Reclaiming the Gospel, Part 1 - Good News

I don’t know if you have noticed, but condemnation and punishment are not good news. I don’t care what you tack onto the end of a message of condemnation and punishment, it will never become good news. Even if you are speaking of condemnation and punishment for some evil entity we might imagine as wreaking havoc on life and society. Good news is redemptive. Good news is restorative. Good news is life-giving. It is creative. It seeks and finds a new and better path forward.

Yes, I grew up under the notion that an orderly society must hold the “bad actors accountable” for their misdeeds. It’s still a challenge to get past the notion that condemnation and punishment are what it means to hold people accountable. If we, “Spare the rod, we spoil the child.” That’s what Proverbs tells us. The Ten Commandments follow that up with very specific indications of how to approach those who do not follow the rules. Leviticus sets out a broader list of reasons for capital punishment to be meted out to the “bad actors.”

Then Jesus comes along. He does not mete out punishment to the woman caught in adultery. He does not even condemn her. Oh, he is well aware that her actions were not above reproach. Rather than wield a rod of punishment against her, he acts restoratively. He offers redemption. He offers another chance. He sets her on a different course. He grants her life where others were willing to condemn her to death to justify themselves. It’s the same tack Jesus takes with the Samaritan woman. It’s how he addresses Zacchaeus. It’s how he speaks to the thief on the cross. It’s how he interacts with Peter while announcing that Peter is about to deny even knowing Jesus. It is also how we see Jesus interacting with the rich, young ruler who departs sadly upon hearing what he needed to do. Jesus does not chastise. He just lets him go his way, simply making sure the man knew the better path forward. It’s how God meets Saul on the road to Damascus, simply alerting him to how difficult it is to kick against the goads.

No, the gospel is good news. It is not a message of condemnation. Regardless of what so many Evangelical voices have said, pointing out someone’s sin is not necessary to a presentation of the gospel. It is not my job to condemn people, after all. It is the Holy Spirit that convinces people of sin (John 16:8). Last time I checked, I am not the Spirit of God, and neither are you. My task is to share the good news. It is to affirm to others the message of God’s abundant love, even for sinners. According to Jesus’ definition of the greatest commandments, sin is a failure to love. If the only message I know how to share is one of condemnation, I’m already falling short of love, aren’t I?

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God, for God is love.” (1st John 4:7) That is good news. That is the good news. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ.


#Gospel #GoodNews #Love #GospelOfLove #NoCondemnation

— ©Copyright 2023, Christopher B. Harbin 



http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/

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