The Gospel of Individualism
A recent Pew Research study reveals church attendance has dropped over 12%, and the religiously unaffiliated has risen over 17% since 2009. In 2017 Lifeway research released a shocking study that identifies over 66% of Americans between 23 and 30 stated they left the church after turning 18. This church exodus and the increased numbers of people leaving the church has many pastors and ministry leaders scratching their heads trying to figure out what is happening. Many point to the lockdowns because of the COVID-19 virus, however, I believe the answer is far more complicated than churches temporarily closing their doors. There are two major problems I would like to address: the rise of and focus of individualism, and the church presenting a distorted, moralistic approach to the gospel.
“The problem lies in the rise of and focus of individualism and the church presenting a moralistic approach and distortion of the gospel.”
This moralistic approach and equivocation of the gospel has led to watering down what Christian living looks like. A leading secular philosopher, Charles Taylor, identifies one of the problems in his groundbreaking book A Secular Age as he states, “19th-century preaching became less concerned with sin as a condition we need to be rescued from through some transformation of our being. And instead, sin is a wrong behavior we can be persuaded, trained, or disciplined to turn our backs on.”[1] The inadequate view of sin has permeated into the church culture and results in an expressive individualism where you can create your way and make church “work for you.” The self-empowerment moves from a tradition-centered to an individual-centered religion based solely on the behaviors and ability to fix oneself.[2]Christianity’s rightful place is a God-centered, Scriptural understanding of sin and mankind’s fallenness. The authority for morality, ethics, and religion now falls on the individual. They are accustomed to controlling the informational flow; due to the incorporation of algorithms in social media, the individual never needs to be confronted with an opposing view. Gen-Z is currently feeding off a personal ideology, individual focus, individual therapy, and an all-encompassing focus on self. In the book, Coddling of the American Mind, Greg Lukianoff, and Jonathan Haidt state, "New-media platforms and outlets allow citizens to retreat into self-confirmatory bubbles."[3] Therefore, this bubble is driven by the wants and desires of the person and not by the Word of God. Paul specifically addresses this ideology in his letter to the church in Philippi:
“For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”
The problem of individualism supersedes the authority of Scripture and the relevance and usefulness of the church. In Paul’s passage, he identifies that the individual’s own desire is the god of their universe, and they have dethroned God and enthroned self. With the removal of God and the elevation of self, a new hierarchy is formed and is spreading like gangrene across the evangelical world in America. The individualistic focus of our culture is operating from a replacement theory that promotes self over Christ. The replacement of God and the need for a savior transition the mindset from monotheism to monostatism (god of self) as the final and complete authority of the will of the individual's best interest.[4] As I am writing this article the Supreme Court of the United States is looking at rolling back abortion rights to protect the life of the unborn. While on Twitter I came across a tweet from a young woman who has a MA in biblical studies states that the Bible does not condemn and is not against abortion. She continues as she says Christians have distorted the sixth commandment of Do Not Murder and have read into Scripture something that is not there. So, according to this young theologian she is able to dictate the truth of Scripture and is the final authority as she gains support from others who wish to affirm her narrative despite the lack of textual evidence that she fails to present in her presupposed factual tweet.
“The individualistic focus of our culture is operating from a replacement theory that promotes self over Christ.”
So, what is the solution to the problem of individualism? The solution is quite simple we must be able to make distinctions between the gospel and salvation. I know this sounds confusing but hear me out. The word “gospel” is a term that is currently used in an extremely ambiguous manner. The term is commonly used to define conversation starters, church invitations, and evangelistic outreach mantras. However, if one closely looks at and studies the origination from the original Greek, the true meaning comes into focus. A question you should ask yourself is: what did this word mean to Jesus and the Apostles when it was utilized? The Greek word εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion), when translated to English, is gospel, which means “good news.”[5] The Septuagint translates a similar word In Hebrew found in 2 Samuel 4:10 בָּשַׂר(basar). This is the same as εὐαγγέλιον, which translates to bearing glad tidings. The similarities in the context and usage of these two words point to the message Jesus proclaimed and the glad tidings Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 15.
The distinction and clarification of these two words are necessary for our modern era as the evolving way the word “gospel” is used has led to the equivocation of the meaning. The meaning of the word gospel is now commonly associated amongst evangelical circles as pertaining only to salvation on a personal level.[6] However, salvation is not the same as the gospel, and the difference comes down to the culture propagated by those within that culture.[7] A salvation culture focuses on personal salvation and personal decision. In contrast, a gospel culture incorporates those two elements but continues into the process of discipleship. Salvation culture converts the lost and pushes for a decision but struggles in moving individuals from the second stage into the final stage of discipleship.[8] The environment this produces is a possible answer to the decline in church attendance and the apostasy plaguing churches across America.
