Getting The Gospel Right
Photo by T. McGee
This is the third in a series of articles expounding on the need for re-formation in the church.
Links to other articles in this series: Thesis 1, Thesis 2.
[See the original overview article here: 9.5 Theses: The Needed Re-Formation of the Church.]
Thesis 3. The Church Has Forgotten What the Gospel Is All About
When the gospel is shared today, it typically lacks what is perhaps its most essential characteristic: the shock and amazement that always accompany a breaking news story. Like a news bulletin that interrupts your favorite program, the gospel comes as an important public service announcement. It has an in-your-face, grab-you-by-the-lapel, you-gotta-hear-this quality.
In the book of Acts, we discover that those who first shared the gospel did not give lectures on religion or offer seminars on spiritual formation. Surprisingly, their sermons were not focused on helping people avoid hell and go to heaven when they die. Rather, the first evangelists alerted everyone everywhere that the world was under new management. Jesus is Lord and God’s kingdom is now, they proclaimed! Such preaching tended to result in either a revival or a riot. After all, if Jesus is king, then Caesar needs to be demoted.
In Greek, the word ‘gospel’ (euangelion) means good news. In the first century, it was used for messages that brought joy, such as a victory in battle or the birth of a baby. In the New Testament, the word took on a unique meaning, referring specifically to the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and current reign of King Jesus. The proclamation of this new reality was not just news; it was wonderful news! “I bring you good news of great joy,” the angel told the shepherds. “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:10-11). Yes, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her king” (Isaac Watts, “Joy to the World”).
Tragically, the church is full of people who have only a fuzzy understanding of what the good news about Jesus actually is. Unknowingly, they have put their trust in a gospel that is truncated, anemic, and ego-centric. Some understand it as a means of self-improvement, as if Jesus came to enable us to be the best version of ourselves we can be. Others see the gospel in terms of behavior modification, pain management, prosperity, social activism, ethics, or politics. Most evangelicals think of the gospel as steps to follow in order to be ‘saved’, that is, receive the gift of forgiveness so we can go to heaven when we die. The damage these muddled gospels have done to the cause of Christ is incalculable.
This sad reality attains its most sinister dimensions, however, when people don’t know what they don’t know! They assume they know what the gospel is and this makes them unaware of their precarious situation. Preachers preach ‘the gospel’ and believers believe ‘the gospel’, and everyone says ‘Amen!’ Yet no one pauses to ask, “But have we defined ‘the gospel’ correctly?” The results can be catastrophic. A muddled gospel produces muddled Christians, muddled churches, muddled worship, and muddled mission. In other words, the real problem in the church today is not that people don’t believe the gospel, but precisely that they do!
Almost two hundred years ago, in an effort to address the lethargic condition of the Danish Lutheran Church, Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) told a parable that he hoped would help God’s people understand their precarious situation.
Think of a hospital. The patients are dying like flies. The methods are altered in one way and another. It’s no use. What does it come from? It comes from the building; the whole building is full of poison. That the patients are registered as dead, one of this disease, and that one of another, is not true; for they are all dead from the poison that is in the building.
So it is in the religious sphere. That the religious situation is lamentable, that religiously men are in a pitiable state, nothing is more certain. So one man thinks that it would help if we got a new hymnal, another a new altar-book, another a musical service, etc. etc. In vain – for it comes from the building. This whole lumber room of a State Church… has developed poison. And for this reason the religious life is sick or has died out (Attack Upon Christendom, Princeton University Press, 1968, p. 139).
We love the church and have devoted our lives to her service. But we feel compelled to speak up concerning what we believe lies at the root of our dysfunctionality and impotence: the church has forgotten what the gospel is all about. The word “forgotten” is a polite way to discuss the issue without assigning blame. We will save that discussion for another day. Regardless of the cause, the muddled reality remains the same. Getting the gospel right is priority number one for the church today.
The Gospel according to Peter
This is not the place to examine the many passages in the New Testament where the gospel is defined (see Mark 1:14-15; Romans 1:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Philippians 2:6-11; etc.). But Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost gives an excellent place to begin. Notice how his message sounds like a breaking news alert!
Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it….
This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing….
