Public truth

I have been tremendously influenced by Lesslie Newbigin's contention that the gospel is public truth. That is to say that it is not a private opinion that I hold and offer to others for them to hold as a private opinion. It is public truth, which for me to confess is to hold with universal intent, which is to say that I want everyone else to see that it is so. So in presenting the gospel, I am not primarily inviting someone to accept a new component into their worldview. I am announcing a reality that has shattered and replaced my own worldview - and that is true for all.

Two days ago I received What Jesus Demands from the World in the mail. In it John Piper carefully examines the demands that Jesus makes in the four gospels. I couldn't help but notice that with different words he is making precisely the same point. Jesus doesn't just speak to those who would follow Him, as if He were only King of them. As King of kings, He makes demands of the entire world. O that I would recover the Biblical understanding and language of the Gospel!