In the last post, we considered the gospel on Judgment Day. Only people who succeed in contradicting, renouncing, and despising the gospel will experience a resurrection to judgment. Such people not only opposed God in time but also in eternity, body and soul. Consider the rich man who wouldn’t even give the beggar scraps from the floor under his table (Luke 16:23-31).
The law of God (natural and moral) is only an obstacle when we oppose God and His design for our life. As living souls, regenerated in the image of Christ, the law is our floor, not a ceiling. The law is our tutor, to continually bring us to Christ. Christ IS the gospel in all its fullness. The gospel inspires us to live for the love of others because Christ lives to love us, fully and inexhaustibly. Given the nature of the gospel, we ask different questions now. Rather than wonder how a person can be saved, we wonder how a person can NOT be saved, since God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself? Maybe a person could if he succeeded in contradicting, renouncing, and despising the gospel to the end . . . but why would anyone want to?
This concludes the “What is the Gospel?” series. If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear them. Please send me any additional thoughts that you have.
Sneak peek to what’s coming with the next post: Jesus once asked, “Why can’t you understand what I am saying? Because My Word has no place in you.” What place is there for truth and grace in a post-Darwinian/Freudian world? What world does the Bible speak about and how can that be communicated in our time?