In college and seminary days I was taught that the Gospel of Christ was different from the “Gospel of the Kingdom”, even though this Gospel of the Kingdom of God was undeniably what Jesus himself taught. But if there are two, followers of Christ must believe both of them. I think that it is more accurate to believe that they are one and the same, with many facets for both this world and the next. Some may be surprised to know that the emphasis of Jesus was actually on the kingdom of God in this world and this life.
The Gospel is about a lot more than just getting our souls into heaven. It’s also about loving our neighbor as ourselves. It is about social justice, abolishing racism and all elitism, pride, prejudice, and any sense of “us” being in any way better than “them”. The Gospel is about feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, visiting the prisoners and the sick and the elderly, stopping child abuse, building loving families, and forgiving those who have hurt us. It is about treating others the way we want to be treated, paying our bills, and doing an honest day’s work.
At its heart, the Gospel is good news that reaches most powerfully to those who know that they are sinful and fallen and need to be redeemed. Most of all we need to keep reminding ourselves that we too, as much as anyone else, are fallen, flawed and sinful, and undeserving of God’s love. Yet we are the glad recipients of that incredible love, through no accomplishment of our own. It is our glad and joyful privilege to tell ourselves, even as we tell others, that we are accepted by grace- that our infinite number of sins have been forgiven by an infinitely benevolent God.
Our unworthiness and our unrighteousness is not the last word, because we have been made worthy and righteous by a judicial act of God the ultimate judge. He has declared that we are justified, simply because He said so. There is nothing that we can add to that to make us more worthy. But to limit the Gospel to being ready to go to heaven when we die is a huge misrepresentation of the message.
When I was growing up I heard of people who were “so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.” I think now that it was an accurate criticism of the way many people became - including me. It was easy to take the Bible and point the way to heaven. But to strive to accomplish the will of God on earth as well was a much more formidable task.
I repent.
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