It used to be that if you were known as a Christian, it was considered a good thing in our society. Now, if you use that term, you’re labeled everything from a loser, to a hypocrite, to emotionally disturbed. Why is that?
It has a lot to do with how we portray ourselves to the world. We say things about ourselves that give hope to the world only to let them down when they find out the real story. I’m not talking about Christ, but about us.
I believe that if we truly portrayed Christ to the world, they’d have a different opinion of us. It’s obvious, even today, that those churches and individuals who walk as Jesus did are drawing many to the cross. What makes the difference?
A few months ago I wrote a post about what it means to be a disciple. You can click here to read it. In that post I said that disciples are more than just students learning what someone taught. They want to become what the teacher is.
This requires us to follow, come near to, experience, and live in Christ and His Word. It’s a deeper walk than many want to attain to in our generation. The reason I bring this up, is a statement I read in the book of Acts.
The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Acts 11:26b
It’s a very simple declaration. The first time the disciples were called Christians – little christs – was in a town named Antioch.
This was at a time when the church was walking in the power of God. Even though they were small and suffering some persecution, they were turning their world upside-down with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Notice what Luke doesn’t say. He doesn’t record that the believers were called Christians. It wasn’t all those who attended church. The disciples – those who were striving to live like Christ – were called little christs by the world.
This is why the world largely rejects our witness. They look at how we live versus what we say. They don’t see the same thing in modern Christianity that was evident in the early church.
I know, it’s too late to change our language now but, we can let God change us. If I’m going to wear the name of Christ, then I need to let Him work His plan in me. I want the world to see me in Him.
When we lift up Christ by our lives, the world will gain a different perspective of who we are. It will be easier for them to hear the Gospel. We need to follow the path of true discipleship.
If that’s already your heart’s desire – continue on and let nothing sway you. If the Lord is convicting you about it, then repent and move forward right now. Let the world see Christ through His church.
Question: How would Jesus minister to people in our generation?
© Nick Zaccardi 2014
Tags: abide, bad press, Christ, Christian, Christianity, disciple, disciple of Christ, experience, follow, hypocrite, Jesus, labels, loser, the world
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God…
Romans 1:1
Paul uses some interesting language in this verse. He calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ – literally a slave. It’s interesting, because on various occasions Paul made a point of proving his freedom.
Once he was arrested and he asked the guard why he was being denied his right to a trial as a Roman citizen. The guard explained that he, personally, had to buy his freedom. Paul, on the other hand, said that he was born a free Roman citizen.
At that time, if you were born a slave, you were expected to be a slave forever – there was no escaping it. Under Roman law, a slave could find out his “sale price” from his master. Then, if he saved enough money, he could pay the buying price to and have the ownership transferred to one of the many Roman gods. Then, as a slave to that god, could serve as a free man.
I believe this was in the back of Paul’s mind as he penned these words. We are all born under slavery to sin. That was our unfortunate lot for the rest of our lives.
Jesus Christ paid the “slave price” for us. Now, just as Paul did, we need to transfer the ownership of our lives over to God. As God’s slaves we can now serve as free citizens of the kingdom of Heaven.
We have to live under this knowledge if we are to have a fulfilling life in Christ. We don’t own our lives.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:5-8
Christ, Himself, set the standard of living that we need to follow. He said that He came to live a life of service. That should be our attitude as well.
The Apostle Peter understood this truth.
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
1 Peter 2:16
In the first verse above, Paul said that as a slave, he was called to be sent forth as an apostle. Once we’ve transferred the ownership of our lives to God, our callings will open up to us. We are now free to serve Him to the best of our ability.
Paul finished off the verse by saying that he was set apart to the Good News. That literally means that we are set off by a boundary. The Good News is our field of service.
This is the attitude that will push you to great things in the body of Christ.
Question: Have you transferred the ownership rights of your life to the Lord?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: calling, Christ, citizens of heaven, freedom, God, Jesus, life of service, ownership, ownership of our lives, servant, servant of Jesus Christ, service, set apart, slave, slavery to sin, tranferred ownership
It’s hard to believe, but in reality the United States can no longer be called a Christian nation. Yes, there are pockets of Christian majorities on various parts of the map, but overall the influence of believers is almost gone. I believe this is because we have lost sight of the true message of the Gospel.
