I did look at a blog that is a collection of definitions and descriptions of the gospel. I compiled a handout from some of the entries I found there. I figure these selections from the many entries on the blog form a good introduction to the subject. The blog address is there. You can dig to your heart's content.
Definitions of the Gospel—except for the first
one these definitions all come from an ongoing project by Trevin Wax: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevinwax/category/gospel/gospel-definitions/
“The Good News .
. . I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on
to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He
was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the
Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After
that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers.” (The Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:1-6
“Evangelion (that we
call the gospel) is a Greek word and signifieth good, merry, glad and joyful
tidings, that maketh a man’s heart glad and maketh him sing, dance, and leap
for joy… [This gospel is] all of Christ the right David, how that he hath
fought with sin, with death, and the devil, and overcome them: whereby all men
that were in bondage to sin, wounded with death, overcome of the devil are
without their own merits or deservings loosed, justified, restored to life and
saved, brought to liberty and reconciled unto the favor of God and set at one
with him again: which tidings as many as believe laud, praise and thank God,
are glad, sing and dance for joy.”
(William Tyndale, reformer, died 1536)
At its briefest, the gospel is a discourse about Christ, that he
is the Son of God and became man for us, that he died and was raised, and
that he has been established as Lord over all things.This much St. Paul takes in hand and spins out in his epistles.
He bypasses all the miracles and incidents (in Christ’s ministry) which are set
forth in the four Gospels, yet he includes the whole gospel adequately and
abundantly. This may be seen clearly and well in his greeting to the Romans,
where he says what the gospel is, and then declares:“Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of
God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the
flesh and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by
his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,” etc.There you have it. The gospel is a story about Christ,
God’s and David’s son, who died and was raised, and is established as Lord.
This is the gospel in a nutshell. -
Martin Luther, Martin Luther’s Basic Theological
Writings, pg. 94
“The
message from our Lord Himself is that Christ suffered and was raised from the
dead and that remission of sins should be preached in His name to all people.
That is the good news. That is the message. That is the gospel!” - W.A. Criswell, from “The Remission of Sins”
in Basic Bible Sermons on the Cross, 85.
What is the one, the changeless New Testament gospel? The first
and the best answer would be to say that the whole Bible is God’s good news in
all its astonishing relevance. Bible andgospel are almost alternative terms, for the
major function of the Bible in all its length and breadth is to bear witness to
Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, God’s revelation recorded in Scripture.What is [the gospel]? God’s good news is Jesus.How did the apostles present Jesus? Their good news contained at
least five elements.
·
The gospel events, as saving events.
·
The gospel witnesses, by which I mean the evidence to which
they appealed for its authentication.
·
The gospel affirmations. (They concern not simply what he did more than nineteen centuries ago, however,
but what he is today in consequence. “Jesus is
Lord.”)
·
The gospel promises (what Christ now offers and indeed promises
to those who come to him – a new life in the present through the
regeneration and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who is also the guarantee of
our future inheritance in heaven).
·
The gospel demands (repentance and faith – and (in public)
baptism.
What is the Good News?
The good news is Jesus. And the good news about Jesus which we announce is that he died for our sins and was raised from death. In consequence he reigns as Lord and Savior at God’s right hand and has authority both to command repentance and faith, and to bestow forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit on all those who repent, believe and are baptized. And all this is according to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. It is more than that. It is precisely what is meant by “proclaiming the kingdom of God.” For in fulfillment of Scripture God’s reign has broken into the life of men through the death and resurrection of Jesus. This reign or rule of God is exercised from the throne by Jesus, who bestows salvation and requires obedience. These are the blessing and the demand of the kingdom.
John Stott - adapted from Christian Mission in the Modern World
The good news is Jesus. And the good news about Jesus which we announce is that he died for our sins and was raised from death. In consequence he reigns as Lord and Savior at God’s right hand and has authority both to command repentance and faith, and to bestow forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit on all those who repent, believe and are baptized. And all this is according to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. It is more than that. It is precisely what is meant by “proclaiming the kingdom of God.” For in fulfillment of Scripture God’s reign has broken into the life of men through the death and resurrection of Jesus. This reign or rule of God is exercised from the throne by Jesus, who bestows salvation and requires obedience. These are the blessing and the demand of the kingdom.
John Stott - adapted from Christian Mission in the Modern World
Here’s the gospel in a
phrase. Because Christ died for us, those who trust in him may know that their
guilt has been pardoned once and for all. What will we have to say before the
bar of God’s judgment? Only one thing. Christ died in my place. That’s the
gospel. - Alistair
Begg, from Jesus,
Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter
The ‘gospel’ is the good news
that through Christ the power of God’s kingdom has entered history to renew the
whole world. When we believe and rely on Jesus’ work and record (rather than
ours) for our relationship to God, that kingdom power comes upon us and begins
to work through us.”
“Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God fully accomplishes salvation for us, rescuing us from judgment for sin into fellowship with him, and then restores the creation in which we can enjoy our new life together with him forever.” - Tim Keller, from Christianity Today
“Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God fully accomplishes salvation for us, rescuing us from judgment for sin into fellowship with him, and then restores the creation in which we can enjoy our new life together with him forever.” - Tim Keller, from Christianity Today
The Gospel is “good news.” It is good news only to the degree
that the bad news can be understood first.
The world is a messed-up place. It is not just our generation that is notices this, but every generation has had to deal with their share of problems. Today is not really any worse than it was 100 years ago or 1000 years ago.
The good news is that God is fixing what is broken in every generation. This is called redemption. Redemption means to “buy back” or restore to a previous condition.
God is in the process of putting his messed up creation back in order. The Gospel is the good news that that which was broken is being fixed.
But the brokenness had its genesis in us, mankind. God is different. He is perfect and demands perfection because of his character. In other words, as the Bible puts it, God is righteous. Our brokenness is due to choices that we have made. All of us have messed things up. This is called “sin.”
We have sinned through our selfishness, pride, hatred, and perversion of his creation. It is not the way it was supposed to be.
God allows us to reject him and suffer the consequences, but he also offers us hope. This hope is the Good news. It is the hope that God has not abandoned us. It is the hope for redemption.
God loves us in spite of our perversion of good. God loves us in spite of our rejection of him. … Michael Patton
The world is a messed-up place. It is not just our generation that is notices this, but every generation has had to deal with their share of problems. Today is not really any worse than it was 100 years ago or 1000 years ago.
The good news is that God is fixing what is broken in every generation. This is called redemption. Redemption means to “buy back” or restore to a previous condition.
God is in the process of putting his messed up creation back in order. The Gospel is the good news that that which was broken is being fixed.
But the brokenness had its genesis in us, mankind. God is different. He is perfect and demands perfection because of his character. In other words, as the Bible puts it, God is righteous. Our brokenness is due to choices that we have made. All of us have messed things up. This is called “sin.”
We have sinned through our selfishness, pride, hatred, and perversion of his creation. It is not the way it was supposed to be.
God allows us to reject him and suffer the consequences, but he also offers us hope. This hope is the Good news. It is the hope that God has not abandoned us. It is the hope for redemption.
God loves us in spite of our perversion of good. God loves us in spite of our rejection of him. … Michael Patton
“The term has recently been translated as ‘good news.’ That
sounds attractive, but it falls far short of the order of magnitude of what is
actually meant by the word evangelion. This term figures in the
vocabulary of the Roman emperors, who understood themselves as lords, saviors,
and redeemers of the world…. The idea was that what comes from the emperor is a
saving message, that it is not just a piece of news, but a changing of the
world for the better.
“When the Evangelists adopt this word, and it thereby becomes the generic name for their writings, what they mean to tell us is this: What the emperors, who pretend to be gods, illegitimately claim, really occurs here – a message endowed with plenary authority, a message that is not just talk but reality…. the Gospel is not just informative speech, but performative speech – not just the imparting of information, but action, efficacious power that enters into the world to save and transform. Mark speaks of the ‘Gospel of God,’ the point being that it is not the emperors who can save the world, but God. And it is here that God’s word, which is at once word and deed, appears; it is here that what the emperors merely assert, but cannot actually perform, truly takes place. For here it is the real Lord of the world – the Living God – who goes into action.“The core of the Gospel is this: The Kingdom of God is at hand.” - Pope Benedict XVI, from Jesus of Nazareth, pgs. 46-47.
“When the Evangelists adopt this word, and it thereby becomes the generic name for their writings, what they mean to tell us is this: What the emperors, who pretend to be gods, illegitimately claim, really occurs here – a message endowed with plenary authority, a message that is not just talk but reality…. the Gospel is not just informative speech, but performative speech – not just the imparting of information, but action, efficacious power that enters into the world to save and transform. Mark speaks of the ‘Gospel of God,’ the point being that it is not the emperors who can save the world, but God. And it is here that God’s word, which is at once word and deed, appears; it is here that what the emperors merely assert, but cannot actually perform, truly takes place. For here it is the real Lord of the world – the Living God – who goes into action.“The core of the Gospel is this: The Kingdom of God is at hand.” - Pope Benedict XVI, from Jesus of Nazareth, pgs. 46-47.
I welcome your involvement in the discussion. I shared a lesson/sermon on the subject last night. I plan to reproduce, on this blog, some of the thoughts contained in that message, but if you want to hear them before I put them here you can find the message at http://www.truthcasting.com/player.aspx#showSermon=100963.
See you later.
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