The gospel, American style

January 9, 2007

By Gary Rogers

The Americanizing of the gospel is something the Lord has been revealing to me. The United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. America has one of the highest individual income earnings in the world. The United States has a government ruled by the people with many agencies that help meet the basic needs of the people. The American dream centers on financial prosperity and living in luxury. The American expectation is for life to be without want, free from problems, presenting little adversity.

This translates into an American Christian definition of God’s blessing. In this way of thinking, living with needs met, and without problems or adversity is the definition of a blessed life. In American Christian thinking, a life with many needs, numerous problems and plagued with adversity is a life that is not blessed.

I’ve recently preached a series of messages called “Built Through Adversity.” Our church is discovering the degree of our problems is not a gauge to determine God’s nearness. Adversity doesn’t mean you have failed God. You can live in God’s will and be experiencing God’s help and still face difficult circumstances. Sickness and physical injury or physical limitations don’t necessarily reveal God is displeased with you.

God does use adversity to build character. God can shine in the midst of a problem without changing the circumstances of the problem. It is possible to be stronger in our relationship with the Lord and more dependent upon Him after going through adversity. There are some lessons we learn by surviving the hard times we would never learn if life were problem free.

This Americanizing of the gospel has placed finances as a priority over character, integrity, and faithfulness. Americanizing the gospel has taken the emphasis off Jesus and His soon return, and promotes making life now a heaven on earth. In the Americanizing of the gospel, reaching the lost ceases to be an emphasis and indifference towards those outside family and friends has become the prevailing position.

We need to refocus our worldview. Many people around the world are living for Jesus at the threat of being killed. There are strong believers in love with Jesus who are living in terrible poverty. When we step back from America and gain the full picture of the world, we see that surviving problems, persevering through difficulty, overcoming adversity, and staying faithful through hard times can make us stronger in Christ and better witnesses for Him.

Gary Rogers is senior pastor of First Assembly of God in Coweta, Okla.