J.A. Matteson
In the normal course of time it is not unusual for believers to have their attention diverted away from the simple and beautiful truth of the Gospel by which they were saved in exchange for a fascination with secondary non-salvific issues, "Now I make know to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you...." (1 Cor. 15:1). Western society is influenced by Greek culture in that it tends to reduce truth to propositional statements. The Hebrew culture by contrast assumed a wholistic stance to communicate truth, generally in story form from one generation to the next. How did Paul tell the story of the Man from Galille? He began with the advent of Messiah through the incarnation, Emmanuel, God with us. He related the sinless life of Christ and how He went about doing good and proclaiming the kingdom of God. He spoke of His passion and sufferings on the cross. He boldly declared His triumph over death and resurrection. And He spoke of His Church andits mission in the world until His return and the end of the present age. In short, it is clear the Gospel took a bit of explanation and was not reduced to a few pithy sound bites. If we can relate the message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in story form we are close to replicating Paul's approach to preaching. To the praise of His holy Name.
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