No matter where you go in the United States, it seems that there is always a group of Christians talking about spreading the gospel as it is our duty as Christians. I have no quarrel with this and I believe in spreading it too, however, I think many Christians have twisted what the gospel is supposed to be. The gospel or good news of Christ is not that we are sinners and damned to Hell without Him, but it is that Jesus died for our salvation and He loves us no matter who we are or what we believe. If we really think about the way most Christians present the gospels, they focus on being damned unless you follow what they interpret out of the Bible and that does NOT sound like good news to me. I would rather suggest that the message be that we are redeemed by the blood of Christ and that we are loved by YHWH who defines Himself as love*! If God is love, then doesn't that mean that love isn't so much a feeling or an action, but a being? To love is not to do something, but to be something. When we offer our hearts to the Father, we are allowing Him to consume us and fill us with His presence. Therefore, we are to be filled with love and are to allow that love to overflow into others. You may think of the scriptures that explain that we are to be filled with God's presence and others that explain that God emptied Himself and we are to be the same**. I believe that this means that we are filled with God's presence (love) in order to empty Him out onto other people and then He will fill us again.
Does that not sound more like good news than being damned unless you follow a specific code of conduct? Why are we being told that the gospel of Christ is about damnation instead of redemption? The answer is that people are more concerned about others lives than their own and not in the selfless way. The Bible states that we are to deal with ourselves before we deal with others***, yet most Christians believe that what they believe is correct so they tell others that they are wrong because they believe differently. This is not the gospel, nor is it Christ-like. Part of dealing with your flaws before you deal with others is putting aside your convictions and assumptions about scripture because there is no guarantee that the way you interpret it is correct. If you were truly walking in love, then would you not share the love of Christ rather than the condemnation of Hell? Ask yourself these questions and make changes if needed.
*1 John 4:8 - "But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love." New Living Translation
**2 Corinthians 4:7 - "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." New King James Version
Philippians 2:5-7 - "5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness."
***Matthew 7:5 - "Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye."
This is a blog for those who refuse to take what we are told about anything at face value. It is for those of you who are questioning what your friends and family believe. It is for you who are in need of encouragement. The name comes from Matthew 7:13 where he writes about the wide and straight/narrow gates/paths to eternity. I choose to look at this scripture as saying we shouldn't be too far in any direction on the spectrum, but should be somewhere in the middle ground.
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