A few weeks ago, when I was teaching a group of people about Spiritual Direction, I asked the question: “How many of you chose to become a Christian for the sole purpose of going to heaven when you die?” All but one became a Christian just to get to heaven. (The other chose Christ as part of seeking inner healing.) I asked this because we had been discussing the journey into a deeper relationship with God, and the question came up, “Why would I make the effort to have a deeper relationship when I’ve been content for 30 years, knowing I will go to heaven when I die?” It dawned on me that some Evangelical approaches to the gospel missed Jesus' invitation to join his cause.

When you think of it, praying for the sole purpose of going to heaven is a rather self-centered motive. It's all about me receiving access to an amazing afterlife. There is nothing that drives me to do the types of things believers in the early church were doing. In Acts 2:45 they sold their possessions to help the poor. In

Acts 4 they were willing to be put in jail and punished. In Acts 7 Stephen gave his life, and in Acts 8 the church continued to thrive after fleeing their homes in Jerusalem because of persecution. Clearly, the gospel for these Christians was not simply a self-serving ticket to heaven. They were committed to the same cause that motivated Jesus to die on a cross.

In Matthew 19:16-22 the rich, young ruler came to Jesus with the question most evangelists so want to hear: “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus’ answer is much different than today’s evangelist. Jesus doesn’t talk about praying to repent of sin. He doesn’t tell the ruler to wait for and believe in his atoning work on the cross. Instead Jesus invites the man into his cause: sell your possessions, give them to the poor, and follow me. Exactly what the early church did in Acts 2.

As we can see, the gospel is much more than a ticket to heaven. It is an invitation to the cause of Christ, building his Kingdom on earth through the church. It is a project of restoring the earth and its inhabitants to what God originally intended in Genesis 1:26-2:1. Man was created in the image of God to rule the earth in fellowship with God. Man could talk with God in a way that the rest of creation could not. There was a living connection between the physical nature of man and the Spirit of God. God was pleased with all he had made.

However, the test of man’s allegiance to God eventually comes in Genesis 3, where man was faced with two lies by the enemy.

Lie #1: God cannot be trusted. He is not telling you the truth and is keeping you from experiencing all you can be.

Lie #2: Since God cannot be trusted, you are on your own. Your significance, success and ultimate well-being is in your hands, not God’s.

Man embraced the lies, and immediately the relationship between man and God died. The earth began its downward spiral as man used the resources of earth for his own selfish desires. Today the world is a mess. We, too, are broken. Christ is restoring all things and He invites us into the restoration process. His atoning work and resurrection invite us to experience new life for the purpose of joining his cause. The apostle Paul explains this in Romans 6.

During the time of Christ “repentance” meant switching allegiance to the new ruler or king. After a country was taken over by a new ruler, a forerunner went ahead of the army to alert the people that they were now under a new leader. Victory had been won. They should no longer resist. This forerunner would cry out for repentance, calling the people to change their allegiance. So, when the army arrived at their village, they would be ready to offer allegiance to the new king. This is a picture of John the Baptist. Before the arrival of Jesus, John was the forerunner, announcing that God had sent a new king (Jesus) to conquer the enemy of our souls (Satan). Repent of believing the lies that God could not be trusted and that we were on our own and give your allegiance to Christ as Lord of your life.

The 3 years of Jesus’ ministry proved he was the new ruler. He cast out demons, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and taught us how to live as God intended. This is life in God's Kingdom. Jesus modeled a ministry of restoration, commanding forgiveness, love and compassion. His final instructions in Matthew 28:19-20 were to make disciples (followers of his movement) who would obey all that he had taught.

The gospel is an invitation to a cause, not a self-focused life insurance policy. It calls us to live in a renewed relationship with God, where we are restored and empowered to join Christ in the cause of building His kingdom. Our inner healing is a process of maturing spiritually, where we learn to embrace the truth of Jesus’ teachings and reject the mindset of Satan’s lies. For the true follower of Christ, spiritual growth is not an option. It is as necessary as a baby's physical growth. Without it we remain spiritual infants. To engage in spiritual direction is to take seriously the call to have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5) to embrace the process of maturing spiritually and to engage in His cause.

For a brief gospel presentation that aligns with the discussion above, I invite you to check out James Choung's YouTube links below.

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCVcSiUUMhY&ab_channel=JamesChoung

Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4V60n6KiB8&ab_channel=JamesChoung