Relevancy
 
We are caught up today in a wave of relevancy Gospel.  We have accepted the notion that the Gospel must be adapted to be relevant to the needs of the 21st century; that the God of our fathers is not relevant to single parents and two-income families.  This feeling stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the Gospel. 
  
Many have made the Gospel a message of how God meets my needs, makes me better able to cope with life's problems, and makes me a better person.  While all these things are true, they are the results of the Gospel, not the Gospel itself.  The Gospel is the message that mankind is under the judgment and wrath of God because of sin, but Jesus Christ came to redeem us if we repent and trust in Him.  That message is relevant to all people at all times. 
  
By employing relevancy Gospel, we are giving people the effect but not the cause.  We are giving them the promises without giving them the power to bring those promises to pass.  We are giving them the hope of the Saviour without giving them the Saviour within whom that hope resides.  This is one reason why there is such a shallow Christianity in the church today.  People see Christ as someone they need only when they are having problems rather than one they need every day to forgive, cleanse, and restore them from the ravages of sin.  God help us to give out the Gospel. 
-PF