Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Just preach the Gospel, they tell me. “Who’s they?” you ask. You know: they, the ones who get either nervous or angry about any attempt to apply the teachings of the Bible outside the church building.
They say I’m too political, because, instead of spouting little, harmless platitudes of the sort found lingering at the bottom of cat posters (nice things about hanging in there, or remaining hopeful) I insist that all people, including kings and rulers and all who are in authority should bow the knee to the King of kings, and keep his commandments.
“Just preach the gospel.” OK. Which Gospel are we talking about? The one Jesus preached, that got him labeled as a threat to Caesar, and crucified for it? Is it the Gospel that got the apostles beaten by the authorities and repeatedly jailed; or, the one the first missionaries spread, which their opponents claimed had turned the world upside down?
No preacher has ever, or will ever go to jail for telling folks that Jesus loves them just the way they are. No martyr went to the stake for telling people to live their best lives now.
“Just preach the gospel.” OK, great.
The trouble, though, is that the Gospel proclaims a living Lord who is in charge of everything. The message of a Messiah who defeated death by walking out of his own tomb, leaves nothing untouched in the one who believes. It doesn’t merely save the soul. It changes the mind. It changes opinions, theories, goals, and worldviews. And, since actions flow from thoughts, it must change what I do — in every area of my life.
As one preacher has said, there is no spot in the universe on which Christ does not place his hand and say, “Mine!”
But, pastor, you say, not everyone believes your Gospel! Well, amen to that. Your point is well-taken. However, by informing me of the unbelief around us, please understand that all you’ve done is remind me that I have a lot of work to do. Rather than give up and preach the cat poster, for the sake of peace, we must pour it on, in the form of bold stands for Christ, and patient teaching that gently persuades, showing respect for our hearers.
I’m re-reading The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis. Lewis, of course, doesn’t get everything right in his Christian allegories. But one thing he got more right than a lot of preachers, is his portrayal of Aslan, the Christ figure. Aslan, the great lion, is good and gracious and powerful. He is also not to be toyed with. He’s a good lion, but not a tame one. When you tremble in his presence, it means you’re wired right.
Aslan is asked by a little girl whether he might decide to eat her, and he answers that he’s eaten boys and girls, men and women, slaves, kings, nations and empires.
There are glaring errors in the author’s theology, but this sort of thing is not one of them. He comes nearer to preaching the God of Psalm 2 and Revelation 19 than most of what you’ll ever hear from a pulpit that is committed to “just preaching the gospel.” This God must be heard.
Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at: