What Is The Gospel?

What Is The Gospel?

Introduction

In the Christian faith and most specifically from the protestant evangelical point of view, the Gospel has had a myriad of definitions. To several believers, the term gospel refers to the revelation or teachings of Jesus Christ whereas others relate the term gospel as the individual record of the life of Jesus Christ and the lessons that Christians can derive from the four books found in the Old Testament[1]. However, despite the conventional definition of the term gospel that the majority of Christians are accustomed to, the Gospel has some profound meanings in reference to its theological, historical and biblical considerations. This paper seeks to define the word Gospel regarding its theological, historical and biblical context. Additionally, the paper shall analyze the cosmic dimension of the Gospel and how it relates to the individual aspect as well as explain why the Gospel ought to be shared.

Definition of the Gospel

The word gospel has several meanings in respect to its theological, historical and biblical considerations. To a wide variety of believers and most so those affiliated to the evangelical domination, the term gospel in its literal definition means a discussion concerning Christ. This individual discussion about Christ mostly revolves around his life and teachings. The discourse about Christ defines Christ as the son of God and argues that Jesus became man to save humanity from his wayward ways. On the same discourse, the Gospel can be viewed as the doctrine in which Jesus Christ revealed to humankind from heaven. This individual doctrine that the son of God revealed announces and makes a promise to humanity mercy and grace from God. The promised mercy and grace from God and the consequent deliverance from sin is intended for all those that believe and repent of their sins.

The definition of the term gospel which relates to the biography of Jesus is documented in the book of Luke[2]. The book of Luke in the Bible holds the biblical definition of the term gospel. The book of Luke presents the term gospel as the good news that relates to the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, the biblical context and meaning of the term gospel relate to the different messages that concern Christ, the issue of salvation and the kingdom of heaven. From the biblical perspective and away from the message of Jesus Christ, the Gospel can also be used to refer to any of the four books in the New Testament, i.e. the book of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. These four books are known as the canonical Gospel, and they carry the individual message or teachings of Jesus Christ as was sent out to the world by Christ himself. Conclusively, the biblical consideration of the term gospel means the message, life and teachings of Jesus Christ as well as the four canonical books that carry these messages.

From a historical context, the term gospel also means the same as in the context of the biblical view. Historically, all the earthly ministries of Jesus Christ were recorded in various gospel accounts. These accounts of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ were written from the perspective of the post-resurrection, and all of such accounts describe a similar passionate narrative of the earthly ministries of Jesus Christ. From this perspective, it can be seen that the term Gospel refers to all the recorded teachings and life of Jesus Christ during his ministry on earth. The theological interpretation of the term gospel agrees with the definition of the same term as is in both the historical and biblical perspective. Theologians argue that the term gospel is a term that defines and expounds on the life, teachings and expounds on the experience, instructions and other vital lessons that Jesus Christ as the son of God left for human beings during his early ministries in the world[3].

Cosmic Dimensions of the Gospel

The cosmic Gospel generally describes the story of God’s strategy before the beginning of time. This individual story is that of magnifying Jesus Christ in the history of humanity through the salvation of individuals for himself and all the creatures that had been subjected to futility through our sins as humanity[4]. According to the view of the cosmic Gospel, God through Jesus Christ has called upon every human being across all generations to be the conveyor of God’s good news to the rest of the world. The cosmic gospel grants significant meaning to all those that are called upon to dwell in the Universe. The considerable significance that all humankind is given generally is to keep praising the glorious grace of Christ Jesus. As per the cosmic Gospel, all humanity ought to live life in such a way that it expresses their prayer and praise to God.

