Agree 100% about lack of gospel clarity. The lack of clarity flowing over into a lack of gospel passion.
If I could add to your diagnosis for this, I see 2 issues.
Firstly, the word gospel has become so frequently in so many varied contexts that I am sure that it has lost its meaning. This fits well with what you say about a lack of clarity and understanding about the meaning of the gospel. Examples of what i mean are; we want to share the gospel, its important we understand the gospel, as a church we want to preach the gospel, proclaim the gospel, we stand for the gospel, we're committed to the gospel and so on and so on, when I think in so many of these, people have little or know idea what exactly they mean by "gospel" andit would be more appropriate use different expressions.
That is a big concern, but I think my bigger concern is that so much of the teaching about the gospel is very abstract, that is, there rarely are concrete specific examples that connect with real life to help people understand the gospel and what Jesus has done for us.
What i mean is that people don't really grasp what sin is. It is too often explained in abstract terms rather in relational terms giving illustrations and examples of how sin impacts us, and then helping people see the significance of how we are freed from the penalty and consequence of sin. For example see Matthew 4:15-16; 9:36; Luke 4:18-19; 15:32 or the significance of the resurrection Luke 23:13; Revelation 7:15-17. I could go on, but what I am trying to say is the Bible so often paints pictures of sin and its consequences, and the resurrection and its consequences which appeal to the head and heart, but what I'm often hearing in sermons is "Jesus died for your sins, Jesus rose from the dead" with little or no explanation or application for what this and what it will look like in our lives, so it is no wonder that there is no gospel clarity and especially, no gospel passion.
Hoping that this all makes sense, but in the churches I visit, and in a lot of the sermons I hear, I see people unaffected, unmoved, its as if they had the latest stock exchange numbers read to them, there's very little, "so what!"
Tony
Agree 100% about lack of gospel clarity. The lack of clarity flowing over into a lack of gospel passion.
If I could add to your diagnosis for this, I see 2 issues.
Firstly, the word gospel has become so frequently in so many varied contexts that I am sure that it has lost its meaning. This fits well with what you say about a lack of clarity and understanding about the meaning of the gospel. Examples of what i mean are; we want to share the gospel, its important we understand the gospel, as a church we want to preach the gospel, proclaim the gospel, we stand for the gospel, we're committed to the gospel and so on and so on, when I think in so many of these, people have little or know idea what exactly they mean by "gospel" andit would be more appropriate use different expressions.
That is a big concern, but I think my bigger concern is that so much of the teaching about the gospel is very abstract, that is, there rarely are concrete specific examples that connect with real life to help people understand the gospel and what Jesus has done for us.
What i mean is that people don't really grasp what sin is. It is too often explained in abstract terms rather in relational terms giving illustrations and examples of how sin impacts us, and then helping people see the significance of how we are freed from the penalty and consequence of sin. For example see Matthew 4:15-16; 9:36; Luke 4:18-19; 15:32 or the significance of the resurrection Luke 23:13; Revelation 7:15-17. I could go on, but what I am trying to say is the Bible so often paints pictures of sin and its consequences, and the resurrection and its consequences which appeal to the head and heart, but what I'm often hearing in sermons is "Jesus died for your sins, Jesus rose from the dead" with little or no explanation or application for what this and what it will look like in our lives, so it is no wonder that there is no gospel clarity and especially, no gospel passion.
Hoping that this all makes sense, but in the churches I visit, and in a lot of the sermons I hear, I see people unaffected, unmoved, its as if they had the latest stock exchange numbers read to them, there's very little, "so what!"