One of the lies of culture is that the Christian message is no longer applicable, no longer valid for our lives today. It is old, outdated, irrelevant and then worse; it is judgmental, uncaring, angry, etc.
Luke 2:10 (ESV) And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
The Gospel is Good News for Today for All People! The Gospel addresses our and everyone else’s biggest needs for today, that of Identity, Love and belonging!
Moses’ Identity Crisis
Exodus 3:11,13 4:4:1,10 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
The question is: Who am I? God’s answer? “I will be with you”
You can base your sense of self on your knowledge of me—find your confidence and worth in knowing that I am there for you, and here with you.
We forget who we are (Our identity) Which brings us to Simba in the Lion King
Simba forgot who he was. We so often do the same- and humanity at large has completely forgotten. (The Fall- Lost our identity)
We have identity in God, we have Diving Privilege.
Israel as a whole will receive their identity from God, becoming his “treasured possession … a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
Exodus 19:5-6 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
In the New Testament, we hear God say that to those who received him when he came among us in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus:
John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
Who am I? One of the children of God. We are the people who are defined by our God
Conclusion
Far from being irrelevant and condemning, the Gospel is as important as ever and more welcoming than we can even imagine.
The Gospel tells us and all of humanity that we belong, that we have identity, that we loved and cared for and welcomed in. We have been adopted.