What is the Gospel?

What exactly is the gospel? Is it really as simple as the good news that Christ suffered, died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures? What do the scriptures say? Well that's exactly what we'll be looking at in this series, as it is written, it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but it is the glory of kings to search it out. Don't go away. Welcome to Call to Glory, the cutting edge weekly podcast dedicated to helping you know Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings. If this is your first time tuning in, please be sure to like, share, comment, and subscribe. So what exactly is the gospel? On a purely linguistic level, the Greek word translated gospel in English is evangelion, which literally means good news, good tidings, or glad tidings. As such, it has no inherent religious or theological meaning and must therefore be understood in the context of what's being communicated. The English word gospel is in turn derived from the Old English God spell, God in this case meaning good as opposed to a divine origin and spell meaning story or message. In other words, good story or message. And that in turn developed into good news, good tidings, or glad tidings. So like its Greek equivalent, the English word gospel has no meaning in and of itself, but can only be properly understood from the context of what's actually being communicated. Now, as read in the New Testament, Evangelion often referred to historic news of national importance, such as a military victory or the rise of a new king, the kind of news that means profound life changes for those to whom it's given. One example of this is the angelic pronouncement in Luke two of the birth of Christ. Let's look. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night, and behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people, for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. We generally read passages like this not only with our own cultural eyes and ears, but also through the lens of almost two thousand years of history and religious tradition. We also tend to view the birth of Christ from a personal rather than national perspective. In other words, Christ is our personal Savior in whom we may find forgiveness of sins and eternal life, and praise God, that's most certainly who he is. If that is, we've repented, put our faith in him, and continue faithfully until the end of the race set before us. But how well do we in the twenty first century understand why this was good news in the first century to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel? And equally importantly, why Christ and John the Baptist expected to be received as good news by their Jewish brethren? Have you ever considered this? For that matter, why should you even care? Well, there are actually many reasons why you should care about this, not the least of which is the fact that it was and still is extremely important to our Lord and Savior. As such, it should also be of equal importance to us. How could it be otherwise if we profess to love him? I mean, shouldn't we care for what he cares for? And like young Timothy, shouldn't we have his best interest at heart? So that said, let's consider why the angel told the shepherds that the announcement of Christ's birth was good news, not only to the people of Israel, but to all people. And to answer this, we have to look back to the Hebrew Scriptures. That's where we'll find the context and background of God's promises to Abraham, the nation of Israel, and also King David, and we most certainly will be doing so because without that, we just cannot fully understand or appreciate the immense significance of the gospel or good news of the birth of Christ. This is what the New Testament writers sometimes refer to as the gospel of Christ, and we'll be looking at this in much more detail in a future episode of this series. Speaking of that, it may come as a surprise to some, but the biblical concept of the gospel or good news did not originate with the New Testament, not by a long shot. As a matter of fact, what's generally known as the Christian gospel is actually the original Jewish gospel or good news that began almost four thousand years ago with the call of Abram. It's true. There are many passages throughout the Hebrew scriptures that proclaim the good news or gospel, not only of God's blessing, protection, salvation, and deliverance, but also of the coming Messiah as righteous king and judge, the messianic age, eternal life, restoration of the creation, the resurrection of the righteous, true justice and peace on earth, and even a new heaven and new earth. So with that in mind, let's also look at the Hebrew equivalent of Evangelion, Besserah. Like its Greek counterpart, Besserah is also translated in English as good news or glad tidings, but can also be understood as gospel. And as we'll see, this is actually very helpful when it comes to the Bible, so that its proclamation of good news to mankind and the creation that began with the call of Abram and fulfilled in Christ is faithfully preserved as one unified message of hope and promise. And like its Greek equivalent, Besserah also has the same connotation of news that means enormous life changes for the hearer, such as a military victory or again the rise of a new king. One well known example is the announcement or good tidings of the coming reign of the Messianic king of Israel in Isaiah 61. Let's look. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Most of us know that Christ partially quoted from this passage in Luke four when he publicly announced his ministry in the Jewish synagogue at Nazareth. Now the Greek word used in that passage is evangelizo, which is a Greek verb form of evangelion, and it means to announce good news, or as some translations have it, preach the gospel. Which brings us back to my original question. What exactly is the gospel? Let's see what the Word of God says. While the term gospel is of course found throughout the New Testament, it is actually used in a wide number of different contexts and described in various ways. For example, it's used ninety-eight times in the King James, ninety-five times in the New King James, and eighty-nine times in the ESV. Among these occurrences, we find variations such as the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of God, the glorious gospel of the blessed God, the gospel of Christ, the gospel of the glory of Christ, and the everlasting gospel. In addition, the Apostle Paul speaks not only of my gospel, our gospel, and another gospel, but also of the mystery of the gospel, the faith of the gospel, obeying the gospel, the gospel of your salvation, the gospel of peace, the gospel which he preached among the Gentiles, and the gospel for the circumcised. And as if that's not enough, Paul also speaks of the Scripture preaching the gospel to Abraham. Now what's that about? To make things even more complicated, the writer of Hebrews clearly says that the gospel was preached to the children of Israel when they