An Unfriendly Gospel

When one thinks of John the Baptist, one envisions this wild-eyed man with unkempt hair, dressed in animal skins and carrying a staff. His preaching is fiery, maybe even angry sounding — like some street corner preacher come to save the world, starting in Times Square. He may have been a number of those things, but what seems incongruous to modern sensibilities is that he was one who came preaching “good news” (Luke 3:18). John the Baptist was first and foremost a gospel preacher.

But his message and method are so unfriendly. He calls people names. He demands that they live ethical lives lest they face the wrath of God. And his description of the one who would follow him, the one for whom he is preparing the way, is not in the least appealing. That one comes prepared to consign people to eternal torment, like chaff burning with “unquenchable fire” if they do not repent of their sins. That’s gospel preaching? Where’s the love?

It’s Luke’s description of John as one who came “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” that helps us understand why his message was good news. He was laboring to “prepare a people” for the Lord. He warned of the one who was coming with a “winnowing fork is in his hand,” who would baptize either with the Holy Spirit or with fire (the Holy Spirit for those who heeded the call, and fire for those who did not), and people in need of righteousness could be prepared for that day by having their sins forgiven. Letting those under the wrath of God know that God has provided salvation is, indeed, good news. To suggest that they need not fear God’s wrath, or that the way of escaping judgment is though a heroic effort of self-improvement, is to substitute a false gospel for the true. It would be the most unloving message that one could ever utter.

John the Baptist’s method might not be suitable for every situation, but the substance of his message is. No one escapes the Day of Judgment. And what needs to be known about that day is summed up in the words, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). But the one whom John heralded was the one whose shed blood atoned for sin so that all who are his can say “there is . . . now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). That is the gospel. That is good news.

A Persistent Issue

Tomorrow, January 22, is the 42^nd year since the Supreme Court opened the doors for unlimited access to abortion. In the succeeding years restrictions have been put in place in some states, but the fateful decision effectively rendered null and void laws that were on the books that treated abortion, in almost all cases, as a crime. Since that time over 56,000,000 abortions have been executed. It’s important to realize that surveys conducted by the Guttmacher Institute report that out of that number only 1% were in response to pregnancies caused by rape, and less than .5% in response to pregnancies caused by incest, and 7% of the respondents cited health reasons of either the mother or possible problem with the baby. The percentages for these particular reasons have remained consistent since 1987. If we assume that that is the case for the years 1972-1987, then we are left with a very heart-breaking number: 51,240,000 children died for reasons other than the oft cited “hard cases,” the ones given as a rationale for why abortion must remain available. 51,240,000 . . .

What should govern the Church's response to such a tragic reality? Historically, the Church looks to the Bible. There is no explicit biblical text that addresses the subject, but there are three (at least) strong pointers that help direct our response. First, we are told that life, each life, is created by God and given to human beings. Life, therefore, is not ours to destroy but rather, like stewards, to nurture. Second, untimely or unexpected pregnancies should be met with sacrifice and service not dismissed as an intrusion. This is not to be borne by the mother alone, however. The father, and community in which she and this new life lives, must be ready to come along side, Good Samaritan-like, to do their part. Third, given the fact that the Savior saw fit to begin his humanity saving mission as a fertilized egg in the womb of a woman, we cannot think of the developing child as anything less than human. As such, he or she deserves to be respected and protected with the same care as others who bear the "image of God."

Can we expect the world outside of the church to be governed by these biblical truths? 56,000,000 abortions says that we cannot. But within the Church, at least, we can be shaped by these realties to create a culture of life that witnesses to our neighbors and communicates that we stand ready to serve them when the presence of new life brings with it profound responsibilities.

The Priviledge of Persecution

Our Christian brothers and sisters in the 1st century had a very different perspective on persecution than we 21st century western Christians. For them it was a privilege (see Acts 5:41; Philippians 1:29), for us it is something to be avoided, almost at all costs. But can it be avoided? If Jesus and the apostles are any measure, it cannot. The scriptures clearly attest that persecution follows proclamation.

Why is this so? The message of the Kingdom of God runs smack up against the prevailing powers of the kingdom of this world making conflict inevitable. And because the gospel offers a stern critique of the nature of human beings and the works we produce, when a person embraces the gospel as true it necessarily aligns that one with that assessment, provoking persecution. The demand to the believer in the face of this inevitable enmity, notes Glenn Penner, the late director of Voice of the Martyrs, Canada, “is not so much a willingness to die for Christ but a readiness to die due to one’s unconditional obedience to the Crucified One.” If persecution is part and parcel with proclaiming and living the gospel, we must accept that we are “destined for this” and “not be moved by these afflictions” (1 Thessalonians 3:3).

But suffering for the sake of Christ is not an end in itself. Jesus spoke of his redemptive suffering when he taught, ““The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:23-24). Each disciple of Jesus is a product of the redeeming death to which he alludes. For this we are grateful. The startling news, however, is that he also envisions our own sacrificial fruit bearing when he explains, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (v. 25). Our participation in the redeeming work of Christ through suffering for the sake of his name, has a redemptive purpose, not for ourselves but for others.

The power of the followers of Jesus united in the face of persecution offers a much needed testimony to the truth of the gospel. Ed Clowney notes: "“The very threats to the existence of the church in the twenty-first century show again our need of the church. The courage to stand apart, to be unashamed of Christ’s claims, is nurtured in the community of those who are baptized into his name. The church may not apply for a union card in a pluralistic establishment by signing away its right to proclaim the only Saviour of the world. Together we must make clear that it is to Christ and not to ourselves that we witness. In that witness we are not only individual points of light in the world, but a city set on a hill. In the ethnic hostility that ravages Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the church must show the bond of Christ’s love that unites former enemies as brothers and sisters in the Lord. Only so can the church be a sign of his kingdom: the kingdom that will come when Christ comes, and that is already present through his Spirit” (The Church. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995. 15-16).

As our Savior was persecuted because he stood against the prevailing selfishness and cruelty of a sin-racked, idolatrous world, so will his church. Persecution is something to which we have been called and for which we must give thanks.