Time to Resurrect the Full Gospel
Without the resurrection of Christ, there is no gospel. Without a gospel, there is no need for a resurrection; no Easter. Without the gospel, there is no hope for humanity, for the justice and peace we all long for. Of God it is said, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
Hmm. What to write about. This opportunity does not arise very often, so the topics pile up like trucks on the turnpike on a snowy day. There is only time and room for one topic. Not only that; this piece lands in the midst of the most drastic cultural upheaval in the country’s history, and the unbending celebration of the most drastic upheaval in sacred history: the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the unique Son of God. So, which did I choose?
I chose neither. The cultural issues are important but temporary. The resurrection is unfathomably important but is part of a larger story and is eternal. It is a vital part of the gospel, without which it has no meaning.
The apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, describes the gospel as “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3b–4). The word “gospel” means “good message.” What is this good message, and why should we care?
As a prelude to the answer, we need to go deeper. There are many presentations, beliefs, and emphases that skim the surface of the gospel. In a biblical nutshell, Christ, the Messiah, will restore creation to its pristine Edenic condition. There are some common but misguided ideas about the purpose of the gospel that miss the point.
The gospel will change your life! True, but not the main point. “My life is good; my family’s great, I have a good job, I’m a nice person. I don’t need the gospel.”
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The Lord is My Shepherd
As sinners we stand in need of grace and mercy more than anything else; and David is saying that’s one thing that I shall always have. God will never cease to deal with me in mercy: and He will always be good to me. The Bible admits that there are times when He seems to hide His face as He chastises those He loves, but He never forgets His promises, and He never ceases to be good to His sheep.
The Shepherd of whom the psalm speaks of is Jesus. It was Jesus Himself who would later say, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.” So, when we say “the LORD is my shepherd” we are talking about the Lord of glory. This is Emmanuel: God with us. He is the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” and the One by whom “all things were created.”
So we have here a very capable Shepherd. He is wise, He is strong, and with Him the Bible says there is nothing impossible. But what comforts David isn’t only His strength or sovereignty or wisdom. It is His character. We see repeatedly in Israel’s history that they had shepherds (pastors and leaders) who utterly failed them. But the promise of Ezekiel is that where men failed them the Lord Jesus wouldn’t. Men may not love them but God loved them; and being the Good Shepherd He had said that He would search them out and find them. He had said that He would bind them up, He would feed them, he would protect them, and He would be their shield and their exceeding great reward.
And, of course, He came as He promised. This, then, is the kind of Shepherd that we have: One altogether unlike these miserable shepherds who fed only themselves. Jesus actually lay down His life for the sheep. He was (and is) so committed to them, so full of love and compassion for them that He would lay down His life for theirs. When you say “the Lord is my Shepherd” you are talking about a good Shepherd. He is not only a competent Shepherd and a diligent Shepherd and a faithful Shepherd. He is also a loving Shepherd. He loves His sheep. And so He seeks out the scattered and the lost and brings them back to Himself. He binds up the wounded, He feeds His people, and He leads them beside the still waters. He is with them and He comforts them.
There are three things that I would like to highlight in this psalm.
First, David does not say the Lord is a Shepherd or the Lord is the Shepherd. He says the Lord is my Shepherd. What a marvellous thing to be able to say! “He is my Shepherd.” It’s so personal. Do you know that is just what He says about us. “You are mine”. He is a shepherd and we are sheep – but we can actually say, by faith, that we are His sheep and He is our shepherd. When a wolf comes a hireling flees. He’s afraid. And these aren’t his sheep anyway, so he doesn’t have a vested interest in them. He’s a hireling, and he runs. He doesn’t care for the sheep, but the Good Shepherd does. That’s why He – unlike the hireling – doesn’t run, that’s why He doesn’t forsake us, and that’s why the Good Shepherd gives His life for His sheep… because He loves them. And He loves with a love that God says passes knowledge.
