“Many Religions, One Gospel”

from E. Stanley Jones

All religions teach man's search for God -- the Gospel teaches God's search for man. Therefore there are many religions, there is but one Gospel. You do not find God at the topmost rung of the ladder of worthiness, having climbed it rung by rung. You find Him at the bottom-most rung of the ladder. He comes down the ladder in incarnation to us and offers us salvation, not as those worthy of it, but as sinners. "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." He offers us redemption in a nail-pierced hand -- offers it free!

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Wikipedia identifies E. Stanley Jones (1884 – 1973) as “an American Methodist Christian missionary, theologian, and author.” He lived during my great-grandmother’s generation. Of his books I’ve read, the one that impacted me most was his daily devotional, Abundant Living. I also appreciated his biography of Mahatma Gandhi and his autobiography, A Song of Ascents. The quote above is from his book, Conversion.

Jones was known for his roundtable discussions with people of other religions in India where he served as a missionary. He had great respect for people of other faiths, but he was thoroughly Christian. He knew that the gospel is unique. The world’s religions are about climbing to the top of the ladder to save ourselves. The gospel is about God climbing down the ladder to save us sinners.

We must always proclaim the gospel and its power to rescue and transform us. If we don’t, Christianity will devolve into just another religion where we attempt the impossible, to make ourselves worthy.

If you’ve been blessed by the OneMinuteGospel blog, please leave a comment below.

Next post: Friday, December 1, “Second Adam” from Charles Wesley

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“What Is the Gospel?”

from N.T. Wright

[Jesus] is now Lord of the world, and he summons all people everywhere to live under his Lordship, which means turning away from idols, i.e., repenting from sin and the idolatry which causes it, and trusting him. 

Not so that we can escape this world and go somewhere else called heaven, but so, as he establishes his sovereign rule on earth as in heaven, we can be already, in the present, gospel people—people who are, in our own lives, living, breathing advance examples of the new creation which he is going to bring about.

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N.T. Wright is my favorite Bible scholar and theologian. He’s an Anglican and served for a while as Bishop of Durham, but most of his life has been spent teaching and writing over 70 books. He has written devotional commentaries on the entire New Testament in the For Everyone series. You will also find his many videos on YouTube. I often listen to the podcast Ask N.T. Wright Anything.

Today’s OMG is a quote from Wright’s five-and-a-half-minute video, “What Is the Gospel?” I urge you to watch the entirety, because my quote leaves out some important context, such as how Jesus sees the good news through the lens of Isaiah 40-55.

Notice that Wright does not talk about atonement. Though that’s important, he focuses on the good news that through Jesus, God has begun to reign.

I invite you to write a comment below. 

Next post: Tuesday, November 28, "Many Religions, One Gospel" from E. Stanley Jones

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“Tell the Story of Jesus”

from Dr. Scot McKnight

The earliest Christian gospel was to tell the story of Jesus. It was to tell the story that Jesus lived, that he died at the hands of sinners unjustly, that God overturned his death and raised him from the dead, that he ascended, and that he is coming back to rule.

So, the gospel was first and foremost to tell the story of Jesus. It wasn’t to tell the story of how to get saved, although this story saves people. It was instead to tell the story about Jesus. “Jesus is the King”—"Jesus is the Lord”—is the central gospel affirmation of the New Testament.

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Scot McKnight is an ordained Anglican and professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary (American Baptist) in Lisle, IL. Among his more than 50 books is The King Jesus Gospel. I’m not personally acquainted with McKnight, but I appreciate his work.

This OMG is a quote from a Seven Minute Seminary video from Seedbed, where McKnight traces his clarified understanding of the gospel, based on 1 Corinthians 15 and the sermons in Acts. You can watch the entire video here. 

He claims that the gospel is bigger than an offer of personal salvation. It’s the announcement of who Jesus is, of what he has done and will do. I believe McKnight gives us an important word for our time.

Next post: Friday, November 24, “What Is the Gospel?” from N.T. Wright

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“Only Jesus Alone”

from Isaac Chua

The world was broken

Sin entered in

Death and destruction

Surrounded within

But God did not choose

To leave us alone

He sent His Son

Jesus Christ to atone

Jesus

Jesus

The way, the truth, and the life

Only Jesus alone.

Jesus came to this earth

Fully God fully man

He walked as one of us

So on Him we could depend

His sacrifice on the cross

Paid the price once and for all

So now we are free

Forgiven evermore

Jesus calls us to follow Him

Obeying and trusting

He brings healing and joy

With peace surpassing understanding

Amen.

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Isaac and I became acquainted as pastors serving in the Great Plains United Methodist Conference. Today he is the pastor of the Wellington Methodist Church in Wellington, Kansas.

I love that Isaac composed his OMG as lyrics to a song. He has never performed this song with anyone – until now. This is the premiere! Click on the video window below to listen.

In the first stanza we find that “The world was broken . . . But God did not choose to leave us alone.” Jesus, “fully God, fully man,” was sent as the atoning remedy to our sins. The result is freedom and forgiveness. And by following him in obedience and trust, Jesus “brings healing and joy with peace . . . .”

Perhaps Isaac’s song will give the gospel a hearing with those who would otherwise ignore it.

Next post: Tuesday, November 21, “Tell the Story of Jesus” from Dr. Scot McKnight

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“Good to Bad to Good!”

from Rick Just

The Christian faith? Good News, Bad News, Good News.