I was recently reading a post about 5 issues the church will have to deal with over the next ten years. It was by Ed Stetzer, the President of Lifeway Research. In it he made some startling statements that I may comment about from time to time.
The issue that caught my attention, was that the church of this generation needs a clear understanding of the Gospel. It wasn’t many years ago that the flames of renewal and revival were sweeping across many parts of our nation. How have we fallen so far from the message of Christ?
Where has the Gospel of Jesus Christ gone? In many churches we are taught how to be “good people.” There are messages on how to live a great life – overcoming depression and other negative qualities. It’s almost as if the modern church has become a group emotional-therapy session.
Paul’s words should bring us a much needed wake-up call.
2 Timothy 2:8
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel…
We wonder why our impact on society has diminished. This just might be the key. The Gospel is not about New Year’s resolutions or turning over a new leaf. It’s not even about wanting to be a better person, spouse, or parent.
The true message of the Gospel is not about what I do. It’s all about what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. He died, was buried, and He rose back to life on the third day. The Lord accomplished this so that we could receive His life and become a new person in Him.
Anything less than that is not the Gospel.
In his post, Ed Stetzer made a statement that I have turned into a question in order to check myself. As a pastor, I’m responsible for the message received by the people under my care. I’m going to be accountable for what I preach to them each week.
The question I must ask myself is this: Would the message I’m preaching still be true if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross? If so, then I’m not proclaiming the Gospel. It might be good and helpful to the listener, but it isn’t the Good News of the Bible. The Gospel is life-changing.
The church in America needs to return to the true Gospel message.
Question: How do you perceive a need for the Gospel in our generation?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: America, America needs the Gospel, believers, Christ, Christian, Christian nation, church, cross, good news, gospel, influence, Jesus, message, message of Christ, preaching, proclaiming, renewal, revival, true message, understanding, United States
For the last few posts I’ve been talking about the Good News of Jesus Christ. What exactly is that Good News? I think you’ll be surprised at how the modern church has turned the message around, making it empty of its power.
If I were to ask people “What is the Gospel?”, I would probably receive many answers. There are a host of believers who are actively trying to “win the lost.” They would most likely give me very Biblical answers.
What I want to know are the perceptions of those who hear the Gospel. From talking with unbelievers who have been “witnessed to” I could boil it down to the following: “You’re an evil sinner going to hell, but if you repeat a special prayer you can go to Heaven.”
If that’s what they got out of an encounter with a Christian, then something’s wrong with our approach. There is no way to demonstrate a statement like that. That’s why so many unbelievers are bitter toward those who have tried and failed to convert them.
We need to return to a true understanding of what the Good News is all about.
Here is an example of Jesus’ ministry.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:15
Jesus made two statements. The kingdom of God is near was the Good News. The Lord then told the people how to respond to this Good News.
Repent and believe is not the Good News, it’s the response that’s needed. We must learn that the power is in the Good News, not in the response to the Good News. In many cases, we have started calling the response, the Gospel. You cannot go out preaching “repent and believe” and assume you’re bringing the Gospel to the world.
When it comes to the Good News, one size doesn’t fit all. There are gang members and single moms, Wall St. executives and the homeless. Is the Good News the same for all of them?
Don’t get me wrong, I realize that the response to the Good News must be the same for all people. But the message itself will be different depending upon who you’re talking to. This is how God established it in His Word.
God, Himself, gave us four Gospels. Matthew was written for the Jews and Mark for the Romans. Luke was for the Greeks and John contained Good News for the Christian.
It’s a fact that religious people need to hear something different than the unchurched. The Bible itself describes the Good News in many ways. It’s called the Gospel of the Kingdom, of God, of Christ, of God’s grace, of your salvation, and the Gospel of peace.
Of course, no matter how the Gospel message is tailored to an audience, Jesus Christ is central. Furthermore, it all must be demonstrated by the power of the Holy Spirit in order for the world to see the full picture.
