D.C.‘s Real Gospel Vs the Whole Gospel

I am a regular reader of Digital Cowboy’s blog. I was reading a post on real masculinity V evil and he had a link to a prior post (The Real Gospel) he had written. It was while reading that post that I felt a check in my spirit, and I am beginning to listen to those checks more often. I stopped and asked the Father what he wanted me to see and how should I respond if at all. While his premise is good it has a fundamental flaw in that he glosses over the why it was that Yeshua had to die on the cross.

"I wish more churches preached the Gospel. The word means, "Good News." Is it "good news" that you’re a sinner? Is it "good news" that you don’t measure up? Is it "good news" that you’re not perfect? That’s what many religious churches preach. Probably the second most often quoted verse in the Bible is "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
Well, duh.
Do you wanna share the solution or do you just want to beat people over the head with the problem?
The answer to all those previous rhetorical questions is, "Nope. That’s not good news." All those things are true, none of them are "good news" and that’s why Jesus Christ came. That’s the good news. No reasonably sane person has to be told that they don’t meet God’s standard. We all know that instinctively because we’re spiritual beings. I find it fascinating that John 3:16 is the most well-known and oft-quoted verse in the Bible, but it seems no one ever reads or quotes on into John 3:17. You can’t get the full message of the Gospel without them both."


While the Gospel is the good news in that Yeshua came and died on the cross and was raised from the dead on the third day it is also the story of why it was necessary. D.C.’s statement that no reasonably sane person has to be told that they don’t meet G_d’s standard is not necessarily correct. There are many reasonable and sane people who do not believe they are doing anything wrong, yet they still fall short of the mark. The fact that we are spiritual beings has nothing to do with whether or not we “instinctively know” we have fallen short of G_d’s standards. If that were the case the Word would not be full of references to our sinful nature.

The quoting of John 3:16 has become a popular because it imparts the essence of the gospel in a simple to remember verse. It was never meant as a substitute for the gospel message. If you wish to take the verse in full context it needs to be included in a series of scriptures from John 3:11 to John 3:21.

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

As we can see Yeshua was not sent to condemn the world, it was already condemned by the evil actions of man. To gloss this fact over and ignore it because it is uncomfortable or might offend is just as wrong as it is to crush someone’s spirit by focusing in the sin. Rather we should portray the gospel in its entirety showing a righteous and just G_d that cannot abide the imperfection of sin, man’s complicity in that sin, and the message that G_d through His Son has provided a perfect sacrifice for that sin. All we have to do is acknowledge our need and accept the gift.

D.C. goes on to discuss the numerous passages in the Bible concerning His mercy. Yes the Father is very merciful, but He is also righteous and just. D.C. states that it is religion that brings the talk of sin into the picture, I strongly disagree. It is religion that distorts the picture of sin. Religion takes sin to the point that it makes a mockery of Yeshua’s perfect provision for our degenerate nature. As much as D.C. says he hates religion, it is also religion that glosses over why it was that Yeshua had to die. Religion is when man takes the truth and distorts it to fit his own worldview. We are all guilty of doing this to some point or another. It is the nature of man. It is our job to look beyond our worldview study the scriptures and ask the Father to show us the truth.