(Written in May - I'm now home again briefly)
Hello from warm, sunny North Carolina! I’m finishing up my training here at the
Center for Intercultural Training and it is a privilege study with such a great
group of missionaries.
One key aspect
of study is how I can present the gospel in a manner that makes it relevant to
those in South Africa. Assuming that
everyone will get the same things out of the gospel message and that there is
only one way to present it will seriously limit its impact. When you think of
the gospel message, how would you explain it?
Something like this explanation I pulled off the internet?
“The gospel is the message that God will give us
pardon from our sins and eternal life with Him in heaven, if we will turn away
from our sins and turn to Him, accepting His Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior
and Lord.”
- Greg Laurie
Of course, there
is much more to it, but the key components here are our sin/guilt and the
forgiveness/pardon we can now receive because Christ paid the penalty for our
sin on the cross. That is a great example for those of us in North America and
Western Europe and it strikes home for us.
In other cultures, however, it may not resonate as well because guilt
isn’t really something they experience deeply.
I know that sounds strange, but it is true. Many other cultures (Asia, Latin America, and
Southern Africa) are more likely to feel shame than guilt. A third cultural
response is that of fear (much of Africa), but I’m not going to address that
today.
Guilt is more
common in individualistic cultures and is the feeling of knowing we have done something wrong and we usually seek
justice or forgiveness to rectify the situation. Shame, on the other hand, arises in more
community driven cultures and is the feeling that we are wrong/bad. Shame can only be rectified if we can restore our
honor before the community.
So, if a
guilt/forgiveness gospel is unlikely to resonate with those I will be serving
in South Africa, is there a better way to present it? Thankfully, God in his wisdom has addressed
all three views in the Bible. Here are
few highlights of a shame/honor presentation of the Gospel by Jayson Georges in
The 3D Gospel.
“God has existed for all of eternity in full glory
and honor. He is an honorable King, a Father who provides for the entire
family… To magnify his
glory, God created the world and spoke life into being. From the ground, God
created Adam and Eve, crowning them with honor and glory... As God’s children,
they lived under God’s name.”
“But Adam and Eve were disloyal to God. They
forfeited divine honor to pursue a self-earned honor. Their disloyalty to God
created shame, so they hid and covered themselves. Moreover, their sin
dishonored God. God lost face. Because Adam and Eve brought shame upon
everyone, God banished them from His presence to maintain His dignity.”
“As descendants of Adam, we inherit their original
shame. Then our own defiled and disloyal heart increases shame. This shame
shapes our identity and behavior. Sin
(i.e., abuse, anger, gossip, boasting, racism, violence, war, etc.) is largely
the false attempt to cover shame and fabricate honor... Having lost our
spiritual face, family, name, and status, our life is a perpetual effort to
construct a counterfeit honor… Our shame causes
disgraceful conduct and dishonors God.”
“Though He was eternally glorious and honored in
heaven as God’s son, Jesus became a lowly human being in order to save people
from shame. His miraculous healings and radical table fellowship restored
dignity and honor to marginalized people.”
“But Jesus’ ministry threatened the earthly honor of
established leaders. So they responded by shaming Him, publicly and gruesomely.
Jesus was arrested, stripped, mocked, whipped, spat upon, nailed, and hung
naked upon a cross before all eyes. He faithfully endured the shame and broke
its power. The cross restored God’s honor and removed our shame”
“God then publicly approved of Jesus’ shame-bearing
death by resurrecting him to glory. Jesus now sits at God’s honorable right
hand with a name above all others… Those
who give allegiance to Jesus will receive a new status. Their shame is covered
and their honor restored. People must renounce games of social manipulation,
status construction, and face management to instead trust fully in Jesus for new
status… God exchanges
our old status as unclean, worthless, and inferior outcasts for the status of
pure, worthy, and honorable children…”
“Upon Jesus’ return, unbelievers will be stripped of
all worldly honors and banished to everlasting shame; while believers will
receive crowns of eternal honor as God’s glory fills all creation”
The first time I
read this (please check out the book for the fuller version) I was overcome by
this whole aspect of the gospel that I had never appreciated. The Bible actually talks about shame and
honor much more than it does about guilt and forgiveness. When we present the gospel in a way that
reaches the heart of those we serve, rather than in a way that speaks to our
culture, then God will receive even greater honor and glory. Please pray that God would drive the truth of
this honor/shame gospel deep into my heart so that I can better minister to
those I will soon meet.
To take a quick
test to see if you think in guilt/forgiveness, honor/shame, or fear/power visit
www.honorshame.com. Another source of
information on this topic is www.jacksonwu.org.
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