You are a sinner. You need Jesus because He paid for your sins.
That’s the standard gospel message, and for years I pushed some version of that. But not so much any more.
What happened? Have I become a heretic?
I don’t think so. I still believe in Jesus. I still believe in sin. But I’ve come to see the gospel as something much more complete that what I previously peddled. Leading with “you are a sinner” robs people of most of the beauty of the gospel.
The New Testament Greek word for gospel is euangellion which means, “good message” or “good news.” I’m not sure that leading with “you are a sinner” really qualifies as “good news.” In addition, I don’t think it’s a good way to summarize the message of the Bible or the collective experience of God’s people.
I’m going to say more about this in upcoming posts, but let me pose a question to you. What do you like most about Jesus? How would you express that to the people you care about?
Bible trivia:
Answer from last time: Jonah
New question: Sanballat opposed which Israeli leader?
