The Gospel which Jesus told us to go into
all the world and preach to everyone is –
as defined in the Scriptures – a very simple
concept. Just two familiar verses present it
in its totality. "For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
In reply to the question, "What must I do to
be saved?" Paul and Silas said, "Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved." (Acts 16:31)
A total of just 35 words, only 7 of which (9 if
you include loved and saved) are composed
of more than one syllable.
And yet today’s popular Christian speakers
and neo-theologians have developed a new
vocabulary which they utilize to confuse the
unwary into believing that in today’s world
the Gospel is a complicated concept.
This week a regular monthly Internet news
bulletin for a Christian evangelism project
used words which remind one of the "Newspeak"
language of George Orwell’s novel "1984." Here
are just a few of the words they used to describe
the task of proclaiming the Gospel today:
westernization ... contextualization ... worldview
... missiological ... easternize ... Africanize ...
sacredness ... de-westernization ... Eurocentric ...
venturesomeness ... universality ...missiologist ...
globalization ... enculturation ...self-theologizing.
But that is enough to convey the idea.
Here is one direct quote from their presentation
which illustrates their viewpoint: "The Christian
faith must be rethought, reformulated and lived
anew in each human culture."
It is strange how sincere, well-meaning Christian
believers can go so far afield from Jesus’ Great
Commission, where He said simply: "Go ye into all
the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature."
(Mark 16:15)
It is also strange that an omniscient God did not
have adequate fore-knowledge of any necessity to
use strange sounding, multi-syllabic words to
explain what He meant. Or that Paul, a quite well
educated man, felt that the simple words, "Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ" were an adequate answer
to the question men would be asking through the
ages to come.
Let’s drop the pseudo-intellectualism, and go back to
the first century basics and preach the Gospel to all
the world, and tell men they must believe to be saved.
It’s just that simple.
More about the author
The Evangelical Viewpoint is pleased to present this
new series of essays by Dr. Jerry Beavan, in which he
offers mature discussions of important elements of
the Christian faith, with the goal of helping Christian
believers to live the Christian life more effectively.
At age 89, he already has a lifetime of experiences in
Christian ministry, as a graduate theologian, as a
professor in college and seminary, and as a world
traveler involved in government relations at high
levels, here in America and around the world. The
late Dr. Jerry Falwell referred to him as "one of
God's giants and modern patriarchs." Dr. Billy
Graham said of him, "Jerry Beavan is the architect
of world evangelism as we know it today." Now
living in "active retirement" on America's Pacific
coast, although physically impaired, he is using his
writing skills, via the internet, to help other believers
gain a better understanding of their Christian faith.
He is the author of several works, including his recent
volume, ""A Handbook of Applied Christianity."
1 comment:
Even a few words can be PACKED with so much wisdom!!
We appreciate ya, Jerry!
Brenda from T&H Board
Post a Comment