1 Corinthians 15:3
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
When I listen to a message I ask, "could this message have been given if the grave is not empty?"
There are a couple of terms I've been hearing
- restorative justice
- reconciliation
- transformed lives
We speak of these things in terms of what we do for/with others on this earth; if we leave out the "why", we all lose.
- The Son of God died to restore us - THEREFORE, we seek restoration in a social context for others.
- Jesus shed His blood to justify us - THEREFORE, we seek justice for others.
- Christ died for our sins to reconcile us to the Father - THEREFORE, we seek reconciliation with others.
To leave this out - we are left with nothing more than a devotional that could be preached in a Mormon church, in a Buddhist temple, in an atheistic social center.
I've heard "Jesus transforms lives" - which is no Gospel at all.
I have a friend whose great-aunt married an abusive man. They joined the Mormon church and he stopped beating her. The Mormon church transforms lives.
September 11, 2001 showed us the power of 19 men in airplanes to transform lives (and not in a good way).
I want to hear a man of God proclaim the death, burial and resurrection of the Son of God for the remission of sin.
I don't want to have to listen to a podcast in order to hear the Gospel.