Adam wrote:I have been thinking about this question a lot as I recently wrote up a short presentation of the gospel to share with people in Enga, Papua New Guinea (where I work as a missionary). It is hard to move from the "save me" gospel to a Kingdom gospel and then know what to say when you share with people. Ultimately, personal salvation is an important implication of the gospel even though it is not the central focus on the gospel. Anyway, below is what I came up with. It is back-translated into English from Enga, so it may not sound like completely natural English.
This is a really good exercise, Adam. We might need to do the same kind of exercise for modern Americans ...
Can you tell me something about the Enga and how they relate to concepts like community, friendship, righteousness, sin, religion, etc? What parts of your presentation are things they can already relate to?
Adam wrote:Note: this presentation draws heavily on the Christus Victor model of the atonement, and I am not looking to change it to a penal substitution model.
I'm convinced no one model is complete, they are all just models of something greater. You say that Jesus "took our place", that's not the only possible model for redemption, and it seems a little like the penal substitution model you want to avoid. For instance, redeeming slaves who could not pay their debts and were sold into slavery is one possible model.
Adam wrote:All of us have disregarded the word of God and committed sin. By doing that we were imprisoned in Satan’s kingdom. As we were imprisoned in Satan’s kingdom we were like Satan’s slaves and lived our lives committing sin. As we did that, we became slaves to sin and we were unable to save ourselves. But Jesus took pity on us and, by giving his life, he took our place and redeemed us (bought us back).
I like the imprisonment image, to me that is closer to the penal substitution model. Another image is enslavement, being slaves to sin, which you also use. Just using the enslavement model is a bit less of a mixed metaphor, and might simplify this. And redemption from slavery feels about right to me, the way you would redeem a slave by paying the price, then set the slave free. Of course, this is a freedom that involves serving God, but you want to be careful to avoid implying that God just bought Satan's slaves to make them his own slaves. (I was just at a Bible translation conference where they were discussing this very issue with respect to translations for the Muslim Middle East ...)
I think it's hard to explain exactly what the death of Jesus accomplished - "when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it's all nonsense", modern Americans, Muslims, and presumably Enga may respond the same way. But the sacrificial giving of himself translates well into many cultures. So does the redemption to freedom. I think it's helpful not to get lost in trying to account for exactly how it all works theologically, and you do well at that.
Adam wrote:Although Jesus died and took our place, he did not remain imprisoned in Satan’s kingdom. He defeated Satan, death, and sin, and rose from the dead. When he rose from the dead, God brought him up to heaven. He is there today, sitting at the right hand of God and ruling as king over the Kingdom of God.
I like this a lot. This would be a good place to say that he is coming again to bring us into his final kingdom at the end of time.
Adam wrote:The Kingdom of God is not just in heaven, it is on earth as well. If a person repents from the sins that he commits and trusts in Jesus, God will forgive his sins and take him from Satan’s kingdom and place him in the Kingdom of God. If that person faithfully follows all the words of Jesus, then at the time when God judges all people, that person will rise from the grave, go to where God is, reign with Jesus over the Kingdom of God, and live forever. That is God’s good news.
I think it's important to bring the Kingdom here on earth into the picture. But I think it's also important to stress a few things about the Kingdom here on earth:
- It is still incomplete, and longing for the final Kingdom.
- It's about being servants, being the love of Jesus to the world here, and the opposite of walking in sin is walking in servant love.
- It's about entrusting ourselves entirely to God, and not living for ourselves, building bigger barns, careers, and status.
- It's about inviting others into the Kingdom as fellow servants.
Adam wrote:Jesus is calling out to you to come into God’s Kingdom, so will you come? Or will you just remain in Satan’s Kingdom?
Good. But I would also perhaps frame this like joining a team to join God's Kingdom and redeem the world together, fighting Satan's Kingdom.
Adam wrote:[Depending on the answer, I would then say the following:]
If you remain in Satan’s Kingdom, you will die in you sins. If you die in your sins, then when God judges people, you will go to the bad place hell, where the fire never dies. In that place people will be crying and wailing and gnashing their teeth. I don’t want that to happen to you, so I am telling you God’s good news. So let me say again, if you repent and trust in Jesus, you will enter God’s Kingdom.
This is usually said in the 4 spiritual laws approach, but it doesn't seem to be said in many of the presentations of the Gospel in the New Testament. And I'm not sure that the Bible promises that all who do not receive the Gospel will go to hell. I'm honestly not sure one way or another, but I think that God's mercy may be richer than that.
On the other hand, I think the New Testament is quite clear that those who are saved will be in God's eternal Kingdom.
Is it biblical? Is it Christlike? Is it loving? Is it true? How can I find out?