Something he said that really stood out to me was this: “Religion says do; Jesus says done.” In one sentence, this is the power and the glory of the Gospel. It’s the best news that any spiritually hungry person could ever hear! All other world religions lay out a plan of action to appease and win the approval of their god. There’s no assurance that any of their religious observances and spiritual investments will pay off. Adherents are told they must do everything commanded by the system and maybe, just maybe, they’ll make it to paradise, heaven, nirvana, or wherever. It’s their best shot, they’re told, so do what you can and hope for the best.

In contrast, the hope of the Gospel message is sure – rooted and grounded in God’s love for us. If we had to depend on what we can do to win God to our side, who of us could ever do enough? When would we know that we’ve arrived and been accepted? God made sure that we had something far more reliable to depend upon when it came to our salvation.  Paul writes in Romans 4, “to the man who does NOT work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. [For] the promise [of acceptance with God] comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be GUARANTEEDto all Abraham’s offspring.” (vv. 5, 16)

Christian faith is a done deal. Jesus entered into a covenant with God the Father on our behalf. This covenant, enacted through His sacrifice on the cross, was and is effectual for every person – none are excluded from its reach. Individuals may not accept for themselves the terms of the covenant, and hence may not benefit from it, but their rejection doesn’t negate its all-encompassing power to bring men to God.

Jesus could triumphantly declare from the cross, “It is finished!” He had completed what He came to do, to make salvation available to the vilest of sinners. Their only part in the transaction was to receive the free gift He offered. This is why the Gospel of Christ is unique from every other religious idea in the world. We can take no credit for it. We can’t add to it. We can’t control it or withhold it from someone else. We can’t change it to suit ourselves. The terms have been set by God himself.  Our only acceptable response to such Good News is to bow in humility before the One who loved us that much and gratefully receive what He has provided for us.

This covenant between Father and Son was planned and executed long before we even knew we needed forgiveness of sin. Long before we could even hope for a new beginning through new birth. While we were still sinners, Scripture says, Christ died for us. And the sign that the covenant was completed and accepted by our loving but holy God is Jesus’ resurrection. As Paul declared to the philosophers in Athens, “He has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead”  (Acts 17:31). No other religious leader in the history of the world has risen from the dead. This unique sign is the proof that Jesus was sent by the Father to be the Savior for all men, for all time. He is, as He claimed, “the way, the truth, and the life.”

Obviously, the video in question wasn’t well received by everyone. Even some Christians objected to his simplistic approach to Christian faith and felt that he overstated and overstepped his case.  I heard one Catholic priest, speaking on an early morning news show, say he couldn’t understand why Bethke would say he “hated religion but loved Jesus” when so much good is done around the world by religion.

It’s true that all religions provide people with a framework for moral behavior and a sense of life beyond our short life spans here on earth. In the case of Christianity, churches and parachurch groups of Christians have been used by God to provide opportunities for people to share resources with the unfortunate, to bear one another’s burdens and encourage each other in their faith, to educate children and adults in understanding Scripture better, and to show the love of Christ in so many ways both at home and around the world. The recent developments of passion for justice among the oppressed and the adoption of orphans from other cultures are good examples of how the world is benefitting from the Christian faith and its institutions.

From follow-up interviews with him, I know that Bethke is not advocating a lone-ranger kind of Christianity. He believes in the importance of belonging to a church and being in fellowship with other Christians. He knows that following salvation we are commanded to be baptized, to participate in communion, to use our gifts for the good of the Body, to love God with all our hearts, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. There are expectations that accompany Christian faith. All these things might be perceived by us as “religion” and if so, I can understand why some people would object to his radical statement about hating religion.

But these issues of what our lives look like following conversion are not the main point of Bethke’s video message. He is seeking to clarify how we enter into a relationship with God – how we find acceptance with Him and forgiveness of our sins. This transaction stands apart from any religious energy, observance, good work, or intellectual understanding about God. Jesus has provided the way – He is the way, as He declares in John 14:6 – and it has nothing to do with religious traditions. Once we come to know Him, we respond to His commands with obedience and it is then that we see the “good” from Christian community emerging.

Sometimes I think we like to pick apart what someone like Bethke does for all the wrong reasons. We are put off by his style, his youth, his brashness. Maybe he doesn’t mention something we know about Scripture and we resent the attention he’s attracting, especially from the unbelieving world. We react to “protect” the message that’s presented, like we somehow own it, and we ignore the incredible opportunity that it provides for us to explore the topic further with people who might otherwise never be open to a spiritual discussion.

The apostle Paul, the person God personally called to take the gospel message to the Gentiles, wrote this to the believers in Philippi while he sat in prison for his faith: “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. … But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (1:15, 18). He knew there is spiritual power inherent in the Gospel – it is the power of God unto salvation as the Scriptures say. If it is preached, people can come to know God. So we should welcome every attempt to make Him known, especially if it is delivered by a fellow believer.

No one could possibly present every nuance of biblical truth in a short video. So you pick and choose what will communicate best the essence of the Gospel. Frankly, I think Bethke did a great job doing just that.  With all the religious ideas proposed around the world, the lost world is exposed to many false hopes and inaccurate views. They desperately need to hear the good news of the Gospel once again. So why would we resent an unorthodox presentation of the Gospel message if it means they will be exposed to truth in a way that can challenge their current thinking about religion and all the “evil” it represents in the world? Bethke’s video has been viewed 15.8 million times on YouTube.  Even if we don’t agree with 100 percent of what he said, we have to admit that he has created a tremendous platform on which to discuss the claims of Jesus Christ! He certainly proves the adage: “High predictability, low impact. Low predictability, high impact.”

People from all cultures may look pretty good on the outside. We may espouse good causes and it may look like we are making the world a better place with all our civilization. But the truth is, “There is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12). At the core of our being, we have a wickedness that cannot be addressed by religious systems. This wickedness needs a radical remedy – the blood covenant made between Father and Son. The shedding of innocent blood is the only way to remove the power and the guilt of sin. Jesus, our lamb sacrifice, is our only hope. On the cross the atonement of our sin was finished “once for all” as it says in Hebrews 9. All we need do is receive it by faith.

“Repent ye and believe the Gospel” Jesus told the people of His day. And to us who did believe and received the free gift of His salvation, He urges us to continue to proclaim the power of the Gospel in every conceivable way to those who are still “without hope and without God in the world.” After all, we were once as they are – separate from Christ, foreigners to the covenants of the promise. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:12-13).

This message of the Gospel – that it is DONE – is too important to keep to ourselves. We must find every possible means of sharing it with the lost world around us. Let’s applaud everyone who is doing that … and find our own way of making it known as well. The Gospel is not complicated; it doesn’t require a theologian to communicate it. Everyone who knows Him is an “able minister” of the New Covenant in His blood. So what are we waiting for?

All my days I will sing this song of gladness,
Give my praise to the Fountain of delights.
For in my helplessness, you heard my cry,
And waves of mercy poured down on my life.

I will trust in the cross of my Redeemer;
I will sing of the blood that never fails,
Of sins forgiven, of conscience cleansed,
Of death defeated and life without end.