My answer to the question what is the Gospel?

I recently filled out a church planting internship application that contained the following question:

What is the gospel? (i.e. theologically speaking, not how you would explain the gospel message to a non-Christian)

Here was my answer:

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I must begin by saying that Greg Gilbert has helped me in this area greatly and my answer is significantly indebted to him. Gilbert is an SBTS graduate and CHBC elder and church planter in training who wrote three blogs posts about a year and a half ago asking the question “What is the Gospel?” The links to those posts do not work anymore, perhaps because Gilbert now has a book out on the subject titled, “What is the Gospel?”

I’ll give a summary answer, fleshed out answer and some practical implications.

Summary answer:

The Bible speaks of the gospel in a narrow sense - matters of first importance (Acts 10:36-43; Rom 1:16-17; 1 Cor 1:17-18, 15:3-4) and a broad sense - gospel of the kingdom (Matt 4:23, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 4:18, Acts 13:32).

The narrow sense of the gospel answers the question “what must a person believe and embrace to be saved?” The broad sense of the gospel answers the question “what is the whole good news of Christianity?”

The narrow sense of the gospel is (1) God, (2) sinful man, (3) Christ, (4) man’s response. God as a holy and loving Creator, man as a sinful creature, Christ as the perfect God/man who died and rose again and men responding in repentance and faith.

The broad sense of the gospel is (1) creation, (2) Fall, (3) redemption, (4) new creation. The broad sense of the gospel is not only forgiveness of sins in Christ, but also resurrection, reconciliation with both God and others, sanctification, glorification, a coming consummated kingdom that has already been established and the new heavens and new earth. Gospel in the broad sense refers to the whole complex of God’s promises secured through the life and work of Christ (2 Cor 1:20).

Scripture uses the word gospel to refer to both the narrow sense and the broad sense. But the narrow sense of the gospel is always a part of the broad sense of the gospel, and not just a part, but the center/core/fountainhead/gateway. The broad sense of the gospel without the narrow sense is no gospel at all: it is a false gospel (often a social gospel). But the broad sense of the gospel is not gospel-plus. It is the whole good news of Christianity that begins with, and centers on, the narrow sense of the gospel.

Narrow sense and broad sense of the gospel fleshed out:

The narrow sense of the gospel is: a holy and loving Creator made all things, including people who He made in His image. Those people were meant to worship Him forever by delighting in doing His will. Instead, Adam - the first man - rebelled against God, worshipped himself and disobeyed his holy and loving Creator (Gen 3). Every man after Adam has been born dead in sin (Eph 2:1-3) and has gladly worked out his sinful nature through sinful works.

However, God - in His mercy and love - sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life, died on the cross for sinners and rose again from the dead. In this sacrifice, Jesus substituted Himself for sinners. He took man’s sin on Himself. Every man who repents of his sin and believes in Christ has Christ’s righteousness credited to his account. Thus, the sins of every person who repents and believes are placed on Christ and Christ’s righteousness are placed in their account (2 Cor 5:21, Luther’s “Great Exchange”). Propitiation - satisfying God’s wrath - takes place (Rom 3:21-26), as does expiation - a man is cleansed from his sins and he is made new (2 Cor 5:17, Heb 1:3).

The broad sense of the gospel is God creating a world that was completely good. Man was the apex of God’s creation as the only creature made in His image (Gen 1:26-28). God gave men many good gifts, indeed, every good gift is from God (James 1:17-18). Man was designed to live in dependence on God, joyfully doing His will and enjoying God and his good gifts, forever. However, man rebelled against God - called the fall (Gen 3) - which had severe consequences. God’s infinite holiness required such consequences. The relationship between God and man was broken at the Fall, the relationship between people was hindered at the Fall and the relationship between man and the world was negatively affected by the Fall. The consequences of the Fall were thus personal, relational and cosmic.

Thankfully, the results of God’s redemptive work in Jesus Christ are also personal, relational and cosmic. Jesus lived the life Adam was meant to live, always joyfully doing God’s will despite the most intense temptation to sin (Heb 2:18, 4:14-16). Jesus obeyed God to the point of death, as He - the innocent One - died in the place of sinners on the cross (Phil 2:5-11). However - praise God - Jesus did not remain in the grave. Three days after He died, Jesus rose from the dead, walked on the earth and interacted with men and eventually ascended to God’s right hand where He reigns and intercedes for His people (1 Cor 15:3-4; end of the gospels; Acts 1:9-11; Heb 1:3, 2:17, 4:14-16).

