What is the gospel?

Welcome to Theology Thursday! Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him; it is "faith seeking understanding." I hope these newsletters help enhance your faith and deepen your love for God and his people, the church.

Today's question:
What is the gospel?

Pastor Brady's thoughts:
In our sermon series on the book of Romans - Gospel Glory - we’re talking a lot about the gospel, because it’s pretty much the whole point of the letter. “Gospel” is maybe the churchiest word there is. We use it all the time, but for newcomers or for those who have never really given it much thought because it’s so familiar, it may not be clear what exactly is meant when we talk about “the gospel.” So, what is it?

I love this question, because there is both a very specific way to answer it, as well as lots of different ways to describe the good news about Jesus. In fact, that’s the short answer: the gospel is the good news about Jesus.

But for someone who doesn’t already have an understanding of who Jesus is and what he did, that’s not nearly enough. So, let’s look at some other ways of defining the gospel.

The apostle Paul gets us part of the way there in one of his letters to the Corinthians:  

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. - 1 Corinthians 15:3-6

Did you catch the key gospel components here? 1) Christ died for our sins, 2) in accordance with the Scriptures, 3) he was buried, 4) he was raised on the third day, 5) and he appeared to many people afterward.

That’s an excellent summary of what Jesus did, yet it’s an incomplete picture of the full gospel, properly understood. The gospel is salvation from sin - yes and amen! - but it isn’t only salvation from sin.

A fuller presentation of the gospel is the proclamation that Jesus is king, and the king is on his throne; it’s the inauguration of the kingdom of God, and the good news that citizenship in this kingdom is available to us, by grace through faith.

Bible scholar N.T. Wright defines the gospel like this:

“The gospel is the royal announcement that the crucified and risen Jesus, who died for our sins and rose again according to the Scriptures, has been enthroned as the true Lord of the world. When this gospel is preached, God calls people to salvation, out of sheer grace, leading them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as the risen Lord.”

Pastor and author Bobby Harrington takes a similar approach, though includes Jesus’ return in his definition of gospel good news:

“Jesus is the Messiah, the promised saving King described in Scripture. He came into our world as God’s Son from heaven, and he died for our sins and rose from the dead. He is now enthroned at God’s right hand, and he is coming back as humanity’s Judge.”

Paul’s opening verses in Romans move the ball down the field of gospel definitions:

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. - Romans 1:1-4

Like the 1st Corinthians passage, there are several key components here: 1) the gospel was promised beforehand through the prophets, 2) the gospel is in regard to the Son, who in his earthly life was a descendant of David, 3) through the Spirit of Holiness he was appointed the Son of God, 4) he was appointed in power through the resurrection of the dead, and 5) he is Jesus Christ our Lord.

That’s pretty good, too, though there’s not anything here on the forgiveness of sins or the coming judgement, which arguably should be included because in 2nd Thessalonians Paul says that punishment is coming for those who don’t respond affirmatively to the gospel:

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. - 2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9

Paul reiterates this point in Romans 2:16:

This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

So, the gospel is about the triumph of Christ, the forgiveness and redemption of faithful humans, and the destruction awaiting those who reject God’s invitation. In that sense, the gospel is good news and it is bad news; good news for those who believe in and follow Jesus, and bad news for those who don’t.

In looking at the numerous New Testament passages that explicitly or implicitly reference the gospel, Harrington concludes that these 10 aspects are critical to an accurate definition of the gospel:

“The gospel is the good news that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and, as Christ (Messiah), he:

1. Pre-existed as God the Son,
2. Was sent by the Father,
3. Took on human flesh in fulfillment of God’s promises to King David,
4. Lived as humanity’s example and teacher,
5. Died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and was buried,
6. Was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,
7. Appeared to many witnesses,
8. Is enthroned at the right hand of God as the ruling messianic King,
9. Has sent the Holy Spirit to his people to effect his rule, and
10. Will come again as final Judge to rule.”

Of course, we can’t say all that every single time we mention the gospel, whether in preaching, teaching, or personal conversation. That’s not realistic. But having a full understanding of what the New Testament writers mean by “gospel” will help keep us from a too-narrow grasp of who Jesus is and what he accomplished.

A few months ago I attended the Fellowship of Christian Athletes annual banquet in Bloomington/Normal, and former St. Louis Cardinals catcher and manager Mike Matheny was the guest speaker. He did an excellent job, and at the end handed out bracelets with a four-step gospel summary that Matheny said he used when witnessing to his teammates and others in the baseball world:

God loves you.
Your sin separates you from God.
Jesus died to reconcile you with God again.
What are you going to do about it?

That’s not comprehensive, but it’s a pretty darn good start. Whole books have been written unpacking the various components and nuances of the gospel, but if we have to sum it up, I think we can do it faithfully in four words:

Christ Jesus is king!

RELATED RESOURCES
Renew.org article: The Gospel, Gospel Benefits, Gospel Response

TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN!
- Pastor Brady

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