Question: How can you bring the Good News to those in you sphere of influence?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: good news, gospel, Gospel of Jesus Christ, John, Luke, Mark, Matthew, message, message of the gospel, modern church, power, power of the Gospel, salvation, true gospel, unbelievers, unchurched, win the lost, witnessing
I believe that signs and miracles are a part of the true Gospel. Without them, it’s difficult to impact the unbeliever.
The Apostle Paul refers to this truth throughout his writings.
I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done – by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
Romans 15:18-19
Paul tells us how he led the Gentiles to obey God by announcing the Gospel and making disciples. Notice, that he accomplished this by what he SAID and DID. It was through the power of signs and miracles. The difference between a sign and a miracle is that a sign is a miracle that confirms what you say about God.
The key issue is that by operating in this way, Paul fully proclaimed the gospel. I believe that just talking about Christ is not the whole Gospel. The Bible is clear that the kingdom of God is “not a matter of talk but of power.” (I Corinthians 4:20)
Last week I asked, what is it about the Gospel that we’re ashamed of ? I used some illustrations. If I won a new car I would call you over to look at it. If I got a promotion at work, I would immediately show you my new business cards. How is that different from the spiritual Good News?
I believe it’s because we have reduced the Gospel to clichés. “Jesus loves you.” “Jesus wants to bless you.” “God loves you and I do too.”
The problem is that there’s no demonstration. It’s not like the new car or the promotion at work because I offer you no proof of what I’m saying.
Based upon Scripture, if there’s no demonstration, then there’s no Gospel. Many are ashamed because all they can do is tell about Jesus. Some can’t even see the proof in their own lives because of the lack of power. It makes many believers feel like charlatans when they share the Good News.
It seems we’ve lost the original Good News. We don’t understand the power of God and we don’t understand the Gospel. The two go hand in hand.
Without the Good News, there’s no need for the demonstration of power. Some American Christians want the power without proclaiming the Good News. The fact is, that without the message of the Gospel there’s no need to demonstrate healing, prosperity, joy, freedom from depression, or anything else the Lord has provided for us through the cross. I’m striving to spur the church on to get hungry to experience the full Gospel.
That’s why Paul could say that he had fully proclaimed the Gospel of Christ. Not only did he tell about Christ, but he also demonstrated the love and power of the Lord.
Question: How can we return to the true Gospel?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: announce, ashamed, ashamed of the gospel, Bible, Christ, confirm, demonstration, good news, gospel, Jesus, make disciples, miracles, place of signs and miracles, power, power of God, power of the spirit, proclaim, revival, Scripture, share, signs, true gospel
Do we proclaim the same Gospel as the early church did? Is there something missing from our experience that would make a big difference? I believe that we’re lacking one of the greatest aspects of the Gospel. We need to return to this truth if we’re going to impact our generation for Christ.
In my last post I talked about the need to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. In today’s post I want to explain exactly what that means. Here’s one of the verses I looked at last time.
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
1 Thessalonians 1:4-5
I have heard people explain this verse by saying, “The hearers were convicted by the Holy Spirit. That’s the power Paul’s talking about.” I simply can’t agree with that kind of thinking. Paul said that the Gospel came to them with power AND the Holy Spirit, AND deep conviction.
Even the very word conviction that Paul used was a Greek word that means many assurances. It was something that could be seen and experienced by the unbelievers receiving the Good News.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5
As you can see, I’m not using some isolated verse without context. This teaching runs throughout the New Testament. The Good News must be demonstrated. That demonstration can only be energized by the power of God. It is beyond our human ability to walk on that level if we rely upon our own strength, wisdom, and knowledge.
I fear that too many Christians allow their faith to rest on man’s wisdom, because they have never seen a demonstration of the power of God. There are so many believers that have never seen a healing or a miracle. They have never heard an anointed prophecy or someone speaking in the heavenly language. There are Christians that have never witnessed someone delivered from demonic possession or oppression.
As a result the Good News, in most cases, has merely become an intellectual debate. On many occasions, what we call the Gospel today, is void of any power to change the direction of a life impacted by it.