“However, salvation is not the same as the gospel, and the difference comes down to the culture propagated by those within that culture.”
However, what is the difference between the two, and how can it be identified? The distinguishing characteristic begins in Genesis 3:15, in which sin enters the world, and highlights the difference between a garden demonstrated in Eden and the entrance of the kingdom of heaven Jesus teaches. Tracing the scarlet thread throughout the Old Testament, specifically in Genesis 1-11, a clear concept emerges: God does not leave His creatures without a plan of restoration and reconciliation back into a proper relationship. Tracing the idea of the gospel is introduced to His people in the Abrahamic Covenant, re-emphasized in the Davidic lineage, and finds its culmination in the birth of Christ through the God-bearer Mary. These covenants point to the coming Messiah and the fulfillment of God’s good news proclamation and introduction to His creatures of One who will come to bring restoration back to humanity. In the gospel of Luke, he points to this promise of restoration is clearly seen in Luke 1:72-73. The promised Messiah from the Davidic covenant is directly connected to the oath sworn to Abraham. Luke beautifully demonstrates this in his writing that Jesus, through the Davidic line, was sent to preach and culminate the promises of the Old Testament.[9] The uniting of the Old and New Testaments is portrayed in the incarnation and entrance of the Messiah for His people of Israel and the good news taught by Jesus during His earthly ministry. John Calvin indicates evidence of the role God took in Scripture from examples of “Adam, Abel, and Noah, when tried with various temptations, neglecting the present, aspired with living faith and invincible hope to a better life. They, therefore, had the same aim as believers under the gospel.”[10] This frames the context of a gospel culture in that individuals live with this good news at the forefront of their minds of a better life and kingdom yet to be attained. This is the proper definition of what the gospel is and the distinguishing difference from salvation. Salvation is a byproduct of the message of the gospel.
“ Tracing the idea of the gospel is introduced to His people in the Abrahamic Covenant, re-emphasized in the Davidic lineage, and finds its culmination in the birth of Christ through the God-bearer Mary.”
In conclusion, when we as the church promote a gospel centered culture and life that goes beyond just the conversion and baptism and places a greater emphasis on discipleship the problem of individualism will begin to fade. When we as the created recognize we are not the center of the universe and not the subject of the narrative of Scripture we will naturally find our place in the world and our purpose. As the Westminster shorter catechism rightly begins with asking the first and most relevant question.
Question: What is the chief end of man?
Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.[11]
When God’s creatures know their rightful place and duty, the inward self-focus begins to dim and fade away, and the correct and biblical perspective comes into view. Once this transpires, the idolatry and elevation of self and the forcing of Scripture to fit the narrative of our desires will cease. In the most simplistic sense, I believe this highlights the writers of the New Testament focus on the gospel, meaning the Kingdom of Heaven and not merely salvation. Additionally, when reading Paul's epistles, there is a continual push and focus on purposeful Christian living. So, why would in his 13 epistles would Paul continually emphasize this to his church plants? The reason is simple when the Christian lives according to Scripture, the natural overflow of Christian living and community will result in salvation. When this transpires, the doors and church pews will begin to fill due to the refocus on the purpose and function of the church.
[1] Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007), 225.
[2] Christian Smith and Melina Lundquist Denton, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2009), 176.
[3] Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure (London, EN: Penguin Books, 2019), 5.
[4] Robert F Schwarswalder, “Marx's New Religion,” The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 62, no. 4 (October 2019): pp. 775-788, https://www.etsjets.org/node/10679, 778.
[5] This word occurs over 76 times in 73 different verses within the New Testament. Depending on the context in which the word gospel is being used it varies between the accusative, nominative, genitive, and dative. The Greek language has five cases and out of the 76 uses only four are used. Additionally, all nouns are classified to gender and gospel is always in the singular neuter which is identified by the declension (end of the word).
[6] Scot McKnight, The King Jesus Gospel, Revised Edition: The Original Good News Revisited (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 26.
[7] The Greek word for salvation is σωτηρία (soteria) and is used 46 times in 45 different verse in the New Testament which literally means salvation or deliverance. Soteria utilizes three of the five cases and is a singular feminine noun.
[8] Scot McKnight, The King Jesus Gospel, Revised Edition: The Original Good News Revisited (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 30.
[9] Mark J. Boda, The Heartbeat of Old Testament Theology: Three Creedal Expressions (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017), 47.
[10] John Calvin, Institutes of The Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge (Orlando, FL: Signalman Publishing, 2009),7817, Kindle.
[11] The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Edinburgh: Assemblies of Divine at Westminster, 1648).