God-Centered Gospel

6/11/15                        Lee                            about 35
Been challenged anew lately with our call to salvation.  A man-centered Gospel reduces it to merely a call to self-improvement or self-preservation.  It’s been watered down, first to fire insurance from hell, and when mention of hell fell out of style, it was watered down even more to an enticement to improve one’s life with faith in a Jesus who is said to be there to answer our every need and even many of our wants.  But what has it been watered down from?  What other motivation is there to repent, believe and be saved?  With this on my mind today I started a Gospel conversation at the park with a man from Hong Kong named Lee, who spoke fairly good English.  He hadn’t thought much about matters of faith, and as we talked about some of the religious options we also talked about some of the differences between the western and eastern mindset.  As we talked about our concepts of God or a higher power, I spoke of God as the almighty Creator and emphasized some of His infinite attributes such as His power, wisdom, and knowledge, and then went on to emphasize how worthy He is of our respect, honor, and devotion to the point that He deserves our total obedience.  What I had in mind was the Asian emphasis on respect for one’s elders, and how much more God deserves our respect in comparison.  Lee had attended a Christian elementary school in Hong Kong, and was vaguely familiar with the Genesis account of Adam, Eve, and the fall into rebellion.  As I retold this to Lee I emphasized how our disobedience and rebellion is, like Adam’s, also disrespect, and how even our best efforts at earning back God’s favor with good deeds are offensive to God just as a bribe would be offensive to a righteous judge.  Lee didn’t know much about the cross other than it’s use as a symbol for Christianity, so I told him the story and message behind the cross of Christ.  Just as I emphasized the disrespect of our sin, I talked of the opportunity we have of repentance, faith, and good works as the only respectful response to a God who deserves our utter devotion for His sacrifice on the cross.  God deserves all glory and honor, and a God-centered gospel will emphasize this to all people, east or west.