THE AMERICANIZED GOSPEL?

ACTS 14:21-23: “After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” CSB

OBSERVATION: Am I trusting in the Gospel of Jesus Christ or an Americanized version of the Gospel? As I ask this question, it is important to note that I am a patriotic American. I love our country. I believe that America has been a force for good in the world. When they play our National Anthem, I am proud to stand with my hand on my heart.

However, I am first and foremost a citizen of the Kingdom of God. I have been redeemed from a world broken in sin and bought with the price of the precious blood of Jesus Christ. While I want to be a good citizen of America, my first allegiance is to the Kingdom of God. And, my interpretation of Scripture must not be influenced by my culture or my economic standing.

What is the “Americanized Gospel?” It is the Gospel that promises untold rivers of blessings once you give your life to Jesus Christ. It is the Gospel that is framed within the affluent backdrop of the prosperity of America. It focuses more on prosperity and blessings than it does on sacrifice and obedience. It is the message of prosperity over repentance, accumulation over giving, self-worth over repentance, my kingdom over the Kingdom of God.

The “Americanized Gospel” preaches well to those who are in a solid middle class or higher socioeconomic standing. Yet, it is a message that has little relevance to the rest of the world and, more importantly, to an honest and serious interpretation of the Scriptures. The early church did not try to climb the social ladder or infiltrate the political elite. They were focused on one thing – proclaiming the Kingdom of God and calling all to repentance.

It was for this reason that they were persecuted and martyred!

In Acts 14, Paul goes from the healing of a lame man, being proclaimed a god, to being stoned and left for dead. The disciples faced this kind of reception and persecution around every corner. When they returned to their home church in Antioch, it was with a celebration of the power of the Gospel and a sincere warning to the young church.

“It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”

Now, I am not the kind of person who looks for hardships. I like to be blessed and live in comfort. Yet, if I truly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if I live as a citizen of the Kingdom of God, if I call people from darkness to the light, if I pick up my cross and follow Jesus – I will face hardships! The Christian life is not the promise of blessing, comfort, and security.

The Christian life is the call to live for Jesus, count the cost, and suffer for the Kingdom of God!

MATTHEW 5:10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. “You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” CSB

The call of Jesus Christ is the cross. It is to lay down my life for His. It is to proclaim the truth in love. Jesus lived doing good and performing miracles for those in need. Yet, Jesus also called men and women to repentance. He proclaimed and lived the Kingdom of God. His life and His truth led to the cross. He was willing to give up everything so that we could have everything. Yet, this was not for our comfort and blessing in this life alone, but for the empowerment and equipping for His Kingdom and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If I let my light shine, if I proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom, if I call sinners to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, I will not have to look for hardship – hardship will look for me. I will be on the front line of spiritual warfare with the enemy of our souls, and misunderstood and hated by those who love darkness and seek to avoid the light. It must never be a result of my behavior, but will be a natural result of God’s light shining in me. I must always seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and know that when I face hardship for the Kingdom of God, I am blessed.

When I consider my life, I must give thanks to God, for I am truly blessed. I do live in a country of opportunity and plenty. Yet, I must never put my trust in this. I must never equate these blessings with the Gospel of the Kingdom or allow them to “Americanize” my understanding of Scripture. I must count all these things as loss and join with the Apostle Paul as he proclaimed,

Philippians 3:7-11: “But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ #— the righteousness from God based on faith. My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.” CSB

Heavenly Father, grant me the grace to pray with all my heart and to live proclaiming – “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”

In Jesus’ Name!