Then Peter replied, "I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel--that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. "And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all--the living and the dead. He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name." - Acts 10: 34-43 (NLT)
I saw a tweet today that gave me pause and made me think. The tweet was essentially - "too many theologians can spoil the simplicity of the Gospel message." In this age of multimedia we are constantly bombarded with messages every waking minute of every day. I have a friend who moved to New Zealand yet we play Words With Friends like she lives next door! Technology has driven us apart in many ways but also drawn us closer than we ever have been in history. Unfortunately, it also provides platforms for people everywhere to give every opinion they may ever have, any any time, for any reason. While it may not matter how many people weigh in on whether Justin Beiber should face felony charges for egging his neighbor's house it does matter when people who have no calling from God to divide the Word insist on doing so anyway. The problem however is in the dumbing down of the Gospel, not that there are too many theologians. Let's investigate using the Word of God.
The first truth is that the Gospel message is meant to be simple. There is no argument there. The key verses show Peter explaining such simplicity.
1) All are invited
2) There is now peace with God available through Jesus Christ, Lord of all
3) Jesus was given all power on earth through God
4) He was crucified and rose on the third day
5) His resurrection was witnessed by many
6) He is appointed by God to judge the living and the dead
7) The Old Testament confirms His identity
8) All who believe in Him will have their sins forgiven
Some of this is even advanced theology. To preach the simplicity of the Gospel we only need numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8. Think about how simple Paul makes it:
