Wow. Check out Tim Keller on the gospel. He wrestles with the idea of the “kingdom of God” and the “gospel of the kingdom” – a concept common in the synoptic gospels (and also the emerging church), which I have always found rather confusing.
I haven’t thought through some of his points, but others hit home really strong:
I find it instructive that the New Testament writers themselves seldom, if ever, pack all of the aspects of the gospel equally in any one gospel address. When studying Paul’s gospel speeches in the book of Acts, it is striking how much is always left out
Instead of going into, say, one of the epistles and speaking of the gospel in terms of God, sin, Christ, and faith, I point out the story-arc of the Bible and speak of the gospel in terms of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. We once had the world we all wanted-a world of peace and justice, without death, disease, or conflict. But by turning from God we lost that world. Our sin unleashed forces of evil and destruction so that now “things fall apart” and everything is characterized by physical, social, and personal disintegration.
Yes! I discovered a few years ago how much more sense the gospel makes to my generation when you start with a thorough treatment of our race, as a whole, explicitly rejecting God and plunging our planet into death, disease and degeneration. Realizing that they were born into the rebel camp helps teens understand why God is their enemy from the start and it does so in a way that is more compelling to someone who doesn’t understand how much their “personal” sin is actually against their creator.
