What Is the Christian Message?

by Stephen Bastin

Politicians want us to hear their “message.”  Corporations attempt to enhance their image with a “message” that will appeal to the consumer.  All of these are concerned lest they be rejected because they have communicated the wrong “message.”  Facts are often manipulated in order to change the “message.”  The “message” is changed in order to appeal to the audience.

There are many distortions of the Christian message.  One might even say that Christians have been extremely poor dispensers of the message that Jesus came to present.  After all, we ought to look to Jesus in order to understand the message that he intended that his disciples put out to the world.

Jesus was sent from God to deliver a message.  It is his message that lies at the core of what Christians believe and it is that message that controls the conduct of those who claim to be his followers.  Jesus was not concerned about the “politics” of his message nor was he concerned about the mass appeal of what he said and did.  He was totally focused on God and doing the will of Yahweh God.  “I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.”

One fellow touts his church as having the best choir in town.  Another church advertises themselves as “friendly.”  Still another seeks to portray themselves as “family-friendly.”  One church claims to have restored the Bible Sabbath with a message that says everyone who does not follow their example in observing the Sabbath is going to hell.  (There are movements within the group to tone down the rhetoric.)  Still another lays claim to being the original church because they can trace their historic roots back to the first century.

In contrast to all of this stands Jesus.  While good singing, friendliness and sticking to what God said, and even a concern for the past, are all good qualities, the Christian message is about Jesus.  In an effort to influence the political process and maintain moral standards, Christians often lose sight of what is truly important.  What is important is the  death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

The Old Testament Message

First, consider the Old Testament.  The message of the Old Testament is simple.  There is a God who created everything.  He chose Abraham as the person through whom He would bring a blessing for the whole world.  Later God chose David as the particular person through whom that promise would be continued.  The blessing is revealed in the New Testament as Jesus.  Matthew begins his gospel, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”  Thus he connects Jesus with the promises made to Abraham and David.  The message of the Old Testament is not about the nation of Israel.  They were simply the chosen vessel to bring God’s Son, Jesus, into the world.  They were not chosen for salvation in any way different than Egyptians were chosen for salvation.  Salvation has always been on the basis of faith, not on the basis of nationality.  It is the individual who is saved.

This is not to deny that there is a great deal of other important material in the Old Testament.  There are fundamental teachings about the nature of God.  There are moral standards in the Law of Moses.  There are examples of all sorts.  Some examples show us the right way to handle things and others show the results of doing the wrong thing.  But it is the promised blessing that is noteworthy for all people, everywhere.  The message is that someone is coming who will be a blessing to everyone who believes in him.  The Bible makes it clear that Israel was rejected when they rejected Jesus, just like other people are rejected when they reject Jesus.

The New Testament Message

The apostle, Paul, wrote in one of his letters:  “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Notice that he said, “First importance.”  Sounds like Paul considered the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus to be the most important thing that he could tell people.  Earlier, in the same letter, he wrote, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”  The message was that Jesus died for the sins of the world.  The promised blessing for everyone is that God is willing to forgive sins because Jesus died on the cross.  The God of the Bible, Yahweh God, is a God of grace.  That grace is available for those who believe what God did through Jesus.

Some Diversions

From what one reads and hears daily, one might imagine that the Christian message is “abortion is wrong.”  Rallies are held.  Petitions are signed.  Abortion clinics are picketed.  All of these activities are in defense of the rights of the unborn.  All are attempts to influence our society to act for the preservation of unborn children.  We are against abortion.  But if all of these efforts were to succeed in making abortion illegal, the problems of our society and of individuals in our society would not be solved.  Not one person will be saved by the grace of God because they have not had an abortion.  It is also doubtful that there is any person whose sole sin is that of having an abortion.

The Bible is clear that all sexual relationships outside of marriage between a man and a woman are wrong.  Again, there are attempts to influence human behavior through legislation, passing laws, petitioning Congress and other efforts.  Making laws will not affect the eternal outcome of one single person.  Laws do not make people moral.  They only show where sin has occurred.  Not one person will be saved by the grace of God when immoral behavior has been decreed such by our society.  Neither will society’s acceptance of immoral behavior result in a person going to heaven.