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. (Ac. 2:22-36)
The first word of Peter’s sermon lays the foundation for all that follows: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus….” (Ac. 2:22. Emphasis added.). Preaching the gospel is not announcing some-thing. Preeminently, it is proclaiming some-one and introducing that person to others. A few weeks earlier, Peter, filled with fear and doubt, had denied the name of Jesus three times. But now, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, he can’t say the name often enough (see Acts 2:22, 23, 32, 36, 38; 3:6, 13, 16, 20; 4:2, 10-12; etc.).
An examination of Peter’s sermon reveals a simple outline, each point of which relates to an essential ingredient of the gospel story.
Jesus’ identity (v. 22). Because Peter is preaching only a few weeks after the crucifixion in the very city where it happened, his audience already has a basic understanding of Jesus’ life: his miracles, his birth, his claim to be the Messiah, etc.
Jesus’ crucifixion (v. 23). Peter highlights two things about Jesus’ death. First, he was no victim. No one took his life; he freely gave it. Second, his listeners are complicit in Jesus’ death. Jews and Romans alike are Christ-killers!
Jesus’ resurrection (vv. 24-32). God has now vindicated the truth about Jesus by raising him from the dead. Not only was Jesus’ resurrection foretold by the prophets, but Peter is himself a witness to the reality that Jesus is alive.
Jesus’ ascension (vv. 33-36). Peter does not end his sermon with the resurrection as many preachers do today. He is just getting warmed up! Jesus is now ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God. Peter concludes with the triumphant shout: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus, whom you crucified” (v. 36).
The sermon is over. It’s time for the benediction. But no one moves! Cut to the heart, the congregation cries out, “What shall we do?” (Ac. 2:37). Peter responds by outlining the plan of salvation. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Ac. 2:38). Peter’s instructions establish the most basic outline for how one ought to respond to the gospel. In future articles of Firebrand we will explore more fully what happens when people hear the authentic gospel and respond rightly. Stay tuned!
The Gospel: Pure and Simple
The gospel is the bold proclamation that something of earthshaking importance has happened in time and space, and everyone everywhere needs to know about it! The world has a new king who has come to establish his kingdom. His name is Jesus. Looking at the entirety of the New Testament, we can summarize the truth of the gospel in a few statements that are profoundly simple and simply profound.
The gospel in one word: Jesus.
The good news is not a creed, a moral code, a worldview, or an explanation of how to go to heaven when you die. The gospel is a person, and his name is Jesus. He not only preached the gospel. He was (and is) the gospel!
The gospel in five verbs.
He came. For God so loved the world that he sent his Son, clothed in human flesh, born of a woman, to live among us. Because he himself is Lord and King, his coming means that the Kingdom of God has come to earth (see Mk. 8:29; Jn. 8:58; 10:30; 14:9; etc.).
He died. Tragically, when Jesus came, we did not recognize who he was and were complicit in his death. Yet he loved us anyway and gave his life as a ransom for sinners so that we might be reconciled to God (see Mk 10:45; Jn. 10:17-18; Rom. 5:8; 2 Cor. 5:21; etc.).
He rose. The bodily resurrection of Jesus proves that he was who he claimed to be and that his death has indeed made possible the forgiveness of sins. This fact of history is the linchpin that validates the gospel story (see Ac. 17:31; Rom. 1:4; 1 Cor. 15:14, 17; etc.).
He reigns. Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God (see Ac. 1:9-11). From this place of sovereign power, he intercedes for human needs and pours out his Spirit on his disciples so that they are empowered to live a holy life (see Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; Jn. 14:26; 16:7; etc.).
He will come again. Jesus will return soon to judge the nations and establish his kingdom on a renewed earth. Those who persist in unbelief and reject his reign will be cast into hell. But the redeemed will share in the victory that Christ has won. The work of redemption is not complete until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever (see Matt. 24:29-31; Rev. 11:15; 19:11-16; etc.).
The gospel in one sentence: Jesus is Lord.
The words “Jesus is Lord” may well have been the first creed of the early church (see Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3; Phil. 2:11). For the early Christians, Jesus was more than a Savior; he was supremely their Lord. Therefore, salvation is not just individual and personal; it is corporate, global, and cosmic! To recite this creed is to pledge one’s allegiance to Jesus as Lord and to become participants in the global revolution he is orchestrating in the world today. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Chris Bounds is Professor of Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Hubert Harriman is Former President of World Gospel Mission (WGM).
Stan Key is Former President of the Francis Asbury Society.
Dave Smith is Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Indiana Wesleyan University.