The good news? Genesis 1 reveals that in the beginning God created all things good. All of creation, including relationship with God and each other, was very good.

The bad news? Genesis 3 reveals that sin led to pain and heartache, even death. Relationship with God and each other was broken with no way on our own for it to be restored.

The good news? God provided a way for our relationship with him and each other to be restored (John 3:16). Because of faith in Jesus, we are given new life, for now and eternity. All is restored! Sounds like good news to me!

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I got to know Rick Just when we were United Methodist pastors in the Great Plains Conference. Today he is pastor of Asbury Church, a Global Methodist congregation in Wichita, Kansas. I know Rick loves God, his family, Jesus, and the church. He’s also an avid bow hunter.

Rick’s OMG presents a memorable three-point outline. The first good news proclaims a good God who created us to give and receive love. The bad news comes from a rebellious humanity who “exchanged the truth about God for a lie” (Romans 1:25).

The final point presents good news of a restoration in that broken relationship made possible by Jesus and received by those who put their faith in him. This is the subject of the entire Bible from Genesis 3:15 on, where God pronounces the serpent’s future, that the offspring of woman “will crush your head.”

Next post: Friday, November 19, “Only Jesus Alone” from Isaac Chua

Please leave a comment below!

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“Jesus Is Lord of All”

from Corey Jenkins

Christ Jesus: From everlasting to everlasting, He is the Word of God Who came to live among us, being born of the Virgin Mary.  

He showed us how to live and love, then died according to the Scriptures for our salvation.  He arose again, taught us even more about love, then ascended to God the Father.  

Because of His willing sacrifice, God gave Him the name to which every knee will one day bow.  He is Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father, and will come again to gather His faithful people!

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Corey and I have been acquainted for at least 20 years as United Methodist pastors. Today he serves the Sidney Global Methodist Church in Nebraska. His favorite pastime is riding his motorcycle on the lonely highways of the Nebraska panhandle.

Corey’s OMG puts Jesus’s title first. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. Some notable Bible versions are translating the word simply as king: King Jesus. Corey points to Jesus’s deity, referencing Psalm 90:2 and John 1:1, “…from everlasting to everlasting you are God” and “the Word was God” (NIV).

Then Corey outlines the story of the four gospels from Jesus’s miraculous conception to his ascension. This is the heart of the gospel message. Then he turns our attention to the future when “…every knee will one day bow” to Jesus, who “will come again to gather His faithful people.” Jesus has prepared a glorious eternity for us, because “He is Lord of all.” That’s good news!

Next post: Tuesday, November 14, “Good to Bad to Good” from Rick Just

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“The Whole Revelation of Jesus”

from John Wesley’s sermon, “The Way to the Kingdom”

The gospel (that is, good tidings, good news for guilty, helpless sinners), in the largest sense of the word, means, the whole revelation made to men by Jesus Christ; and sometimes the whole account of what our Lord did and suffered while he tabernacled among men.

The substance of all is,

‘Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners’; or

‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, to the end that we might not perish, but have everlasting life’; or

‘He was bruised for our transgressions, He was wounded for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.’

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John Wesley lived his entire life in the 1700s. Under his leadership and the power of the Holy Spirit, a massive spiritual movement took hold called Methodism. Wesley was an evangelist, and the method of Methodism was his way of turning converts into disciples.

In the opening sentence Wesley equates the gospel with “good news for guilty, helpless sinners.” We need the gospel, and it’s just what we need! You will not hear the gospel as good news until you realize who you are and what you need.

Wesley lifts up two important New Testament uses of the word “gospel.” One refers to all that Jesus said, his “whole revelation to us.” The other refers to all of Jesus’s life, “the whole account of what our Lord did and suffered.” When we tell others what Jesus said and did, we are sharing the gospel.

Then Wesley quotes three Bible verses, each of which summarizes the gospel: 1 Timothy 1:15; John 3:16; Isaiah 53:5. I encourage you to look them up in your own Bible and commit them to memory.

Please share your comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

Next post: “Jesus Is Lord of All” from Corey Jenkins

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“Now I’m Free”

from Jeff Thurman

 

For God so loved…I know the verse

It changed the name of Jesus to my savior instead of a curse.

He came into our world on Christmas Day

He died on a cross in shame on Good Friday.

He rose again and appeared to Mary,

To Peter, John and Paul who was contrary.

Because He lives he changed me,

I was a captive to sin but now I’m free.

Free from sin, shame, guilt and regrets

From unrealistic expectations from myself and others that make me fret.

He gives me life—eternal and abundantly

That is what the Gospel means to me.

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Jeff and I go way back. We used to carpool from Nebraska to Asbury Seminary in Kentucky more than 40 years ago. He’s now the pastor of the Ashland and Cedar Hill Global Methodist Churches in Nebraska. Cedar Hill is my home church, and Jeff has been my parents’ pastor the last few years.

Jeff’s rhyming OMG is fun and refreshing. The two opening lines are clever and invite the reader to go on. Then it tells the story of Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection. The rest of the poem is personal—what this gospel has freed him from: “sin, shame, guilt, and regrets … unrealistic expectations ….”  

I hope Jeff shares his OMG with his congregations. It could be perfect for a Thanksgiving devotion or a Christmas letter.

Please share your comments below.

Next post: Tuesday, November 7, “The Whole Revelation of Jesus” from John Wesley

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