left Egypt under Moses, just as it was preached to the Hebrew believers in Christ. And finally, the Apostle Peter says that the gospel was also preached to those who are dead, and like Paul, warns of not obeying the gospel of God. Now, despite all of this, the understanding of the gospel and modern Christian teaching, evangelism, and ministry rarely, if ever, goes beyond the elementary levels of repentance, forgiveness of sins, justification by grace through faith, or as it's erroneously also taught, faith alone and the imputed righteousness of Christ, or what is theologically known as the gospel of salvation. Absolutely true and necessary for anyone turning to the Lord, but a far cry from the full counsel of God. So am I saying there's more than one gospel? Not at all. What I am saying is that there are many aspects in the Bible of the one true gospel, all of which are holy, true, and indispensable, not only to salvation, but also to justification, righteousness, sanctification, holiness, eternal judgment, glorification, rewards, our place in or as the case may be, outside the kingdom of God, closest to Christ, inheriting the kingdom as co-heirs of Christ, and attaining to the first resurrection. We simply cannot understand the fullness, power, and glory of the new covenant unless we have a full and complete understanding of the gospel proclaimed by the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. So with that in mind, let's look again at the word gospel. So for example, if your wife were to ask, have you heard the good news? Without knowing what she means, you'd naturally respond by asking something like, About what? Well, she might say something like, Our son John's promotion or our daughter Emily just got accepted into medical school. Then and only then would the term good news have any meaning to you. But let's change the facts a bit. The good news is still John's promotion or Emily's acceptance in a medical school, but this time your wife asks, Have you heard the gospel? She's still asking the same question, but now the chances are really good you'll assume she's talking about Christ. And depending upon the circumstances, you may even think she's trying to evangelize you, and that will be completely understandable. And of course, your answer will reflect whatever experiences you may have had with Christian friends and family, Christian television, maybe vacation Bible school, or perhaps someone handing out tracks at the park. One thing is pretty sure. Whatever you say and however you say it, it won't have anything to do with your wife's actual question. So at this point, you're probably asking, what in the world this has to do with my original question? Fair enough. Let's change the facts again. This time you're reading Mark's gospel. Now when you get to verse fourteen, Mark's account reads as follows. Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. As you can see, Mark uses the phrase the gospel twice in this passage. The first time he clearly states that the good news Christ was proclaiming was the gospel of the kingdom of God, and then he records Christ simply telling the people of Israel to believe in the gospel. So are Mark and Christ speaking of two different gospels? Of course not. In context, and from an honest reading of the text itself, it should be clear that Christ was preaching the gospel or good news of the kingdom of God. There's simply no other way to honestly interpret this passage. So depending upon how you define and understand the phrase the gospel, there are essentially two ways this one passage can be read and understood, one of which is correct, and the other not so much. Let me explain. It should be obvious from the plain language that the gospel of the kingdom of God has a more specific meaning than the more general term the gospel. Likewise, it should also be obvious that it's more specific and more narrowly defined than what is commonly understood and taught as the gospel, or as it's theologically known, the gospel of salvation. The reality, however, is this is not often the case. But make no mistake about it. While the gospel of the kingdom of God and the gospel of salvation are both related and integral parts of the same biblical message, they are not synonymous. Ideally, someone reading or teaching this passage has the biblical foundation to understand what Mark, Matthew, and Christ himself meant when they used the phrase the gospel of the kingdom. He or she will understand the gospel of the kingdom of God in light of its original context and foundation as proclaimed throughout the Hebrew scriptures. If not, it would be very wise to make a diligent inquiry, beginning with those same Hebrew scriptures, rather than simply assume that the gospel of the kingdom is just another way of saying the gospel, or maybe another name for the gospel of salvation. And similarly, we should not assume that when Christ told his Jewish audience to believe in the gospel, that he meant what most people understand the gospel to be. The good news that he suffered, died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. On the contrary, it should be clear from the grammatical and biblical context that the gospel Christ was talking about was not the gospel of salvation, but rather exactly what he said and meant, the gospel of the kingdom of God. Now that is the correct way to read and understand this passage of Mark's gospel. On the other hand, if the reader has a traditional Christian understanding of the gospel and simply assumes that the gospel of the kingdom of God is another way of saying the gospel, we have a big problem. So let's think this through very carefully. First of all, if Christ did in fact mean the gospel of salvation, that he suffered, died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures, how could he, well before his actual suffering and crucifixion, tell anyone to believe that he had already suffered and died for our sins according to the scriptures? Do you see how absurd that is? It makes no sense. Following Christ doesn't mean we're supposed to throw sanctified common sins out the window. Now yes, I know, the Bible is a spiritual book that must be spiritually discerned and understood with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Very true. At the same time, God has given us a brain to use, not as a substitute for being led and taught by the Holy Spirit, but as a tool for clear thinking and analytical reasoning, and this is a great example of when we should use it. So let's look again. How could Jesus, several years before his death, burial, and resurrection, tell anyone that he died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures? Not only is this view logically absurd, it adds nothing to the biblical testimony about Christ, especially since there are many other passages that clearly and accurately proclaim the testimony of his suffering, death, burial, and resurrection according to the Hebrew Scriptures. Moreover, this is not the same as when Christ privately told the apostles in passages such as Matthew 