Why Read the Bible: To Learn Why the Gospel Really is Good News

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

–Galatians 3.1-3, 10-14 (NIV)

This passage was actually yesterday’s NT reading but it is too important to ignore. Here Paul lays out for us the heart of the Gospel and if we are ever to understand why the Good News is good news, it is helpful for us to have a Big Picture overview of it.

Paul provides us with that Big Picture in yesterday’s passage. If we are to come to appreciate why the Good News (Gospel) is good news, we must first understand the plight of the human condition. We must divest ourselves of the delusion of human self-help in terms of ending our exile and alienation from God. Ain’t gonna happen if we have to fix it ourselves.

Paul tells us why here. First he wonders who has played trickeration with the Galatians. “Do you really think you are capable of fixing yourselves, of getting rid of all that is unholy in you so that you can live forever in the Presence of the Holy God who loves you and created you? Get real, kids! Humans have been trying to fix themselves from the get-go and it just doesn’t work.”

In essence Paul reminds us that no one can perfectly keep God’s Law (think 10 commandments, not the gazillion petty regulations that had come into existence in the Judaism of Paul’s day). And if we cannot keep the Law perfectly, we remain under God’s curse, not because God is some mean ogre or unwilling to forgive us, but because God cannot abide evil of any kind and we humans are thoroughly infected. This is what is known as the “human condition.” It is kind of like inoperable cancer. There comes a point when surgery will not help. Likewise with the human condition.

And if we think about it, this should make sense to us. After all, do you want to spend an eternity being bedeviled by evil and brokenness? If there is such a thing as “heaven” or God’s space, don’t you want it to be free from any kind of evil and brokenness?

But the human condition doesn’t have the final word. Paul goes on to remind us that God loves us and created us for relationship, not destruction. So what to do? “Well,” Paul says, “God became human so he could do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He fulfilled the requirements of the Law perfectly and then allowed himself to bear the curse of the Law on our behalf so as to make it possible for our exile and alienation from God to be ended forever.” That is the heart of the Gospel and we cannot earn it. It is God’s free gift to us because God is our great Lover. The Gospel is ours by the grace of God and we receive it by faith. Nobody can prove it nor does anybody need to because we have God’s word on it and God is not a liar.

That is why the cross is so scandalous. It is God’s testimony that he has done the impossible for us and that often rankles our human pride. “What do you mean God has done the impossible for me? I’m not a bad person. I don’t need anyone’s help because frankly there isn’t that much in me for God to forgive.” But this is a deadly delusion because it fails to take sin seriously. Neither does it take God’s implacable opposition to sin seriously. Simply put, the profane (humans) can never live with the Holy (God) and so God did something about it to cover our profanity so that we can live with him, both here on earth and for all eternity. Cool.

It is also important for us to remember that the Gospel is not something God developed on the fly. God didn’t wake up one morning, look around at the mess that is his good created order–a mess caused by human sin (Genesis 3)–and say to  himself, “Well, this isn’t working out. I’d better try something different and see if that’ll work.” No, the Gospel is part of God’s eternal Rescue Plan to end our alienation and exile from him. I don’t know why he chose to do it this way and honestly I don’t care because God is God and, well, I’m not. I’m just glad that God loves us enough that he did do something to end our exile from him. Frankly, if I had to love somebody like me to the extent God does, that would be, um, “interesting”.

What about you? Does Paul’s message make you indignant or flat out happy? Are you offended that he is telling you that you are beyond hope in terms of enjoying real life if left to your own devices? Do you see the critical need for the cross? If you don’t, you probably have some work to do on the pride thingy of yours.

The intent of the Gospel (and hopefully those who proclaim it) is not to make you feel like a lowlife or to burden you down with crushing guilt. Doing so is being unfaithful to the Gospel and mean-spirited. But let’s face it. You cannot have a solution (Good News) to a problem (the human condition) if you don’t think there is a problem in the first place. Scripture reminds us consistently that there is a problem and that left to our own devices we are without hope.

But Scripture doesn’t leave us there.

No, Scripture just wants us to be realistic about the plight of the human condition so that we will be ready to receive the Good News of Jesus Christ. Scripture spends most of its time telling us about God’s rescue plan, from the calling of Abraham and his descendents, Israel, to giving them the Law and the Prophets (and the ugly human reaction to both), to the ultimate fulfillment of God’s eternal Rescue Plan in Jesus Christ. The Gospel just won’t make sense unless you see the Big Picture and if you want a nice summary of it, you will find it in the passage above.

If you are hurting or losing hope, take heart and hope. You are not on your own. You don’t have to schlep through life by yourself. You have the very promise of God himself as made manifest in Jesus that he loves you and wants you to come back home so that you can enjoy real life. You don’t have to wait till you die to enjoy that life. It’s available to you right now. All you have to do is accept God’s offer to heal and redeem you. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done. You are one of God’s creatures and he loves you beyond your wildest imaginations. Accept his gracious offer and begin to enjoy life as God intended for you.

Even in the midst of all that can go wrong in this world, you will not be disappointed in the final analysis. Having a relationship with Jesus won’t make you immune to life’s heartaches and disappointments, but you will discover that you have a grace and power that is not your own to deal with them. Don’t take my word alone for it. Ask any of the countless folks who have given their lives to Jesus. You’ll hear the same Good News from them as well.

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  1. Pingback: Why Read the Bible: To Learn What Discipleship Looks Like | The Anglican Priest

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