Christians ought to be on a campaign to erase sin from their own lives, but it is not our business to make other people quit sinning.  It is our business to show sinners how they can be forgiven by the grace of God.

It would often appear that many Christians equate their religion with the rise or fall of the United States.  They often set forth an attitude that seems to suggest that God favors the United States above every other nation and the interests of God parallel the interests of our country.  Yet one does not have to be an American to go to heaven.  America is no closer to heaven than any other nation.

We are probably not even the most righteous nation on earth (although we would not presume to know that matter with any degree of certainty).  In fact, it is not nations that are going to stand in judgment before God, but individuals from every nation.  We will not be saved because we are Americans.  We will not be lost because we supported Fidel Castro in Cuba.

When Jesus sent his disciples out, after his resurrection, he did not tell them to go everywhere protecting the rights of the unborn.  He did not tell them to go everywhere announcing God’s judgment on the sexually immoral (whether heterosexual or homosexual).  He did not tell them to go forth and establish a righteous nation whose laws would be based on God’s moral commandments.  He told them to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

A lady once told me in a Bible class that it was my job to tell people they are going to hell.  That does not sound like “good news” to me.  Jesus said, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge (condemn) the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”  If Jesus was not sent to condemn the world, then neither are those who are true disciples of Jesus sent to condemn the world.  It is not our job to condemn the abortionists, homosexuals, liars, cheats, adulterers, thieves nor other sinners, but to tell them how they can be accepted because Jesus died for them.

The Emphasis in the Gospels

The four gospels are each unique.  No two of them contain the same material, although Matthew, Mark and Luke are more alike than John.  But, for each of them, the last week of Jesus’ life is portrayed in more detail than any other event.  It is the death of Jesus that captures their primary interest.  His resurrection is included in all four, but the greatest emphasis is upon how Jesus died.

When Jesus first told the disciples about his coming death at Jerusalem, Peter argued with him.  “God forbid it, Lord!  This shall never happen to You.”  Peter simply reflected the common first century belief of the Jews that the Messiah would come and reign on earth forever.  Jesus could not die because he was the Messiah.  Thus Peter believed and so he protested.  Jesus told him, “You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

That God would send a Messiah who would die for the sins of people was beyond the disciple’s power to comprehend.  They envisioned marching armies and conquering masses, all taking their orders from Jesus and driving out the Romans.  James and John even wanted the prominent positions in this coming kingdom.  But death?  That could not be God’s plan.  That could not be what the future held for Jesus.

But Jesus could not be stopped.  He went to Jerusalem to die.  He rode into the city on a donkey, the signal to Israel that their King was coming to reign.  He cleared the temple of moneychangers and those selling animals.  He embarrassed the leaders who tried to trap him with questions.  Daily he taught in the temple as he prepared to die on the Passover.

Another Message

God could have set up a religious system like all of the others, a system that rewarded good behavior and punished the bad.  He chose an entirely different way of getting people to change their lives.  There are several problems with the good versus bad system.  One is that people generally view their own failures as small and the failures of others as large.  Measuring themselves by others (and usually the others who are picked are much worse by comparison) they conclude that they are “good.”  So, with that favorable outcome they see no reason to do better.

A second problem with the rewards/punishment model is that many people are left in despair.  They feel that what they have done is so terrible that they will never be able to make up for the bad.  They live in a permanent state of depression with no hope.  They have given up on life and that may lead to even worse behavior or to suicide as they seek escape.

A third problem concerns the most sincere people.  Often those who are trying the hardest to be good, feel the weight of sin the most.  Thus, there have developed systems, such as monasteries, where the sincere can isolate themselves from the world and seek to be truly righteous in every area of their life.  Others have sought relief through “flagellation” (the practice of going about beating oneself with a whip or rod) in hopes of atoning for their sins.  For such people, they are never “good” enough.

