At the beginning of this year, a couple of youths from REAL 2011 came up with the idea of using multimedia to share the Gospel instead of through the conventional pen-and-paper method or via a personal testimony. I agreed and thought it’d be great to ask for just five minutes of someone’s time, lend him or her your earpiece, and let them watch a video from your iPhone, iTouch, PSP, mobile phone or whatever other device.

The good people at Humble Beast Records and Dare2Share Ministries (beat REAL 2011 to it and) produced this impressive audio-visual presentation of the Gospel in a nutshell. Kudos to them for condensing everything into a mere four minutes. Perhaps R-AGE might just utilise it one day, so that by all means possible, we might save some. (Thank you, Yixian, for sharing this!)

I managed to find the lyrics/ transcript here and have pasted it below for your reading convenience. Brilliant work, really, by any measure. (But I suggest watching the video once through before following with the words the second time.)

It’s the full story of life crushed into four minutes./ The entirety of humanity in the palm of your hand crushed into one sentence./ Listen, it’s intense, right? GOD. OUR. SINS. PAYING. EVERYONE. LIFE./ The greatest story ever told that’s hardly ever told.

GOD. Yes, GOD./ The maker and giver of life, and by life I mean any and all manner of substance./ Seen and unseen; what can and can’t be touched./ Thoughts, image, emotions; love, atoms and oceans./ GOD./ All of which His handiwork, one of which His masterpiece./ Made so uniquely that angels looked curiously./ The one thing in creation that was made in His imagery./ A concept so cold it’s the reason I stay bold./ How GOD breathed into man and he became a living soul.

Formed with the intent of being infinitely, intimately fond./ Creator and creation held in eternal bond./ And it was placed in perfect paradise until something went wrong./ The species got deceived and started lusting for His job./ An odd list of complaints, as if the system ain’t working./ And used that same breath He graciously gave us to curse Him/ And that sin seed spread through our souls’ genome./ And by nature of your nature, your species, you participated in the mutiny.

OUR./ Yes, our sins./ It’s nature-inherited./ Blackened the human heart. It was over before it started./ Deceived from day one and led away by our own lust./ There’s not a religion in the world that doesn’t agree that something’s wrong with us./ The question is what is it? And how do we fix it?/ Are we eternally separated from a God that may or may not have existed?/ But that’s another subject. Let’s keep grinding./ Besides, trying to prove God is like defending a lion./ Homie, it don’t need your help. Just unlock the cage./ Let’s move on on how our debt can be paid./ Short and sweet: the problem is…

SIN./ Yes, sin./ It’s a cancer, an asthma, choking out our life force./ Forcing separation from a perfect and holy GOD./ And the only way to get back is to get back to perfection./ But silly us…trying to pass the course of life without referring to a syllabus./ This is us: heap up your good deeds, chant, pray, meditate./ But all of that, of course, is spraying cologne on a corpse./ Or you could choose to ignore it, as if something don’t stink./ It’s like stepping in dog poop and refusing to wipe your shoe./ But all of that ends with, “How good is good enough?”

Take your silly list of good deeds and line them up against perfection./ Good luck./ That’s life past your pay grade./ The cost of your soul? You ain’t got a big enough piggy bank./ But you could give it a shot?/ But I suggest you throw away the list/ ‘Cause even your good acts are an extension of your selfishness.

But here’s where it gets interesting./ I hope you’re closely listening./ Please don’t get it twisted. It’s what makes our faith unique./ Here’s what God says is Part A of the Gospel:/ You can’t fix yourself. Quit trying. It’s impossible./ Sin brings death./ Give GOD His breath back. You owe Him!/ Eternally separated and the only way to fix it is someone die in your place/ And that someone’s got to be PERFECT or the payment ain’t permanent/ So if and when you find a perfect person, get that person./ To literally trade their perfection for your sin and death in./ Clearly, since the only one who can meet God’s criteria is GOD./ GOD sent Himself as JESUS to pay the cost for us./ His righteousness, His death, functions as…

PAYMENT./ Yes, payment./ Wrote a check with His life./ But at the Resurrection we all cheered, cause that means the CHECK CLEARED!/ Pierced feet, pierced hands, blood-stained Son of Man./ Fullness, forgiveness, free passage into the Promised Land./ That same breath GOD breathed into us GOD gave up to redeem us./ And anyone and everyone, and by everyone I mean…

EVERYONE./ Who puts their faith and trust in Him, and Him alone./ Can stand in full confidence of GOD’s forgiveness./ And here’s what the promise is:/ That you are guaranteed full access to return to perfect unity./ By simply believing in CHRIST and CHRIST alone./ You are receiving…

LIFE./ Yes, life./ This is the GOSPEL./ GOD. OUR. SINS. PAYING. EVERYONE. LIFE.