishing: Pastor's Meditation September 18, 2018)

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength (1 Corinthians 1:17-25).

“The gospel is that simple.”  I have heard other pastors and speakers say those words, and I myself have said them before.  What is usually meant is this: if a person can believe that God sent his Son Jesus into this world, to die on a cross, and through that to save people who believe in him from their sins—that salvation is for you.  That is all that is necessary to be saved for eternity.  It doesn’t require memorizing loads of old writings.  It’s not about the number of good things you’ve done outnumbering the bad things.  It’s not about you praying or fasting or doing anything enough.  What Jesus did is enough for you!  All you must do is believe in him!

At the heart of it, I still believe those words.  It is that “simple” that everything about our forgiveness, redemption, and salvation is wholly wrapped up in Jesus Christ.  But is it really accurate to say the gospel is simple?

If we’ve grown up attending church worship services or with parents who believed and read the Bible to us or other people of faith in our lives, it does seem simple and straightforward.  Here we are in 2018, but about 2,000 years ago, a man was born, grew up, and ministered across the Atlantic Ocean and inland of the Mediterranean Sea in a geographic and national region called Israel.  He performed miracles and gave teachings that were rooted in the Jewish faith—the faith of the Hebrews or Israelites.  Yet he wasn’t just a human, but he was also God—his name is Jesus.  He was put through a trial by other religious leaders, condemned to death, and was crucified on a cross.  On the third day from his death, he rose from the dead; he was resurrected.  Then several weeks later he ascended into heaven, where according to his own teachings, he is preparing a place for believers and will one day return.

If you’ve read the Bible, you’re likely to say, “Yes, that’s it!”  As this man named Saul or Paul who wrote 1 Corinthians was communicating with churches in the decades after Jesus’ ascension, it does boil down to the cross.  He also writes later in this letter, If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Corinthians 15:13-14).  The hope of Christians rests fully on our Savior dying and rising again—experiencing punishment for our sins though he was completely innocent and defeating death, promising new and healed life for us when he returns.

But what about for the non-believer, the person who wasn’t raised in the church, or who has little or no contact with God’s word?  It might seem sort of random, sort of out-of-the-blue that this Jesus guy kind of just showed up.  How does death on a cross do anything more than kill him?  How does he rise from the grave let alone go up into heaven?  Why didn’t things instantly become perfect?  It’s thoughts like this that have led me to think: the gospel isn’t so simple.

To be clear, by hearing about Jesus alone, a person can be led to a true saving faith.  It is the Holy Spirit who does the work of converting people through the process of justification and sanctification  But in a world that questions everything and needs to know answers, in a world where I think people are becoming less and less aware that there was real life, even thousands of years, before electronics and cars and internet and smartphones—Christians sharing the message have to be aware of the big picture.

I’ve had ingrained in me since I was a young boy that the story of this world, of our lives, of all things is set in creation-fall-redemption-consummation/restoration narrative.  Before the beginning, only God existed, and he decided to create all things out of nothing.  He created the universe, and it was very good.  He created it without sin, though he gave humanity the free will to worship and wholly trust in him or to rebel and sin against him.  That happened, deception entered creation, and our ancestors, our first parents, Adam and Eve fell into sin.  This is what Genesis 1-3 tells us. 

Ever since then, sin has been part of this story, this history of the world and beyond.  Yet God did not give up or move away or leave us to fend for ourselves and allow the fittest to survive.  No, he has cared about his creation, and he has given a plan for redemption.  He entered into covenants, promises, with individuals and whole groups of people to work things through them that have an effect on all people.  He called Israel to be his own.  He rescued them from slavery in Egypt and led them into a land that they could call their own.  He gave them a law that helped define what were good and holy actions and what sin was.  But they, just as we are still today, were prone to break that law, to sin against God.  The Old Testament law didn’t save people.  Their obedience to the law wasn’t going to save them either.  They still needed a Savior—God shed light on that truth, a truth that he would bring fulfillment to in sending Jesus. 

The story of redemption reaches a pinnacle when Jesus did come.  He fulfilled prophecies of being one who would save God’s people—all who believe and put their hope and trust in the one true God.  Jesus lived a perfect life, satisfying the law.  And salvation through him, as I laid out before, is given to all who believe, Jews and Gentiles—people from every tribe and nation and language.  Jesus doesn’t come randomly, but he comes in the unveiling of God’s mission; he comes in God’s timing.  We live now in this in between time, when only in this life we have the chance to put our faith in him. 

This world is broken.  It’s filled with sin.  It’s devastated by the effects of sin.  It experiences natural disasters like hurricane.  But the future is fixed on when Christ returns.  What Jesus has done, because of God’s will and plan, accomplishes salvation for those who turn to God.  This is the restoration.  But for all who do not, the Bible reveals their destiny is punishment in hell.

That’s not necessarily so simple, and yet it is enough for us.  It does seem foolish to a lot of people that one who declares himself God would be able to die, but he died out of love and he came back to life!  When you have the opportunity to share the gospel with someone, remember that it may take telling the whole story to really connect the dots.  If you’re reading this as someone who doesn’t know the Lord, this is the big story, this is how Jesus connects into history.  He is the way to life!