Originally published in "The Lord's Coming Herald & Wesleyan Bible Prophecy Advocate," Fall Edition 2006
The Gospel We Preach
What is the "gospel" that, according to Mark 16:15, we are to supposed to preach to every creature?
Answer: "it is the act of God's redemption in the new
covenant." The Bible calls it "of the kingdom of God." To put it simply, the
gospel we preach is the story of Jesus: His person, His work, His coming, and
His kingdom.
The Old Testament was the first story of God. It told how He established the
first covenant with a people whom He had called out of Babylon (Mesopotamia)
and Egypt to become a chosen race (Exodus 19:5-6).
Now, in the large picture of worldwide redemption, that first story, and that
old covenant, were only preparatory. They were not an end in and of themselves.
They were not for the purpose of establishing a basis for anyone to glory in the
flesh, or to engender any self-aggrandizement that might become manifest in
self-righteousness, whether it be pride of race, grace, face, or place (I Cor.
1: 30, 31).
Friends, the Jews are not inherently God's chosen people, based on ancestry, as
modern dispensational premillennialism falsely teaches. They were made so in
olden times based on a covenant, and that old covenant was absolutely
preparatory and conditional. The day came, also, when it was forever abolished
(Heb. 8:13).
At the same time, two-thousand years ago, a "new" covenant was established with the house of Israel. The "mystery" of that new covenant is shown by the revealed fact that its provisional coverage included the Gentiles, as well as the Jews. Underlying this fact, further, is the reality of a universal atonement, something that nineteenth century hyper-Calvinistic originators of dispensational theory did not accept.
You should know the truth, friends, that
Darbyism was an audacious interpretational SCANDAL tailored to fit hand-in-glove
with the axioms of Calvinistic theology. There is no logical reason why any
Wesleyan-Arminian should accept it.
The "good news" today is the reality that Gentiles, too, can become the children
of God by faith in Jesus Christ! They, too, can inherit all the benefits of the
new covenant promised in the Old Testament. Believers today are "fellow
citizens" with so-called "Messianic Jews" (an oxymoron meaning merely
"Christians") in the ONE and only "household of faith."
The gospel we preach is about the act of God in the setting up of His messianic kingdom--its nature, its course, and its consequences. We do not offer to the world intellectual paucity, but a full plate of knowledge and understanding. As we share this wonderful story of love, God acts. He forgives and justifies us. He cleanses us from all sin. He gives us eternal life. Happily, this gospel of holiness and heaven is for everybody. We are commanded to take it to the whole world.
Know and believe it, first, yourself. Then go tell.
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