The Gospel Story (Sinai to Skull or Garden to City?)
What follows is not your typical "statement of faith." If you are looking for something quick and digestible, here are some great statements that we would agree with wholeheartedly: the Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed, and this evangelical statement of faith.
The following is a recent post from Zach on The Daily Missioner, Dwell's community blog.
Here's a personal theory.
Go into an evangelical church, any evangelical church, anywhere, and find somebody in charge. Then, ask them this question: "Do you believe in the death AND resurrection of Jesus?"
They will look a little baffled at your emphasis on "AND" and then just say, "Well, of course."
The point is, we evangelicals all agree that Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our new life.
Generally.
But underneath the general creed, what one will find in lots of churches is a truncated narrative, especially when it comes to what exactly the gospel is.
In fact, even the folks who are trying to rescue the true gospel from the clutches of wishy-washy, fuzzy-wuzzy theology tend to limit things in the attempt. These folks would say that the gospel should be summarized in three 3-dollar words: Penal Substitutionary Atonement.
Despite the fact that my friends laugh at me when I use the word penal, it is the root of penalty and deals with matters of the lawcourt (wherein legal penalties are handed out). Penal is the first word in this three-word gospel because, say some, the gospel is not about happy feelings or fun times or less stress or a healthier diet - the gospel is about the fact that we are all sinners legally condemned by a holy Judge.
Given that fact, substitution comes into focus. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb who substitutes for us - who endures the penalty in our place so that we can be legally cleared by the Judge's Bench and, after death, go to the place of the innocent and not to the punishment of the guilty.
Finally, atonement - not just a movie but the method of substitution, namely, a sacrificial death by the sacrificial Lamb.
All of these I (and Dwell) affirm, except the claim that these and only these are the gospel. In fact, this limited view held by lots of folks derives, albeit centuries later, from the great Reformer Martin Luther's Law/Gospel dichotomy. But in that dichotomy there is too much truncation, and something of the real story is lost.
This is not unlike kids who habitually omit the beginning and end of a thing to make their case before their judges (i.e., parents). They are so obsessed with penalties and rewards that the story seems to forget itself: instead of Charlie's initial swipe of the toy, the only thing that matters is the punch from Pedro that followed. And the ending is equally lost on the kiddos - instead of a restored friendship the only reward that seems to matter is "getting" the plastic toy.
So back to Martin Luther.
Luther seemed to focus mainly on the thunderous voice of the Lawgiver at Mt. Sinai when the 10 Commandments were inscribed (see Exodus 20). What's important is that God gave the law and all of us have broken it. And likewise, he also focused on the thunderous moment at Mt. Skull when Jesus the Savior was crucified to satisfy the same Lawgiver (see Luke 23). Because what's also important is that Jesus obeyed the law for us and then paid our penalty for us.
But what could the gospel be if we didn't omit the beginning and the end? What if instead of bookending from Sinai to Skull we widened the frame to introduce the Garden and the City?
Because really, the Garden of Eden is where the story of mankind actually begins, and the New Jerusalem coming out of heaven in Revelation 21 is where the story reaches its conclusion.
Let me be more specific: What if churches saw this bigger story as they proclaimed and lived the gospel?
At Dwell, this is what we are aspiring to do; and this is what we are so excited about. Seeing the gospel as a bigger story has a drastic impact on how we live as a community.
And as we understand it, instead of that other three word phrase, this story works itself out in three community-shaping themes: Resurrection, Covenant, and Kingdom.
Resurrection: Because what's important is not the toy, or a vague reward in the afterllife, but the restoration of that which was broken by Adam, and by extension, Charlie. What matters is that Jesus emodied true humanity, a perfect reflection of the Father, and he died and rose from death so that we broken people (like Adam and Charlie) could be restored, too.
And this brings with it a wonderful nowness - resurrection means that new life is bursting forth now, a new world right in the midst of this one, as our relationships with God and with others are restored through Jesus. And this, you might say, has huge implications for a world of Pedro's!
(Please note: then is important, too, but only as it is a continuation and perfection of the restoration happening now.)
Covenant: Because what's important is not just where I go after I die, but what God has always been doing in the broken world. Namely, he has always been seeking to create a community of people who bring the world back to wholeness, to shalom.
What matters is that the Judge is also a Father presiding over a Promise (or covenant) to his created people. Throughout the story of Scripture, God states and restates this promise with Adam, Abraham, and Israel, but it comes to its true fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah. Through Jesus, God is faithful to the promise, and he calls us into faithfulness, too. That call is a gracious one, guaranteed through perfect atonement: to rest and trust in the love of the King and find oneself living in a totally new kingdom.
Kingdom: Because what's important is the fact that there is a new resurrected and ascended King over everything. Whereas once the whole world seemed to be headed down the wrong road in the wrong direction, now a surprising thing has happened: God became a man like us, took our sin on himself, and conquered it all by rising from death! And suddenly a new road has opened up and we are invited to become travelers.
What matters is that we repent - turn - from one road to the other, from one king to another, from the empire of self to the kingdom of God. And remember, that kingdom is a gracious one, a community of people helping each other to live more like Jesus in the world and do the work of restoration.
Until everything is fully restored when that City comes down out of heaven.
I guess what I'm saying is that it's a fact: we all need to be restored to wholeness and shalom in our true humanity. We lost that wholeness, and we all know this deep down.
And the good news is, it's back.