Unlike the personal dimension of the Gospel, the cosmic dimension necessitates that human beings spend their lives questioning how their work and lifestyle on the earth glorifies and magnifies the glory of God through Christ[5]. The cosmic dimension of the Gospel is different from the personal dimension of the same Gospel. The cosmic dimension takes into consideration the entire creation and the way in which such creation ought to manifest the glory of God through its day to day living. However, this concept is slightly different from the personal dimension of the Gospel from an evangelical standpoint. The personal dimension of the gospel advocates for an individual relationship between mankind and God. Both aspects of the Gospel are related in that they all seek to show how humanity relates to God. None of these dimensions is higher than the other. However, the conservative protestant evangelical standpoint argues that a personal or rather intimate relationship with God is of vital importance to humankind. The repercussions of emphasizing the personal dimension of the Gospel over the cosmic dimension is that the relationship that exists between God and the Universe as a whole is obscured.  The emphasis remains to be put on the Gospel as a personal interaction between humanity and God only.

Why the Gospel Ought to be Shared

            Christians ought to share the good news of Christ with different persons from all across the globe. As born again Christians, the Bible clearly instructs us to preach the Gospel and share all the go news that pertains to the Gospel to all of God’s creation[6]. In the book of Mark 16:15, Jesus Christ instructed “Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (mark 16:15). This is a rather clear and direct command from Christ himself instructing us to take it upon ourselves to preach the Gospel. Apart from such a direct command from Jesus Christ, there is a myriad of other reasons as to why the Gospel of Christ needs to be preached to all humanity.

First and foremost, humanity needs to understand that sin exists and it is ravaging humanity in a profound way. Humanity needs to comprehend that as the Bible says, the wages of sin is death and death. In this case, refers to both spiritual and physical death. As such, the only person that can save humanity from their sinful nature and its consequences is God.

Secondly, humanity needs to understand that all human beings have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. As such, all of us require repenting of our sins to be saved. Repenting of our sins and salvation comes by hearing and hearing from the word of God. This means that if all humanity is to repent of their sins and be saved by God, they, first of all, require hearing from the word of God and believing all that it stands for. This gives believers all the more reasons to share the Gospel globally. Believers need to share the Gospel as doing so is obedience to Christ. In Christianity, compliance is evidence of salvation. In the Bible, Jesus says that he only is the author of salvation to all those that obey him (Hebrews 5:9). This means that humanity is not saved by being obedient but rather as believers, we are obedient by nature because Jesus Christ has saved us.

As a result of being obedient to the word of God and all the instructions therein, we ought to take it upon ourselves and spread the Gospel of God to all Jews and Gentiles so that everybody can share in the goodness of Christ. A close examination of the Gospel reveals that remaining in silence is in itself a sin. The Bible clearly states that, as soon as the Holy Spirit was accorded to humanity, all the apostles started proclaiming and preaching the Gospel. The love of God provoked all the apostles to reach out to the lost of humanity. Believers ought to emulate the same and exercise the love of God by preaching to all the Jews and Gentiles the good news of Christ Jesus. Believers ought to share the Gospel so that those that are not born again and those that haven’t heard the deeds of Christ Jesus to repent of their sins and be saved.

As believers, evangelism serves to deepen our relationship with God. Believers ought to share the good news of Christ Jesus with fellow believers and those that do not believe as interacting with believers, and non-believers only serve to bring about increased confidence and faith in God[7]. Spreading the Gospel serves to enrich one’s understanding of the Bible and deepens one’s prayer life which is a significant aspect of Christianity. The more that believers share the word of God with non-believers, the more their understanding of the Bible is challenged. Challenging one’s understanding of the Bible makes them try and gain more insight from the Bible hence increasing their belief and trust in God. A greater understanding of the Bible helps reveal one’s fears and inadequacy a factor that drives Christians to their knees and thus closer to God.

The Gospel and Implications of the Gospel

The good news and the teaching and life of Jesus Christ during his ministries on earth ought not to be confused with the implications of the Gospel[8]. The Gospel is generally a proclamation of the doings of God through His son Jesus Christ in reconciling sinners towards himself. The Gospel is a promise of salvation for humanity, but it is not by any means a command. Unlike the implications of the Gospel, the Gospel in itself is not the good works that we as humans have done but rather it is sharing in the good news of Christ Jesus our savior. On the other hand, the implication of the Gospel is majorly building upon the good deeds that we as human beings do to our fellow brothers and sisters. Such acts as helping the poor, feeding the hungry and adhering to sexual ethics are the implications of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The implication of the Gospel is majorly the transforming power that the Gospel has. By taking a closer look at the implications of the Gospel, as Christians, we can understand the transformative power of the Gospel. Failing to understand how the spirit works might have several disastrous effects on human beings. Such consequences include abandonment of the Christian faith, pharisaic pride and dark despair. Overall, these individual sad consequences show neglect or overall confusion of the purpose and meaning of the Gospel. On the other end, having to properly comprehend the tenets of the Gospel and its related accomplishments leads to a displacement of pride, decreased despair and enables an individual to be firmly rooted in the love of Jesus Christ[9]. The different implications of the Gospel receive their power from the Gospel itself, and it does not offer more than the Gospel.

Conclusion

The term gospel has had a considerable number of interpretations in relation to its theological, historical and biblical considerations. From a protestant evangelical point of view, the most acceptable definition of the term gospel generally is the life and teachings of Jesus Christ during his early ministries on earth. The cosmic dimension of the Gospel argues for a universal relationship with God, whereas the personal aspects of the gospel advocates for an individual and intimate relationship with God. A majority of theologians argue that the Christian walk of faith ought to be an own walk with God rather than a cosmic one. Believers ought to share the Gospel of Christ with non-believers as this fulfils the end game of God with humanity, i.e. salvation.

Bibliography

Chamblin, Knox J. “understanding the word ‘gospel’.” ME524 Evangelism & Discipleship, 2020.

Evangelism & Discipleship. “A collection of past & present definitions of the gospel.” ME524 Evangelism & Discipleship, 2020. file:///C:/Users/Dell/Downloads/04e-gospel-definitions-handout%20(1).pdf.

Evangelism & Discipleship. “Clarifying the gospel: A biblical-theological approach.” ME524 Evangelism & Discipleship, 2020. file:///C:/Users/Dell/Downloads/04b-clarifying-the-gospel-handout%20(1).pdf.

Payne, Tony. The Essential Jesus. Matthias Media, 2008.

Schmidt, Cary. Done. : What Most Religions Don’t Tell You about the Bible. Striving Together Publication, 2005.

Schwanke, Paul. One Thing: Confronting the Obstacle Between You and Christ. Striving Together Publications, 2013.

Weldon, John, John Ankerberg, and Walter G. Kaiser. The Case for Jesus the Messiah. ATRI Publishing, 2014.

[1] Knox J. Chamblin, “understanding the word ‘gospel’,” ME524 Evangelism & Discipleship, 2020, 15-25.

[2]  Evangelism & Discipleship, “a collection of past & present definitions of the gospel,” ME524 Evangelism & Discipleship, 2020, 20-59, file:///C:/Users/Dell/Downloads/04e-gospel-definitions-handout%20 (1).pdf.

[3]. Evangelism & Discipleship “clarifying the gospel: A biblical-theological approach,” ME524 Evangelism & Discipleship, 2020, 15-25, file:///C:/Users/Dell/Downloads/04b-clarifying-the-gospel-handout%20 (1).pdf.

[4] Evangelism & discipleship, clarifying the Gospel, 24.

[5] Tony Payne, The Essential Jesus (Matthias Media, 2008), 250-430.

[6] Cary Schmidt, Done. : What Most Religions Don’t Tell You about the Bible (Striving Together Publication, 2005), 350-500.

[7]. Paul Schwanke, One Thing: Confronting the Obstacle Between You and Christ (Striving Together Publications, 2013), 250-450.

[8] Schwanke, Obstacle between You and Christ, 99.

[9]. John Weldon, John Ankerberg, and Walter G. Kaiser, The Case for Jesus the Messiah (ATRI Publishing, 2014), 98-320.