The church needs to do what it takes to once again walk in this life-changing power. In short – we need revival. We must admit that we’ve lost something along the way and allow the Lord to make the necessary adjustments.
Questions: Do you think the modern “American Gospel” has the same impact as the early church? If not, what must we do to change?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, convicted, conviction, deliverance, demonstration, early church, good news, good news of Jesus Christ, gospel, healing, heavenly language, Holy Spirit, how we water down the gospel, Jesus, miracle, missing, power, power of God, preach, proclaim, prophecy, revival, share, spiritual power, water down
Why do we share the message of Christ? Is it all about how many people we can get to pray the “sinner’s prayer”? In my last post I talked about how we are to serve the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As important as servanthood is, there’s still more to understand about the Good News.
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:17-18
As God’s people, we must come to the understanding that we are not sent to merely “get people saved”. Our goal is to announce the Good News. When someone accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, that’s only the beginning of the salvation process. As a pastor of over 20 years I am still “being saved” by the power of the Gospel. Remember what Jesus said to His disciples.
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Mark 16:15-16
We are to preach or announce the Good News first, then baptize later. Our main job is to announce the Good News. I believe this is the point where we’ve lost sight of what the Good News is all about.
It’s what Paul was talking about in the passage from I Corinthians 1:17-18, above. Our goal shouldn’t be to “get people saved”. We are commissioned to announce the Gospel. According to Paul, it’s sometimes not with words. It’s not even with wise words. The reason for this is that words can sometimes neutralize the cross.
How can that be? Paul continues to explain it to us. He states that the message is foolishness to the unsaved even though it’s the power of God to us. So many Christians think that the Gospel is merely announcing the message of the cross. That’s why so few are turning to Christ these days. We are trying to win them with what they perceive is foolishness. There is another way – it’s the way Paul and the early church turned the world upside-down for Christ.
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
1Thessalonians 1:4-5
The early church brought the Good News with not just words. They brought the Gospel on the scene with the manifestation of the power of God. This is what our generation desperately needs to see.
Question: What will it take to once again see God’s power manifest in His people?
Tags: announce, being saved, get people saved, good news, gospel, gospel not about numbers, Gospel of Jesus Christ, message of Christ, neutralize the cross, not with words, numbers, power of God, preach, salvation, salvation process, sinners prayer
I’ve been taking a few posts to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today I want to talk about an aspect we don’t hear about too often.
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.
Ephesians 3:6-7
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has far-reaching effects. Paul tells us about the power of this Good News. As it started to do its work in establishing him, the grace of God began to have an effect. It called out to him – and he listened. In the same way, it’s clear that the Good News calls us to that same place of servanthood.
This means that we are to become servants of the Good News and not servants of the law. This is the servanthood that we are called to. Sons of God are servants of the Good News. We must live to serve the Good News.
What do I mean by this? We must serve the good news just like a waiter serves your food. Think about it. In a rat infested dive of a restaurant, they throw your food at you.
In a restaurant where they have “cuisine,” however, they’re not really serving you, but the food. Why do they have white tablecloths on the tables? Why the silver utensils, crystal goblets, and fine china? Do you think that the waiters wear tuxedos for you? Absolutely not!! All that finery is because they believe that THE FOOD is worthy.
Now think about church. It’s not a place of reverence anymore. Most congregations don’t even dress up these days. Spiritually speaking, people are coming out to eat less and less at these “restaurants of the Word.” This causes me to think that maybe the food isn’t as good as it once was. It just might be that we’re not serving the Gospel like we used to.
As a local pastor, I’m the executive chef of my spiritual restaurant. That makes me as much to blame as anyone for the quality of the spiritual food at my church. Then there’s the leadership team – they are the souse-chef and maître de. Our church members are the waiters and waitresses.
Then there’s the fact that at a “high class” restaurant there are no prices on the menus. If you go there, you expect to pay whatever the meal costs. As the saying goes, “If you need to ask what the price is, then eat somewhere else.” Could it be that many American churches today are “spiritual dives?”
The truth is that we need a deeper understanding of the Gospel. I need to understand my role as a servant. We need to learn to serve the Gospel as they did in the early church.
