Today I sat in my office. The receptionist at church knocked on my door and said, "there is a man on the phone who has been calling churches trying to find out what the Gospel is. Would you like to talk to him?"
I said, "well sure I'll talk to him."
Moments later I found myself in a conversation with a Mr. Robertson. He sounded like a small, older gentleman, who had probably lived on the bayou or some sort of red-neck swamp area (not to be confused with a Duck Dynasty member)...I seriously thought someone was trying to fool me by the sound of His voice, but he was legit and calling from Jacksonville, FL.
So Mr. Robertson explained that he'd been calling churches all over and no one can seem to tell Him what the real Gospel was.
Soon into my explanation, I realized Mr. Robertson wasn't very concerned about hearing the "real" gospel as he was about giving it. He quickly began going on and on that the bible says you must forsake your house and your land in order to be saved...
Our conversation ended when I told him I had to go, but I wanted to pray for Him. He responded, "I need to pray for you." So I said okay, and he prayed that I would find the courage to leave my home and land, lest I burn in the Lake of fire for eternity.
It was an interesting conversation to say the least. I laughed afterwards. I pray that Mr. Robertson can come to grips with the true Gospel, as I'm sure he's heard plenty of times, as he's called churches from the USA to Africa he said.
Only reason I write about this conversation is because I'm reminded that the Gospel is not some sort of hoop of moral doing or qualification that I have to complete in order to be saved. This man was trying to make the Gospel accessible to only those who were willing to be dirt poor and live on a street, with no sense of earthly security at all...While it is true, in Christ we should not store up our treasures on earth, God is the giver of every good thing. He loves his children, more than the birds of the air, or the flowers of the fields. He provides, He gives good gifts, and He saves all those who call upon the name of the Lord, repent of their sins, and believe in their hearts that God raised Christ from the dead.
The Gospel is the fact that Christ died on a cross, in my place, as a substitute for my sins, and all who repent and believe will be saved. In essence, I explained:
God is Holy, righteous, and just. He created me in His image, that I might be His creation, in relationship with Him.
Man broke this by choosing the things of this world over communion with God. Thus sin entered the world separating us from a Holy God, and causing all who enter into this world to be depraved, wondering sinners, in need of something this world cannot offer.
But in God's perfect mercy, He sent Jesus to live a perfect, sinless life, and die a death on a cross that He did not deserve in order to pay the penalty of sin, and absorb the wrath of God for mankind.
And finally, our response is to call upon the name of the Lord, believing that God raised Jesus from the dead, making Him the only way back into a relationship with God. In repenting of our sins and confessing our need for a savior and Lord, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cause us to walk in His ways.
When my home, land, money, or whatever becomes the object of my worship, I have a problem. Because God is the object of my worship, I praise Him for the security and blessings that he supplies for me and my family out of His perfect love.
Praise God for the Gospel.