Amidst this unwarranted pandemic and political unrest, what hope does the gospel bring?
The ‘Clickbait’ To Heaven
It was in 2020 that I lost 2 of my aunts in a year. One of them died of cancer, and the other died of Covid19 (She was the first covid patient who died in Singapore). Both of them were believers while most of my relatives weren’t. The pastor conducting the funeral service attempted to comfort my relatives by emphasising the fact that my aunt was in a better place; heaven, positioning salvation and the gospel almost like a clickbait of sorts, an attempt to convince my relatives to accept Jesus into their lives to reunite with her someday.
That got me thinking about :
“What sets our gospel message apart from the rest of varied faiths?”
“What was it about the gospel that provoked and convicted people (and pagans) to embrace a Jewish Man? Even at the cost of their own lives in the 1st century?”
“Are we missing something in our gospel presentation today? What gospel did the apostles preach that gave them the courage to lose their lives for the sake of it?
Heaven On Earth, Home For Humanity
Embedded in the human heart is a longing to live forever in a perfect world. The thought of death and dying scares us because we do not know what lies beyond death. Heaven remains a foreign space for most people. Cognitively, we recognise it to be a perfect place where God dwells but as earthlings, find it hard to fathom the reality of living in heaven itself.
I soon realised that there are more details given about our life on earth as compared to insight given on what it looks like to live spent in heaven as I dug into the scripture. The restoration of all things in Jesus’s millennial reign happens in the context of life here on earth (Rev 20:7). Heaven is often presented as the ultimate destination of salvation in the presentation of today’s gospel, but that is not the case in the narrative of the Bible. But immerse yourself in the full narrative of the Bible (Both OT & NT), and you’d realise that the concept of going to heaven is a foreign one.
Man, in our mortality remain as earthlings. Earth is where we belong. God created Man out from the dust of the earth, and He has commissioned Man to fill the earth with the knowledge of the glory of God (Hab 2:14). God’s intention for humanity is to live life on earth with heaven’s reality living among us, but sin brought separation to that reality.
“Embedded in the human heart is a longing to live forever in a perfect world”
Jesus, The Second Adam
Jesus is the ultimate personification of God himself. He is the untainted Image Bearer of God (Hebrews 1:3) and the only one who can reconcile the heavens and the earth (Eph 1:7-10, Col 1:15-20).
Adam did not fulfil the role as an image bearer and the commission of expanding Eden (where heaven and earth co-existed) because of sin of which resulted in the separation of heaven & earth. Death is the consequence of sin that plagued humanity, and in ourselves, we have no hope, but Jesus was sent from heaven to reverse the curse of sin (death).
Jesus came to redeem humanity by becoming a human and showed us what God is truly like. The cross of Jesus is, therefore, the ultimate reconciliation between God and Man & Heaven and Earth. He fulfilled his role as second Adam and redeemed the mandate of humanity. This act revealed the knowledge of God on the earth.
A New Humanity In Jesus’ Resurrection
Beyond the removal of sin, Jesus was after the resurrection because His ultimate goal is to have a people for Himself (Hebrews 2:10). God’s ultimate redemption plan is to redeem a people and make them a new creation/new species (2 Cor 5:17) that looks exactly like Jesus.
Jesus is the firstborn of that New Humanity. Whatever Jesus is like in his humanity, we will become. It is through the cross and the resurrection of Jesus, we now have a hope that is sealed in His Second Coming. His return is our resurrection.
The Apostle Paul put heavy emphasis on the Resurrection of Jesus, and he had to defend it on numerous occasions (1 Cor 15 & 2 Cor 5) from the “peddlers of God’s word” (2 Cor 2:17) who tried to entice the church to only hope in this age (1 Cor 15:19). The resurrection of Jesus is our hope of eternal life .
“Jesus is the Firstborn of that New Humanity. Whatever Jesus is like in His humanity, we will become.”
The Consummation Of All Things
The Cross of Jesus sealed all the promises of redemption and restoration that gives us confidence and hope in The Second Coming of Jesus that fulfils all of these promises.
In that glorious Day, the Son of Man will descend from heaven to earth and all those who are in Christ will be raised and instantly clothed with immortality and instantly become like Him. (1 John 3:2).
He will put an end to every evil regime and injustice. He will wipe away every tear and sorrow. He will put an end to Death and Satan. He will establish His throne in Jerusalem and bring restoration to all things. We will live on forever in perfection, and God will bring down His dwelling, and his tabernacle will be with us. It is for all eternity that He will be our God, and we will be His people.
Beyond Cultural Transformation
“Heaven on earth” is more than an inspirational ministry tag-line or transformational work in spheres of societies founded by Kingdom values. Don’t get me wrong. I greatly value cultural transformation and works of justice because of the necessary comfort it brings due to the effects of sin on our Day and age.
It is, however, not the goal of our faith in this age. Jesus did not save us for unending Sunday services, to labour endlessly in the work of ministry, with the hope of making this world a slightly better place until we die and go to heaven with no expectation of a glorious end. There is a glorious end, and it would be a pity to miss the point on this side of the earth.
Our Purpose In This Present Age
The goal for this age is to produce a witness of the resurrection of Jesus through a people who will embrace His leadership and life in preparation for Jesus and heaven’s arrival. Every work of justice, the manifestation of signs, wonders and miracles that we do in faith serves as the substance of things that every human heart hopes for.
The outcome of these works serves as evidence that Jesus is truly alive and an unseen kingdom at work. It gives us a hopeful expectation for His return which establishes His Kingdom in heaven on earth forever. Jesus is the Author & Finisher of our Faith. He is the First & The Last, The Beginning & The End, The Alpha & Omega. He was, He is, and He is to come. He is the reason of our existence and the very longing of every human heart, the hope of all creation.
All the saints of old and creation groans (Romans 8) for the Day where the Promise Seed (Gen 3:15) will put an ultimate end to the God of this age (2 Cor 4:3) and the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our God (Rev 11:15).
“The goal for this age is to produce a witness of the resurrection of Jesus through a people who will embrace His leadership and life in preparation for Jesus and heaven’s arrival.”
Living Forever In A Christ-Led World
What sets the gospel apart is the fact that We aren’t going to heaven, but heaven is coming back to earth. Let this sink in - Our life is going to continue forever on earth with heaven’s reality in our midst, and the glory of Jesus will be at the centre of our attention and affections (Rev 21:22 - 22:5).
The difference between our present life and the life in the age to come is the fact that we will gain an incorruptible body (1 Cor 15) through Jesus’ resurrection power. We will be completely infused by the Spirit of God, living in a perfect world with a perfect government, led by a Perfect King who is humble & infinitely love. Every other faith points us to heaven, but the gospel of Jesus points us to eternal life on earth with heaven coming to us.
This is the hope of the gospel: His Second Coming, Our Resurrection. The hope of His coming gives us the courage to face any pandemic, injustice, tribulation and even death. The momentary afflictions that we experience in this age cannot be compared to the eternal weight of glory prepared for us who believes. Maranatha!
Let’s Talk About The Gospel
What are some ideas about the gospel presented above stood out to you?
How do these ideas challenge your present understanding of the gospel?
What are some take aways / things you hope to do differently in your life?
Feel free to share your thoughts, give comments and ask questions with regards to the gospel. I would love to hear them and talk about them here.