Domesticating the Gospel

 

Photo courtesy Chionsu Barclay

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. – Matthew 28:19-20 (NRSVUE)

The Romans were in control, and the Caesar was the king. He was to be adored, venerated and evangelized – there was no one greater, Caesar was lord.

To call someone other than Caesar king or to evangelize someone other than Caesar was unheard of as it was a punishable offense. But that did not deter the apostles from their mission.

When the apostles went out according to Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19-20, to evangelize Jesus as Lord, they did so with passionate zeal, not thinking of the consequences. They took their assignment to increase the harvest seriously and, without fear, boldly went out to spread the great news of the true King.

Understand that Jesus’ teachings were radical for His time; first century people were not accustomed to this type of teaching, yet the apostles were expected to continue what Jesus had started, share all that they had learned and spread the great news of His Kingship and of His Kingdom.

How dare these men and women be so bold and how dare they spread this kind of news when they knew that good news was assigned to the Caesars alone.

But this wasn’t just good news, this was better than good, the news of Jesus Christ was then and still is now great news.

This assignment has not changed but we seem not to possess the boldness of those first century believers. The harsh reality is that the church universal is rapidly losing ground as church attendance continues to dwindle year after year.

We have tamed the radical message of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension lest we offend the status quo by spreading the whole truth in all its disruptive glory.

We have watered down the great news to okay news, domesticating the Gospel in an effort to make it palatable for human consumption.

Domesticating the Gospel is compromising Christianity. And frankly too many Christians are content with doing so.

Christians who shy away from letting people know their need of repentance are domesticating the Gospel.

Christians who make God into human image and likeness rather than letting persons know of the God who is sovereign, the Creator of all things, the Alpha and Omega with no beginning and no end are domesticating the Gospel.

Christians who are ashamed to let others know how Jesus has impacted their lives in a wonderful way and that’s why they choose to follow Him are domesticating the Gospel.

Christians who are afraid to defend their faith and stand up for Jesus are domesticating the Gospel.

Beloved, the Christian experience is not one of timidity. You must, with the help of the Holy Spirit, enter the mission field with courage and with steadfast determination to do your part without domesticating the Gospel.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Domesticating the Gospel” ©2026 April 7, 2026