Simply Profound yet Profoundly Simple: The Paradox of the Gospel and the Mandate for a Robust Witness

A paradox,
G.K. Chesterton quipped, is “a truth standing on its head, waving its legs to
get our attention.” In the Bible, such paradoxes abound. Paradoxically, Jesus
is both God and man; and, paradoxically, the Bible was given by both human
inscription and divine inspiration. One such paradox, or seemingly
contradictory truth, is rooted in the gospel itself – the gospel message is
simple, yet profound.

The gospel is
a simple message. Simple enough to be comprehended by a child, understood by
the illiterate, and conveyed by those lackingformal
education. In fact, at times in the New Testament the Apostle Paul, an educated
man, seems to revel in the gospel’s relative simplicity. To the church at
Corinth, he chided the Jews who desired authenticating signs and Greeks who
searched for wisdom. On the contrary, to the Corinthian believers, Paul
purposed to “know nothing among you except Christ and him crucified.”

At the same
time, the gospel is also a profound message. Paul, the church’s great
missionary-evangelist, was also the church’s most accomplished theologian. Paul
penned some 13 New Testament letters, explaining and applying the gospel. 
Moreover, the Pauline epistles both insist and assume believers to be students
of Scripture, equipped and equipping others to defend the faith. In many ways,
the New Testament as a whole is one large project in documenting, defining, and
defending the gospel.

One need not
look back to the first-century church to find this gospel paradox. In the 21st century,
just like the first century, the gospel message – the simple gospel message –
still saves. Yet the 21st century also brings with it a season
of unique evangelistic challenge. Prior generations of Christians often had the
luxury of presenting the gospel in a cultural context of shared presuppositions
– even among the lost – concerning the authority of Scripture, the truthfulness
of the gospel, and the realities of heaven and hell. In past generations, the
great enemy of the gospel was frequently perceived as apathy among unbelievers,
and much of evangelism was oriented toward persuading the hearers to respond to
the gospel message they knew and acknowledged but had not yet personally
embraced. Evangelism focused more on exhortation to believe the gospel than an
explanation of the gospel.

Such is not
the case now.  Contemporary believers can no more assume modern man is
predisposed to believe an ancient gospel message than we can assume a modern
man would be predisposed to believe in ancient medicine.  Therefore, when
it comes to explaining the gospel less may be more, except when less is not
enough. God’s people must not settle for only a rudimentary knowledge of God’s
saving message. Rather, we must have a robust and confident grasp of God’s Word
and be ready to field the questions of modern man. In every sense of the
expression, we must be New Testament believers, ready to give an answer for the
hope that resides within us.

In Paul’s day
and in ours, the gospel is indeed a paradox. In its own way, to paraphrase
Chesterton, the gospel stands on its head, waves its legs and demands our
attention. This is a paradox worth embracing, celebrating, and proclaiming.

*This article
was originally published on 4/12/13*

The post Simply Profound yet Profoundly Simple: The Paradox of the Gospel and the Mandate for a Robust Witness appeared first on Jason K. Allen.