Let the wonder of those words to sink in: the Lord is my Shepherd. The God of heaven and earth, the Creator of the ends of the earth, the One who takes up the isles as a little thing and counts the nation as a drop in a bucket, this great Redeemer who is mighty to save and unapproachable in the brightness of His majesty, this holy King who is good and faithful and kind is mine, and I am his. This is why David says “I shall not want.”
Isn’t that what we hope for our children, that they shall want for nothing? The question isn’t whether we are willing to provide for them and care for them. The question is whether we can. Here there is no question… Knowing nothing about the particulars of the coming days David can still say, “I shall not want.” Its as if he is asking a rhetorical question: “How can I want when I have Him? How can I truly lack anything when I have God?” David knows that with a Shepherd like the Lord Jesus he shall be very well cared for. Do you remember how Paul put it? If God would give His Son for us how will He not with Him give us all things? In other words, if He wouldn’t spare His own Son, surely He will not withhold anything truly good for us. But David is also saying “having Him I have all. I have God for my Shepherd so I already have everything.”
That is the great reality that explains the rest of this Psalm. Over and over again we read here about what the LORD will do. He makes me lie down, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul, and He leads me in the paths of righteousness. None of that should come as a surprise because He is our Shepherd and we are His sheep.
Do you know what it is about Him that allows the psalmist to speak in this way? Again, I am not talking about His sovereignty, His providence, or His ability to look after you and protect you. I am talking about Him: the Shepherd himself – the beloved. Its because I have Him that I can say “I shall not want.” Other things can be taken from me, but not Him. And what the psalmist is saying in these words is simply this: He is enough. When the bride (in the Song of Solomon) was asked what it was about Him that was “more” than other beloveds she didn’t back down and apologize for exaggerating. She had an answer. She said, “My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.” She went on and then ended with these words: “His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”
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On Being A Black Sheep
Often we WILL be black sheep, whether in our own homes, or among our colleagues and associates, or even among fellow church goers. If we are seeking to do our best and to serve the Lord in the power of his Spirit, then rejection and persecution will occur. How we deal with this may vary depending upon the situation. Obviously the ideal would be if your antagonistic family members for example finally come around, and finally see that you may have been right in doing what you did or believing what you believed.
Many families and communities will have some black sheep: those who are ostracised and vilified because they are considered to be a disgrace. Sometimes such treatment can be justified – sometimes not. Of course being on the receiving end of this is a hard thing to go through. And according to one unofficial measurement, there seem to be quite a few of these black sheep around.
I refer to something I just encountered on the social media. While certainly not any kind of scientific study, the reaction to a recent meme I posted tells us that this is a fairly widespread issue. The meme that someone had made and I shared had a picture of one black sheep surrounded, and given a wide berth, by lots of white sheep.
The words that appeared on it said this: “Oh look, its me at the family reunion.” I was a bit surprised at how many folks responded to this, and how many said, “That’s me!” Of course I take it that the main focus of a meme like this has to do with the Rona wars. But other things can be discussed as well.
As to what we went through over the past few years, how many folks were treated as a black sheep in the family for not fully running with the narrative, and not happily agreeing to mandates, lock-downs, masks, jabs, and the like? How many were treated like dirt for daring to ask hard questions, to think for themselves, and to challenge the Big State suppression of basic human rights and liberties?
So many suffered so greatly as they were treated with contempt, not just by family members, but by friends, loved ones, society at large, and even many churches. How many, including myself, were even barred from attending the family Christmas meal? It was a very dark and ugly time indeed.
So many families were ripped apart – some perhaps permanently. So many friendships were ended. So many relationships were broken. So many folks became black sheep overnight, and so many are still being treated this way.
As I say, I really got a lot of responses when I posted this meme. This indicates that we are not talking about just a few folks here and there but so very many who were treated like outcasts, like lepers, like second-class citizens. Many are still hurting over this. Many have been devastated at what they have experienced and encountered since 2020.
But as I also suggested, it is not just the Rona that turned so many into outcasts overnight. Other things can lead to the same outcome. Simply seeking to be a faithful Christ-follower will of course also result in this. Some who have simply converted to Christ have known instant rejection and enmity from friends and family.
