Is Evangelicalism Still Christian? - Pt. 2: External vs. Internal Gospel

In Part 1 of this series, we suggested that there are two competing religions in Evangelicalism these days - The Christianity of "He" vs. The Christianity of "Me" (and its close cousin in many circles, the Christianity of "We"). The differences are startling, and so I hope to begin to demonstrate how important it is for us to understand the issues and, more importantly, stand up for the right side in the argument. As I noted before, the wrong one appears to be winning today.

Before we dive in, a word of explanation: I've styled the issues as dichotomies and they are philosophically; in application, practice is more likely a question of priority and focus. I've "cartooned" the issues in summary to point to highlight and clarify the issue. So think through this carefully with me.

Let's start at (arguably) the MOST IMPORTANT POINT: What is the Gospel? What is our primary message - the thing that is "...the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16)?

The nature of the Gospel is that it is External to Man , as opposed to Internal to Man. It is an external reality which has, of course, internal result. But the Gospel itself is external, not internal. And if we get this message wrong, we miss the point - and the power of the Gospel itself.

What do we share as the Gospel? What do you share when asked? Are you ready to answer the question?

Today, many sadly share, as the Gospel, a message of their own experience - something like this:

"I was once [fill in the blank, usually not good], and now I am [much better, thank you] because I [did something, for example (a) accepted Jesus as my personal savior (b) asked Jesus into my heart (c) trusted Christ for salvation (d) walked an aisle (e) prayed a prayer (f) etc.]"

Others may share a different message, like this:

"God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life..." or "You were created for a purpose..." or "the only way to true [pick as many as apply (a) happiness (b) joy (c) peace (d) security (e) prosperity (f) health (g) freedom from addiction (h) etc.] is through Jesus."

There are many variations on this theme, but the common element is this: They are "internal" messages - their primary focus on "ME" - My problem, My benefit, My action, My result.

The only problem is this: That's not the Gospel. The Gospel is external to us - and while it may result in some of the "internals" its nature and focus is very different. The Gospel of the Bible is this:

God saves sinners by grace, through faith in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on their behalf. Men are saved by grace through faith in Christ’s work, which a free gift from God, and are freed from the power of sin to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. There is no other way to be saved, and those who do not have faith in the atoning work of Christ on the cross will be judged accordingly and condemned to eternal punishment in Hell.

If I were allowed a little more precision, I’d say this:

1. Because all men are by nature sinful, they are rightly judged as guilty before God and subject to His wrath, which if unsatisfied will result in their eternal punishment in Hell.
2. There is no way for any man to satisfy God’s righteous judgment.
   
3. The Gospel (good news) is that Jesus Christ (God’s only Son and God Himself), died to satisfy the just requirement of His wrath for those whom the Father has given Him, and was raised from the dead to accomplish their justification.
   
4. Accordingly, God saves sinners by giving them the ability, through regeneration (the New Birth) to have faith in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on their behalf.
   
5. Having begun this good work in those who are adopted into God’s family through Christ’s death and resurrection, God Himself will bring the good work to completion, ultimately through the sanctification and glorification of His children.
   
6. This process increasingly allows God’s children to love, obey and enjoy God and to glorify Him.
   
7. All those who are not converted in this manner remain under the just wrath of God, and will ultimately be condemned to eternal punishment in Hell.

Here's the truth: The Gospel is not your experience. The Gospel is not primarily even about you. The Gospel is not “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” The Gospel is not “God wants to be in a relationship with you.” Apart from Christ, God does NOT love you in any way that will result in your eternal benefit! We who are in Christ are the beneficiaries of the Good News,

The Gospel is an event in history, for a specific purpose with a definite result. In that sense, the Gospel is external to us – it is not about us, but from God, of God for God. It is not an “internal” event or experience.

• It is not “I was once [ ] and now I am [ ].”
• It isn’t “asking Jesus into your heart”, or “accepting Jesus”. It is not something that I am called to do or to experience and, it is not a relationship.

The result of the Gospel in our lives is all of these things, but the result is to be distinguished from the Gospel itself – which is that God saves sinners by grace through faith in the atoning work of Christ’s death on the cross.

Finally, the Gospel is, of course, the work of God. It is a free gift – and our appropriation of the work done by God is not by any work or human effort or anything of us. And it needs to be said these days that the Gospel is not ANYTHING that starts with the phrase “God longs for…” The Gospel of the Bible is what God accomplished, not what He hopes might possibly happen.

In that sense, then, the Gospel is external – the results are internal. Why does this matter? The Gospel is what must be preached, and it – not the internal result(s) – is “the power of God unto salvation” for those who believe it.

I've heard frequently that, in witnessing, we don't need to "get theological" or cite a lot of Bible verses - we just need to tell our story - share our experience. That's fine, I guess - as long as you get around to telling people The Gospel. Your experience isn't The Good News.

So how does today's Evangelical Message stack up against this? Pretty sadly in my highly unscientific sampling. All too often in sermons, I hear the results - benefits to us, etc. discussed as “the Gospel.” Troll around the web today and look at the sermon series being offered and it's pretty astonishing - especially in the "seeker" and "emergent/emerging" oriented churches. All too often, I hear and see the following:

Power and Experience as the Gospel
Prosperity and Health as the Gospel
Personal Reformation and Life Transformation as the Gospel
Psychological Therapy as the Gospel
Social Action and Justice as the Gospel
Compassion for the Least and the Lost as the Gospel

Some of this is good, some is not. Some is right and some is wrong theologically. That's not my point here, which is this: If the "Message" preached or proclaimed is not Jesus Christ Crucified for Sin - it's not the Gospel. If the message you share is "internal" it's not The Gospel, and it's not the power of God unto salvation. And ultimately, it's like the sign above... it may be true, but it misses the most important thing.

What do we need proclaimed by the Church today? We want to see our children, family, neighbors, friends and community come to salvation - They need the Gospel. We want to grow in obedience to our Lord. We want to be more like Him - We need the Gospel.

The Evangelical Church today is overrun with messages and preaching that focus internally - and miss the mark of the Gospel itself. The Gospel is a factual description about "HE" not a report about "ME". And while this may seem picky, if you think about it, the focus of the Gospel presentation will follow through out its application... if it was all about you in the first place, it will be throughout the rest of your experience as well. But if the focus initially is on what Jesus did, it will continue to focus on Him as well.

So what's your Gospel Message?

Next time: The Primary Focus - God's Glory vs. Man's Benefit