Growing up, during
the monsoon season, it seemed that every evening the skies would roil and
thunderstorms would roll in. Growing up in the country, we basked in the beauty
and terror of the tumultuous rain, blinding flashes of light, and—occasionally—the
destructive power of tornadoes. I went to school where we would practice
tornado drills. Nevertheless, warning signs exist if you know what to look for.
Often, the sky turns an ominous shade of green. Larger-than-normal hail will often
fall, usually without any rain. Clouds then develop funnel shapes long before
they touch the ground. More obvious signs are debris in the clouds, a loud
rumbling sound, and, oftentimes, a calmness right before a tornado hits.
Recognizing the warning signs is crucial in averting disaster.
We stand on the
precipice of such a disaster. Can we see the warning signs? I am deeply
convinced that the conversations surrounding the gospel within the church need
clarity. The theology we hold—especially around the gospel—directly influences
our understanding of the church’s mission. The diversity within the Kerygmatic
Interpretative Schools shows the fog that has befallen the church. We must seek
deeper understanding from Scripture to identify problem areas in our gospel
presentations and guard against dangerous theological positions. If we see
where we derive our understandings, we can bring greater clarity and faithfulness
to the church. In recent years, the conversation has been clouded by questions
about what constitutes the gospel and, by implication, what the gospel means to
the believer and the unbeliever. To bring clarity, I propose that we go to the
source, Scripture, to establish our understanding of the gospel. The gospel is
more than a statement that “Jesus loves you” or the lie of easy believism. This
chapter lays the foundation that the gospel is the good news of Christ’s death,
burial, and resurrection for His creation, with hope culminating in salvation
and entrance into His kingdom, and for all to surrender to Christ as both
Savior and Lord. The gospel truth rests on the statement, “If Christ is not
your Lord, then He is not your Savior.” Charles Spurgeon wrote, “You cannot
have Christ if you will not serve Him. If you take Christ, you must take him in
all His qualities. You must not simply take him as a friend, but also take him
as your Master. If you are to become his disciple, you must also become his
servant.”[1]
This chapter examines important expressions of modern understandings of the
gospel (good and bad) and then offers five foundational components of gospel
clarity.
If we profess faith
in Christ, I am sure we all know the fundamentals of what the gospel is. We
tend to lose sight of the gospel when we go to share it. This disconnect exists
because we tend, as a culture, to live in the message: Jesus loves us so much that He died on the
cross to forgive us. But what if I
told you that this simple view is where we tend to stick because Evangelicalism
has made it the common ground of the gospel? Historically, we have sacrificed
clarity in earnest efforts to seek inter-denominational unity. Nevertheless,
Paul did identify the death, burial, and resurrection as the foundation of the
gospel. He wrote:
“Now I want to make
clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you
received, on which you have taken your stand and by which you are being saved,
if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I
passed on to you as most important what I also received: 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” (1 Cor 15:1–4).
Paul gave them the
core of the gospel—what mattered most: that Christ died, was buried, and rose
on the third day. This serves as the core of the gospel message. But to see the
full context of Paul’s argument, we see that this core is not where he
stops. He continued, “. . . so we
proclaim, and so you have believed” (v. 11). Implicit in this context is that proclaiming
Christ resulted in their belief. In fact, the Greek used there identifies
something as true and therefore worthy of trust.[2]
Therefore, Christ’s
sacrifice has an intended purpose: reconciliation and new life. Paul continued
his argument, stating, “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of
the dead also comes through a man. For
just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (vv.
21–22). The promise of salvation and new
life is intrinsically wrapped up within the core gospel message. We cannot
divorce the two. Christ died, was buried, and rose again so that we might be restored to God in right relationship and to His kingdom
(more on this concept in Chapter Four). This “so that” is vitally important to
a comprehensive understanding of the gospel. The gospel stands for an intended
purpose. If you remove the purpose from our understanding, we lose sight of the
gospel itself. We then merely replace a biblical understanding of the gospel’s
purpose with our own novel and often heretical ideas. However, as we grow in
our knowledge of Christ, our understanding of the Gospel becomes clearer. When
we see him more clearly, we can better articulate the message of Christ. To see
Him more clearly means earnest, faithful study of His divine revelation of
Himself: Scripture.
Here are six
foundations of gospel clarity.
Component 1: The Centrality of Jesus Christ
Christ stands as
the gospel’s blazing center. Paul shows us that it is “in him, and through Him,
and to Him” (Rom 11:35). It is the person and the work of Christ. David Alan
Black and David Dockery asserted, “At the heart of New Testament theology
stands Jesus Christ and the gospel. Not only is Jesus Christ the focus of New
Testament theology, but it can and should be argued that he stands at the
center of its origin. That is, not only does New Testament theology concern
itself with Jesus, but New Testament theology also originates with Jesus.”[3]
Jesus does not speak in riddles about his identity: “I am the way, the truth,
and the life” (John 4:16).
