"From the beginning, the Christian gospel, as indeed the name "gospel" or "good news" implies, consisted in an account of something that had happened. And from the beginning, the meaning of the happening was set forth; and when the meaning of the happening was set forth, then there was Christian doctrine. "Christ died"-that is history; "Christ died for our sins"-that is doctrine. Without these two elements, joined in an absolutely indissoluable union, there is no Christianity.
It is perfectly clear, then, that the first Christian missionaries did not simply come forward with an exhortation; they did not say: "Jesus of Nazareth lived a wonderful life of filial piety, and we call upon you our hearers to yield yourselves, as we have done, to the spell of that life." Certainly that is what modern historians would have expected the first Christian missionaries to say, but it must be recognized that as a matter of fact they said nothing of the kind.
...The great weapon with which the disciples of Jesus set out to conquer the world was not a mere comprehension of eternal principles; it was an historical message, an account of something that had recently happened; it was the message, "He is risen." The world was to be redeemed by the proclamation of this event. And with the event went the meaning of the event; and the setting forth of the event with the meaning of the event was doctrine. These two elements are always combined in the Christian message. The narration of the facts is history, the narration of the facts with the meaning of the facts is doctrine. Such was the Christianity of the primitive church."
(Taken from J. Gresham Machen's Christianity and Liberalism [Eerdmans, 1923], pp. 27-29)
In Islamic Iran prayer sellers' trade is booming
For all you Christian theology buffs...
There's an interesting quote in the first chapter of the book "Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution". It sheds some light on a bible translation that I've used often in the past.
"In the mid-twentieth century, the case against penal substitution was articulated most strongly by the Biblical scholar C. H. Dodd... his understanding of (texts referring to propitiation) was also reflected in the Revised Standard Version, produced in 1946."
An interesting development has come about as a result of the UK's rejection of Dr. Zakir Naik to enter the UK for a Muslim event in Sheffield. An email is circulating here in the UAE with this message:
World Briefing - Europe - Britain - No Entry for Preacher With Radical Views on Islam - NYTimes.com
This article above is about Dr. Zakir Naik, an Islamic preacher based out of Mumbai. I heard him speak in Dubai several years ago and I was on some type of Islamic mailing list and was sent an announcement of his Sheffield lectures recently as well. I have some Muslim friends here in Dubai who know him. I'm sure they're disappointed with this outcome.
The greatest social need in the world today is not HIV/AIDS outreach. It's not hunger. It's not global warming. Not ending poverty or eliminating malaria or tuberculosis. Not clean water. Not racial reconciliation. Not sexual trafficking. Not abortion. And it's not peace in the Middle East, and not even world peace... That social problem is alienation from God.
She says, "strange, i've noticed the opposite. christians who evangelize to the poor without addressing any of their needs (except perhaps to put a band-aid on their problems by throwing money at them or going on a week or two trip). seems that there should be a balance between addressing both the physical and spiritual needs of a person. we do not fully know the gospel if we preach to the suffering, but leave them in it. we "do violence to the poor" by giving them a gospel that we do not live out."I've written a response to her here. Read it and tell me what you think. It's a pressing issue in Evangelicalism today.
Let me address your comment and the article. The article argues that the spiritual problem of alienation from God is the biggest problem the world faces. Genesis chapter 3 (and onward) makes this clear. All other problems stem from sin and death being loosed into the world. And if you believe what Jesus and his apostles taught then you know that dying without coming into a saving relationship with Christ leaves people separated from God and eternally condemned. This is a terrible fate.
These days, the pressure from those outside our faith (and from many inside now) is to basically abandon sharing the Gospel with people and to emphasize things like eradicating hunger, disease, and things like sexual trafficking. These are all terrible things of course. All stemming from Genesis 3.
The article doesn't say that Christians should not help those in physical need. In fact, those who are truly regenerated by God through the Gospel and who understand the implications of the Gospel for their lives will begin to work for these issues of social justice but they continue to understand the proclamation of the gospel is the greatest pressing need of the people on our planet.
So why are there lots of people who are rich and go to church and do nothing in the way of physically loving their neighbor? I think that's what is bothering you. My opinion is that there are many who are not truly regenerated; they are not really Christians. The other problem is that they are not being taught well and discipled in the implications of the Gospel for their lives.
But the answer for both these categories of people is not to just demand that they begin to feed to the poor. That is what seems to be happening in evangelicalism. The drumbeat is to focus on social action. But in doing this many of these people are left unconverted and undiscipled with no real knowledge of the very Gospel that would produce sacrificial lives (Acts 2:42-47).
In fact, sidelining the true Gospel only produces self-righteous do-gooders, many of whom will meet Jesus on the day of judgement and point to their acts of service to others only to have Jesus say, "Depart from me, I never knew you." (Matthew 7:21-23)
If it's true as James says, "Faith without works is dead" then what people who have no true faith need is... faith! They need the transforming power of the Gospel. Remember, the Gospel is not just how we enter into the Kingdom of Christ, it's how we're sustained and grow too. Titus 2:11-14 reminds us that it's grace (or the Gospel essentially) that teaches us to live godly lives, i.e. feeding the poor and healing the sick.
Teach the Gospel to transform people and the world; to both save people for all eternity and unleash a community which will serve others sacrificially.