While He was on earth, Jesus announced the inbreaking of his kingdom into the present evil age by healing people, doing miracles and casting out demons. In doing these things, Jesus was declaring, “I am the long-anticipated Messiah who has come to establish God’s kingdom.” The message of the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached was the message that (1) the kingdom has dawned and (2) those who repent and believe may enter it (Matt 4:23, Mark 1:14-15). This is where you get the idea that the narrow sense of the gospel is the center/core/fountainhead/gateway of the broad sense of the gospel. What people must do to be saved has everything to do with the whole good news of Christianity. The inbreaking of Jesus’s kingdom entailed the forgiveness of sins, the lame walking and the blind seeing. The most astonishing part, of course, was the forgiveness of sins. Only God can forgive sins.

Right now, Christ’s kingdom includes reconciliation to God and it should include reconciliation between men, Jew and Gentile, men and women, between people of any race, rich and poor (Gal 3:26-28, Eph 2:11-22, James 2:1-13). Right now, Christ’s kingdom includes progressive sanctification (Phil 1:6, 2:12-13, 3:7-14). Eventually, Christ’s kingdom will include complete sanctification and glorification (1 John 3:1-3). Eventually, Christ’s kingdom will include a new heavens and new earth with no more tears, sickness or pain (Rev 21-22).

Practical implications:

Pastorally, Scripture places the emphasis on being ministers of the narrow gospel. What will it profit a man to gain the whole world if he forfeits his soul (Matt 16:26)? This does not mean that this is the only thing we do. But it is the central thing we do and everything we do connects to it (proclaiming the gospel and making disciples).

We don’t fall off on the fundamentalist side of preaching hellfire, damnation and stay away from the culture because it is bad. But this (fundamentalism) is better than a social gospel that does a lot of good things and leads people to hell.

Social gospel is like a doctor building a poor man a house, teaching him a trade, helping him raise his kids and never telling him “By the way, you have cancer and we need to do something about it.” If a doctor did that, he would be fired. In the same way, a pastor could have a great ministry to the poor in his community and abroad, could be a champion for social justice, but if he doesn’t tell people they stand condemned before a holy God everyone he ministers to will go to hell. Such a pastor should quit because he is not a biblically-faithful pastor.

I am all about mercy ministry that points people to the cross. Through our church, my wife and I have helped paint a building, pull weeds and mulch the yard of a business that (if I remember correctly) works with kids with down’s syndrome. We didn’t even interact with anyone who worked there, but I trust that our pastor of missions had a conversation with the people who owned the business where he explained that we were doing that because Jesus loved us, gave Himself for us and gave Himself for every sinner who repents and believes in Him.

I want to give myself - give myself - to making disciples. That is what lights my fire. I have not had much opportunity/have not created enough opportunity to see people convert to Christ. I have been sporadic with sharing the gospel, but not as intentional or consistent as I should be. I can’t live with that. I greatly desire to see people come to know Christ. I want to give myself to proclaiming the gospel to the lost, pleading with them, painting their house, helping them raise their kids, and calling them to believe in Christ out of a heartfelt desire to see them saved. I want to give myself to that.

I want to give myself not just to making converts, but to making disciples. I want to see people who follow Christ as Lord and submit their lives to Him. I want to teach people how to be godly husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. I want to figure out how to minister to single moms (right now I don’t know how, but hey that is where ministry is messy and great, right?) I want to train people to work as unto the Lord (Col 3:23-24), to work without complaining (Phil 2:14-16), to work with excellence. I want to train people to speak the truth in love and minister the Word to one another (Eph 4:15-16, Col 3:16).

I want to lead out in these things, I want to equip other men to be able to teach these things and I want to lead a people who do these things. And I want these things to be taking place in an atmosphere of godly camaraderie. An atmosphere where people enjoy being together and where they can laugh with one another, while they simultaneously seek to grow in Christlikeness, minister to one another, reach the lost and minister to the lost. This is what I think of when I think of being the church.