20, 17 through 19, that he was going to be betrayed to the chief priest and the scribes who would condemn him to death, deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, scourge, and crucify, and then on the third day he would rise again. So whether it's due to poor teaching, bad doctrine, laziness, spiritual apathy, religious spirits, or something else, the end result is the same. Those who treat the scriptures carelessly like this miss many valuable and precious truths about Christ and our inheritance in his kingdom, and as a result, they cheat themselves out of their full inheritance of Christ. Now this is no small matter as this is the greatest and most precious treasure of all, both in this life and in the world to come. As it is written, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. And if we're talking about a teacher or church leader, it's even worse since they're also cheating others out of their inheritance in Christ. What do I mean? The kingdom of Christ, also called the kingdom of God, or as it's also known, the kingdom of heaven, or very frequently simply called the kingdom. I realize there are different views on this, but I am persuaded there is only one kingdom over which God and Christ reign, just as there is only one body, one spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. But that's another subject for another time. If that would be of interest to you, please be sure to subscribe, hit the like button, and leave a comment below. My point is this. When you consider what the scriptures actually teach concerning the calling, destiny, and inheritance of the saints, it should be evident that the gospel of salvation is just the starting point. Yes, it is absolutely necessary and indispensable for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I am not touching that, nor am I moving any ancient landmarks, but it is not the full counsel of God, nor is it the full gospel proclaimed by Christ and the apostles. Our hope and prayer, therefore, is that no one who names the Christ will be content with the cheap, simple, and shallow gospel that offers all this in heaven too, but makes few, if any, demands upon you. Such a person will be largely ignorant of and even indifferent to the magnitude, power, and eternal glory of the destiny God is offering us in Christ. Not to mention the demands that Christ makes upon us so that we may be counted worthy of Him and His kingdom. Now I'm not necessarily saying such a person will be lost. However, I will point out that there are many frightful warnings in the Bible against carelessness, neglecting our salvation, and most especially falling away. At best, such a person will very likely miss God's best, and being content to remain a spiritual babe, he or she may very well be resistant and even hostile to the demands Christ makes of those who claim to love and serve him. And I assure you, this neither honors nor pleases the Lord. Consider, for example, the parable of the talents and Christ's very angry reaction to the servant who simply hid his talent. Let's look. Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed, and I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours. But his Lord answered and said to him, You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gathered where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I would have received back my own with interest, so take the talent from him and give it to him who has ten talents, for to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away, and cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Not exactly the stuff of soft fluffy sermons and pithy sound bites that emphasize the love of God at the expense of passages like this, but if this passage isn't true, neither is John three sixteen. We would all do well to remember this is Christ, the gentle shepherd and lover of our souls, speaking to one of his own servants, not an unbeliever, but someone who called him Lord. And let's get real here. Pagans and unbelievers do not call Jesus Lord. Only Christians and Messianic Jews do that. So do you see that our Lord and Savior expects much more of those who profess to love and serve him than simply asking him into your heart? He is a king, and we're talking about his kingdom, not some ethereal spiritual kingdom in heaven with mansions and gold slippers, but a very real kingdom with laws, rules, expectations, and yes, court protocol. We therefore would do well to know exactly what he expects of us in this life, because we will all stand before him and give an account for what we've done, said, and even thought. So please, please do not let any smooth talking preacher steal your crown and cheat you out of your inheritance with cheap promises and ear tickling flattery. Let God be true and every man a liar. This is exactly why Peter exhorted us to add to our faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self control, to self control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love, and why he further exhorted us to be even more diligent to make our call and election sure. Why? Because in his words, if you do these things, you will never stumble, for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That's quite a promise. Now let me also point out that this is perfectly consistent with the exhortation in Hebrews to lead the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ and go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. My friends, this is no small matter. God's word clearly and emphatically warns us as believers that we must be found worthy of Christ and of his kingdom. We must treat these matters with the utmost level of care, diligence, and effort. If we don't do so, Christ Himself has warned us that there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when we stand before him and see what we could have had but lost forever due to. Carelessness, diligence, swath, and disobedience. And make no mistake about it, he was speaking to believers, not the world. Our prayer, therefore, is that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and seated him in his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. In our next episode, we'll look at the gospel or good news that Christ Himself proclaimed, and we'll be answering the question why he expected it would be good news to those who heard him in Israel and Samaria, and why he, John the Baptist, and the apostles equated it with the good news first proclaimed to Abraham, and then to the children of Israel. If this is your first time tuning in, please be sure to like, share, comment, subscribe, and ring the bell so you can be notified whenever we post new episodes. If you like what you've heard today, please also leave a review wherever you're listening to this podcast. Tell us what you loved about this episode, how it may have helped or encouraged you, or you can simply leave a comment about any other topics you'd love to hear us cover in the future. Finally, remember to always keep your lamps trimmed, lit, and full of oil. Shalom and see you next time.