Of course Jesus promised us that this very thing would happen. Consider just a few passages on this matter from one chapter of one of the Gospels:
Matthew 10:16-25 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
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Christianity’s Uncanny Habit of Renewal
Renewals, revivals, and awakenings are unpredictable, by definition. Christians should not credulously accept them as de facto works of God just because they’re on the news, or on YouTube. Sometimes revivals turn out just to be frothy chaos; sometimes they introduce aberrant beliefs and practices. But sometimes they produce godly results that last for generations: lives transformed and renewed, people called into vocational ministry, and communities brought to greater wholeness of bodies and souls.
In February 2023, the religion news beat took a sudden detour from its usual narratives of white evangelicals and politics, the rise of the unaffiliated (the “nones”), denominational schisms, and megachurch scandals. For several weeks, the news was dominated by an improbable and apparently unorchestrated revival at Methodist-affiliated Asbury University in central Kentucky. By late February, some 50,000 people had descended on the campus to pray and sing with Asbury students. The work’s logistical load at Asbury was massive (they did have courses to teach, after all!). University leaders eventually decided it was time to conclude the formal revival meetings.
As Jesus taught, the Holy Spirit does not operate on human calendars: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) It may seem surprising, in contemporary college culture, for a huge student-led revival to come out of nowhere and capture the notice even of the secular media. Aren’t all today’s college students supposed to be censorious, anti-religious, and “woke”?
In our age, religion typically appears in the elite media only when it is connected to politics or scandal. But the Asbury renewal echoed a theme woven deep in American history, and in the history of Christianity: the outbreak of religious awakening in unexpected times and places. As Christians meditate on the mysteries of Easter, a fresh look at the Asbury revival suggests that Christianity means expectations will always be defied—even in 2023.
Earlier Revivals
The spiritual outpourings of the Book of Acts have been the primary Christian template for revival since the apostolic period. In America, the modern history of revivalism began with the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and ’40s. Although some skeptical scholars have dismissed the significance of those revivals, most American history courses still acknowledge the First Great Awakening as one of the biggest social upheavals before the American Revolution. It also provided a style of popular appeal and moral intensity to Patriots such as Patrick Henry, who attended Virginia revival meetings as a boy.
In some ways, the Second Great Awakening of the early 1800s was even more consequential than the First in shaping American Protestantism. As Ross Douthat recently noted, just when an aging Thomas Jefferson was (ludicrously) predicting in 1822 that rationalist Unitarianism would dominate American religion, the lawyer-turned evangelist Charles Finney was going through a conversion experience and contemplating a call to ministry.
Finney’s revivals introduced novel tactics and human-centered theology that bothered many traditionalist Christians, even at the time. But Finney’s success demonstrated again that the cool, skeptical rationalism of a Jefferson almost never appeals to the people at large. By the 1830s, upstate New York was so dramatically transformed by rampaging Finneyite revivals that some called it a “burned-over district.”
The Second Great Awakening was the greatest era of Protestant growth in American history. The old colonial denominations, especially the Congregationalists and Anglicans (the latter called Episcopalians after American independence), did modestly well during the Second Great Awakening. They remained the denominations of choice for many political and financial elites. But the real dynamos of the Second Great Awakening were the Baptists and especially the Methodists.
Baptists were a tiny sect as of 1776. Methodists were almost nonexistent in America at that time. By the eve of the Civil War, however, the Methodists and Baptists had become the largest Protestant denominations in the country, with tens of thousands of congregations each. If you go to virtually any downtown area in the South or the Midwest, there will be First Baptist Church on one corner, and First Methodist on the other. Those churches were largely founded during the Second Great Awakening.
The Methodists and Baptists, unlike the Episcopalians and Congregationalists, never were officially “established” churches in colonial America. They had an entrepreneurial spirit that the old churches lacked. If they didn’t pray hard and work hard, they had no reason to expect that their churches would survive.
Yet they didn’t “dumb down” religion to make it palatable to the culturally fashionable.