Good News

God’s system is described as “good news” (gospel in many Bibles).  It is good news because it offers real forgiveness in the place of paying for sins with good deeds.  It is good news because it offers hope for everyone who seeks God.  It is good news because it shows the way out of the mess we have made.  We are not responsible for fixing the “unfixable.”  We are not responsible for “putting Humpty-Dumpty back together again.”

It is good news because it requires no system of priests, mullahs or fakirs to tell us what to do.  It is based on a book, inspired by God, preserved by God, and guaranteed by God.  This is established by the miracles performed by those who wrote the Bible and it is established by the prophecies that were made and fulfilled in our world.  The Bible is a book written by common men for common men (and women).  It is written so that the good news may be understood by a child, but only misunderstood by those who are seeking a “deeper meaning.”

God’s message is also good news because it does not leave people wondering whether they have really been forgiven.  The same Bible that tells us the good news is that Jesus died for our sins is the same Bible that tells us exactly how we can know that we have been forgiven.

An Example

Peter was chosen by Jesus to preach the good news the first time.  The day of Pentecost following the resurrection of Jesus was the time God chose.  The message was that Jesus, who died, had been raised and taken up to heaven to reign as “Lord and Christ.”  When people believed the good news, they asked, “Brethren, what shall we do?”  (You can read all of this in the second chapter of Acts.)

Peter’s reply was very specific.  It was specific about what they needed to do and it was specific about what God would do.  Peter’s reply was not that they should pray.  His reply did not tell them to “ask Jesus to come into your heart.”  His reply was not that they were already saved by their faith and there was nothing they needed to do.  His reply was not that man is saved by “grace alone,” nor by “faith alone.”

“Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Was it necessary for them to do what Peter said?  You be the judge.  Was it necessary that they repent?  Was it necessary that they be baptized?  Was baptism a matter of choice, sprinkling, pouring or immersion?  No such thing as sprinkling and pouring for baptism had been invented when the Bible was written.  There are no “modes of baptism” in the Bible. Baptize means “to dip, to plunge, to immerse.”

When they were baptized, were their sins forgiven?  Yes, because God had said they would be.  When they were baptized, did they receive the Holy Spirit?  Yes, because God had promised.  Did they know that they had been accepted by God?  Judge for yourself.  The Bible is clear on this matter.

Some Excuses

Sometimes people quote Romans 10, verses 9 and 10 to prove that baptism is not necessary.  Paul wrote (in the same letter, chapter 6) that the new life follows baptism.  Did he change his mind when he got to chapter 10?  Judge for yourself.  The Bible does not contradict itself.  What he says in chapter 10 is true and what he says in chapter 6 is also true.  The Bible is not a buffet dinner where you can go through, pick the verses you like and throw out the ones that you do not like.

Sometimes people quote John 3, verse 16 to prove that baptism is not necessary.  Jesus was speaking in verse 16 and he was also speaking (to the same person, Nicodemus) in verse 5.  In verse five Jesus insisted, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”  Is it necessary to be in God’s kingdom, under His authority and submitting to His reign?  Judge for yourself.  The Bible is clear.

Jesus did not say that one must be born of water and then, at some later time, or some previous time, born of Spirit.  He spoke of only one birth and that was a birth that involved both water and Spirit.

“What God has joined together, let no man separate.”  (A good verse on marriage, but one that seems appropriate for all things that God has joined together.)

Have You Obeyed the Gospel?

Paul speaks of those who have not obeyed the gospel.  These are not saved.  In another place he speaks of  being “obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed.”  Just as Jesus died on the cross, was buried in the tomb and was raised on the third day, there is a parallel experience for those who become Christians.

To become a Christian, one must die to sin.  That is, one must leave sin behind.  One must be buried in baptism (Paul’s expression).  And one must be raised to a new life.

There is good news.  Jesus died at Golgotha for the sins of the world.  His blood is an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.  Because of Jesus you may be forgiven no matter how awful and no matter how many may be your sins.  You can know that you are forgiven when you believe in Jesus, repent of your sins and are baptized (immersed) in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  It is in God’s book.  That’s the good news!