The Gospel is viewed through a paradigm. That paradigm is many times, our culture.
The Gospel is exemplified and perfected through relationship.
The Gospel does not apply without faith.
The Gospel links the special role for Israel to that of the Church through Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 11:1-3
Faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."
The Bible is an account of God's love story. It is His "eternal drama" as John Eldredge puts it in his book, "The Sacred Romance." It describes to us who God is, and tells of people who were trying to figure out what it meant to live for Him in their times, and in their culture. The Bible is evidence that God had...and has something to say to all people. His message of love is clear.
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If we do not have faith, we cannot hope to see "the Gospel" separate from the paradigm of our culture. I believe this is necessary if we hope to ascertain and lay hold of that which Christ laid hold of us for. If we cannot view the Gospel outside of the constraints of our culture, I do not believe we can appropriately act from inside our culture, towards that which God has for us. I write that statement with great care, because its implications reach into the daily choices we make as individuals living in our respective cultures. And, we cannot help but to make some of those choices exactly the way we do. In some ways, the power of the Gospel is revealed more and more because of the flavor of our culture. In other ways, the power of the Gospel is masked and unrecognizable because of that same flavor.
I will spend my life seeking, yet not fully understanding these things.
That is not a wasted life.
There is nothing more important than the gospel. Nothing.
