192: The Gospel, Social Justice, and Kingdom Living Now with Rebekah Hargraves (Solo Episode #40)
On today’s solo show, we are tackling the topics of what the gospel is, social justice, and the importance of kingdom living now. I hope you come away from this episode edified, encouraged, and fired up to live out your God-given call to be the hands and feet of Jesus every day of your life. What I Chat about in Today’s Episode: ~Asking (and answering!) the question, "What is the gospel?"; understanding that, at its foundation, it is first and foremost about our eternal salvation, but that it does not end there ~The vertical AND horizontal implications of the gospel ~Why "Just preach the gospel" is an incomplete message (and why we have to stop being inconsistent with when we do and do not issue forth that call!) ~Understanding that the gospel has direct implications for how we live and how we love and serve our fellow image bearers ~The topic of "social justice", some of the baggage that commonly surrounds that term, and breaking it down to understand what it means ~The reality that "social righteousness" (John Wesley's term of choice) predates anything socialistic or communistic from Marx or Lenin (which is often the reason people don't like the term "social justice") and therefore is something important for us to keep in mind ~The importance of not handing over the keys to the kingdom or dropping the ball and giving the world the mission the church has of making sure we are not neglecting our duties to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, set free the captive, help the oppressed, care for the poor, visit the imprisoned, etc. ~What James says the "evidence of true religion is" ~Jesus' words regarding the gospel being "good news for the poor" and what this tells us ~Isaiah 58 and what this passage tells us about the nature of the gospel ~The reason Jesus gives for why the sheep and goats will be separated at the end of time - the answer may surprise you! ~Our mission to be the hands and feet of Christ ~The "social gospel" as an outflow of the gospel itself ~The importance of love and why Paul says it is the most important thing ~The importance of kingdom living now, and if something is not appropriate in heaven, it is not appropriate now ~The gospel's goal of restoring all that was lost in the Garden ~And more! For full shownotes, head to www.hargraveshomeandhearth.com/podcast