Question: What can we do to better serve the Good News of Jesus Christ?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, good news, gospel, Gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus, power of the Gospel, reverance, servant, servanthood, serve, serve the Gospel, spiritual food
Who is the Gospel for? Is it only the unsaved that need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ? I think that we’ve short changed ourselves by not continuing in the whole truth of the Gospel.
This is my second post in a series about the true, life-changing Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to look at what it is and its effect upon our lives. In this post I want to explain how the Good News is also for believers.
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.
Hebrews 4:2
According to this passage of Scripture, without faith, the Gospel is of no value or of no benefit to those who hear it. It starts there – you must believe the Gospel in order to enter into salvation. What most Christians don’t realize is that the Good News doesn’t end there. It’s not something that’s only for those in need of the saving power of God.
Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him…
Romans 16:25-26
In the first line of this section of the Word the phrase is able is the Greek word dunamis – power. This literally says that He has the power to establish you. How can the Lord accomplish this? It’s through the Gospel that we are established. Not only does the Good News save you, but it gives you a foundation. It sets you firmly in place by the power of the Lord.
I think one of our fundamental mistakes is to think of the word salvation as a one-time thing. It is actually an ongoing process. According to Scripture, I received salvation when I accepted Christ as my Lord. Now, for the rest of my life, I am being saved by His work in me. One day, when He returns, I will receive my final salvation – my resurrected body. The Gospel is a part of God’s continuing work in my life.
Of course, if you read the above verse carefully you’ll find that it’s not just the Good News. It’s also the proclamation of Jesus the Anointed One and His anointing that brings about this stability in your life. That’s why we can’t neglect the gathering together of the church. We need what happens when we meet together for worship if we’re going to progress in that anointing.
This is Good News, But as great as our lives being established is, the Gospel doesn’t stop there. In my next post I will talk about another aspect of the Gospel we don’t normally consider.
Question: What is a result of failing to see the Gospel as an ongoing work in your life?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: believe, believer, Christ, do I need the Gospel, establish, faith, foundation, good news, gospel, Gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus, ongoing process, salvation, save, saved, stability, unbeliever, unsaved, whole truth
Do you find yourself hesitant to share your faith with the people around you? Do you get flustered when asked about what you believe or your opinion on religious matters? Many Christians find themselves in this condition. I believe that the answer is found in Scripture.
In the past I posted about the power of God. I defined it as the ability to produce change in the life of the believer. This access to the life-changing power of God is vital to see the move of the Spirit in our lives and churches.
There is, however, an important ingredient that we very often trip over. I am talking about the Gospel. This is something that’s very misunderstood among Christians. It’s extremely important to see the Gospel for what it is because it directly relates to the power of God. I want to take a few posts to look at these factors.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Romans 1:16
We probably all know by now that the word Gospel in the Bible is a Greek word that literally means the Good News. What is this Good News? According to the verse above, it’s the power of God to save everyone. That’s the Good News in a nutshell. God is powerful enough to save all who come to Him.
Because of this truth, Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed” of this Good News. But that statement leads us to a thought provoking question. If I am ashamed of it, is it really the Gospel?
Think about this illustration for a moment. You were just promoted to Vice President of your company and your salary was doubled. Would you be too ashamed to tell anyone about that good news? If you had just won a new car, would you be too ashamed to speak about that?
When it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I have to ask, what is it that we’re ashamed of and why? Is it even the Good News that we’re talking about? These are the issues I want to deal with over the next few posts.
My goal is to make you hungry for the true Gospel. It really is the power of God to save those who believe it. It carries with it the life-changing ability of God. If we could only understand the truth about this Good News it would change the way we approach the world.
Question: Why do you think we get uneasy sharing our faith with others?
Tags: afraid, ashamed, bashful, faith, good news, gospel, life changing, power of God, salvation, save, share, share your faith, true gospel, why are we ashamed of the gospel
It used to be that if you were known as a Christian, it was considered a good thing in our society. Now, if you use that term, you’re labeled everything from a loser, to a hypocrite, to emotionally disturbed. Why is that?
The Spirit and the Word 