If I had a dime for every time I heard that Christianity is not a religion, it is a personal relationship, I would be rich. If I believed that statement as most Christians tell it, I would still be lost in my sins and bound for hell, though I would be really feeling good about myself in the process. The gospel is not about a personal relationship with Jesus. The gospel is not that subjective, nor is it that undefined. However, I must emphatically say that every created being does have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Yes, everyone. And it is only one of two relations. One is either through love, grace, and mercy as sons and daughters of adoption; the other is through the wrath of His just judgment. At some point at the end of history as we now know it, Jesus will either be your savior or judge. The gospel is not about a personal relationship with Christ; it is about a right relationship with God through Christ. It is not as touchy-feely as most sappy so-called evangelicals explain. But it is a very serious matter on which your very soul depends.
The gospel is the announcement of the good news of Jesus Christ. What is that good news? In a sentence, it the fact that Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners, and that he died for the forgiveness of our sins and was raised for our justification. It is about how God through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit is building Himself a people, called the church, who are His and who will worship Him forever as forgiven, adopted, justified, sanctified, and glorified sons and daughters of God.
The problem with the current evangelical view of the gospel is that it is marketed as “good news,” but in fact is very shallow and really no good news at all. A personal relationship is way too subjective to be THE good news. What is it? Why should I care? What does it mean? If the content of this personal relationship is all about me, then what’s the big deal with God? This shallowness touches various parts of the fallen human psyche and creates a sense of belonging in a disconnected world, attempts to fulfill that longing for the love of God, and secure the relationship in a world where relationships fall apart daily. While these are very high idealistic goals, the problem is that they fall short because they are rooted and grounded in human needs and wants, and not the Word of God or the power of God through Christ in the Spirit.
The gospel is so much more! Yes, it is much more than some Hollywood made-for-TV chick-flick pseudo-love story that may bring a tear to our eye and a lump in our throat. Through the gospel, Christ has accomplished what we could never accomplish. He has made His people right with God. He has taken us from the relationship of wrath and judgment to the relationship of love, life, and family. The work of Christ didn’t just provide the opportunity for us to be in the family of God, it secured it for those who believe in what Christ did. If it were left up to us, then we would all still be in a sad state of affairs. Christ effected our forgiveness and reconciliation. He secured the justification for those who believe. Romans 5:1 states that we now have peace with God. The war is over, reconciliation is accomplished, and there will never be hostilities again! We have a relationship with God now that surpasses any earthly relationship we can ever hope for. We have been adopted into the family of God. We are joint-heirs with Christ. The inheritance is ours. We have full legal rights to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms! And once we have been adopted, do you think Christ will ever kick us out? When a human family adopts a young child, if he messes up once or twice, do they kick him out? The child has no say in the legal adoption; it is by the grace of the adopting family. But once he is in the family, he is the legal son or daughter of that family will all of the rights and privileges and responsibilities of that family. This is not just a relationship; it is a covenantal family bond!
So the next time some tells you that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship. Tell them, no, it is more than that. It is salvation from the wrath of God. It is the forgiveness of sins. It is the justification – setting right – with God. It is the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us. It is peace, reconciliation, with God. It is the adoption of believers into the family of God. Every human being that ever lived has had a personal relationship with God, either under wrath and condemnation or under grace and forgiveness. Which side are you on?
