Tweeting the Gospel

Can you tweet the gospel? I’m new to the whole twitter thing, I think sending out a tweet sounds a little shady nonetheless I have a twitter account, well not me per se, the youth group does. (Which you can find on twitter at theROCKyouthmin.) For those who don’t know, Twitter is a website that allows you to post limited to 140 characters, it’s also called “micro-blogging.” Some days 140 characters is a daunting task, some days-most days, it’s not enough, which is what real blogs are for. These limitations can be frustrating, which may be why I don’t fully get Twitter. I saw a challenge issued on one of the blogs I follow: “Can you Tweet the gospel?” Wow! What a challenge, the entirety of the gospel in 140 characters. Doing what any reasonable person would do, I decided to see what others had tweeted. Here are a few of the tweets from other people:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

All are sinners. Christ died to satisfy God’s judgment and was raised on the third day. By this grace you are saved. Repent and believe.

Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I'm chief. He who knew no sin, became sin, so I can be the righteousness of God

God creates man, man rebels. God sends Son, Son sacrificed on cross. By faith, man made right w/ God & grows thru Spirit. Offered to all

Anyway, along with a few other Bible verses, a good Martin Luther quote, and even a couple of haiku’s you get the gist. My favorite is probably number two…but wanting to be original I tried my own tweet, this is what I can up with:

The Gospel: Christ died for our sins, he was buried, he was raised on the 3rd day in keeping with the Bible, Repent and trust Him alone.

Why is this important? Why bother when I only have six followers on Twitter? Well, mostly to prove a point, a litmus test as it were, if for no one else me. Because, If one cannot succinctly phrase the gospel are they sure they know it? I challenge you to think this through and tweet, or if tweeting sounds a little funny to you, then write out your definition of the gospel. If your definition of the gospel is longer than 140 characters don’t worry. But here are some questions to ask yourself when you’re done:

Does my definition of the gospel focus on me and what I must do or on God and what Christ did?

Does my definition of the gospel say anything about Christ’s death on the cross?

Does my definition of the gospel say anything about the authority of God’s Word?

Does my definition of the gospel have scripture in context to support it?

Does my definition of the gospel make sense or would you have to clarify it further?

The message of the gospel is important, because it’s the only hope we have. And if you’re a Christian it’s important to have a clear understanding of what it is so that you can share it with others.