Component 2: The Reality of Human Need
The universality of
sin undergirds this first component of the gospel. It is not merely moral
failure but relational estrangement from a Holy God. The reality of sin stands
upon the fact that it is not a doctrine to be debated but a truth to be
confessed. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” (Rom
3:23). Within the destructive wake of sin lies the heartache for restoration.
Creation groans for restoration. The human longing is evidence of the gospel’s
fit with the human soul. Michael Green wrote, “It is none other than Satan who
has displaced God in so many people’s hearts and enthroned himself there
instead. So people are not only on the path to ruin but in bondage to a pseudo-god
who in effect controls the issues of their lives.”[4] The
gospel clarifies the diagnosis of sin. Scripture’s portrayal of the human
condition is not cryptic; it is painfully obvious.
Component 3: The Call to Repentance and
Faith
The gospel’s demand
is simple, not simplistic. Repent and believe—two words that summarize the
human response. They are a change of heart and a change in action. Repentance,
then, is a reorientation of our whole self to our heavenly Father and a turning
from self‑rule to God’s rule. This demands genuine faith as trust in the person
and work of Christ and not merely easy believism. The gospel does not hide its
terms; it declares them openly.
Component 4: The Gift of New Life
Salvation is, by
its very nature, transformative. Not just forgiving sins, but spiritual
transformation and renewal. This flows from professing believers’ union with
Christ. The believer’s life hidden in Christ—simple to state, inexhaustible to
explore. In this, the Holy Spirit indwells believers, providing them with
comfort and advocacy. The gospel’s promise is not only pardon but empowerment.
Eternal life is not just a vague hope for the future but a concrete gift for
today. When discussing new life found in Christ, Robert Coleman stated, “[Regarding
New life in Christ] the issue is not primarily about the divine initiative in
saving grace, but how faith makes one righteous.”[5] (175).
Component 5: The Mission of the Kingdom
The gospel stands
as an outward thrust to expand Christ’s kingdom. It is good news in motion. The
kingdom offers both a present and a future reality. Christ is King and His
reign is eternal (yesterday, today, and forever). The call of the kingdom of
God is clear enough to obey, vast enough to contemplate. Within this kingdom
perspective, the church stands as the witness to the kingdom of Christ. Ordinary
people bearing an extraordinary message. Therefore, the church’s commission is
clear: “Go and make disciples.” Christ’s servants have no ambiguity in their
marching orders.
The gospel speaks
to God’s mission to rescue humanity from its fallen condition, not to a
particular culture, but its universality transcends cultures and time. At its
core, the biblical redemptive narrative is simple: Creation, Fall, Redemption,
and Restoration. The gospel resonates with people because of its experiential
nature. People recognize themselves in the gospel’s story: all people are
alienated, Christ is the only hope, and the power of the gospel and God’s plan
for redemption.[6]
Yet, its Christological focus stands at its center, not the individual.
Component 6: The Gospel is a Present Reality
The New Testament
speaks of the Kingdom as both present (the already) and future consummation
(the not yet). Christ’s work ushered in the messianic age. Christ is King! The
gospel merely invites people into that reality as servants of the King rather
than as enemies. We can experience this reality today. By choosing Christ
through repentance and faith, we enter the Christian community, the Kingdom of
God. In this, we have a clear expectation to walk with Christ as both our
Savior and our Lord. This walk with Christ plays out in how the gospel
justifies and sanctifies us through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit
through the word of God. Salvation produces new life, not mere assent.
Therefore, any endeavor of the soul winner must be expectant of transformation.
[1]
Charles H. Spurgeon, Following Christ: Losing Your Life for His Sake,
ed. Paul Miller (Abbotsford, WI: Aneko Press, 2018), 1.
[2] William
Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early
Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 816.
[3] David Alan
Black and David S. Dockery, Interpreting
the New Testament: Essays on Methods and Issues (Nashville, TN: Broadman
& Holman Publishers, 2001), 489.
[4]
Michael Green, Evangelism through the Local Church: A Comprehensive Guide to
All Aspects of Evangelism, (Vancouver, Regent College, 2012), 23.
[5]
Robert Coleman, The Heart of the Gospel: The Theology Behind the Master Plan of
Evangelism (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011), 175.
[6]
Lewis Drummond, The Word of the Cross: A Contemporary Theology of Evangelism
(Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992), 335–337.
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