Category Archives: The Gospel

An "Attractive" Gospel?

Posted by Dan C. on

The tendency today, in many churches, is to present a gospel that is attractive to the unbeliever. It sounds like a great idea, but is it Biblical to do so? Paul tells us this:

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” – 1 Cor 1:18

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” – Rom 8:7

Horatius Bonar, in the 19th century had this to say:

“For we know that the unrenewed will is set against the Gospel; it is enmity to God and His truth. ~ It is the Gospel that the unbeliever hates; and the more clearly it is set before him, the more he hates it.” –

I personally don’t know anyone who would deem attractive that which they consider “foolish“. Do you? And if we try to somehow make the gospel “attractive”, do we still have the gospel in our message? If the unrenewed (unregenerated, lost in sin) human will is at enmity (hostility, antipathy, antagonism, animosity) to God and the truth of the Gospel, what must happen in order to have an “attractive” gospel? 

That last question seems to have a two part, yet simple, answer. All we need to is remove that which is ‘offensive’ to the ears and hearts of unbelievers, and insert that which would be ‘attractive’ to the unbelievers we are trying to reach.

Well, what is it exactly that unbelievers find ‘offensive’? To answer that one, we need only consider the Apostle Paul’s definition of the Gospel:

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, . . . For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” – 1 Cor 15:1-4

In that definition of the Gospel message, we have three primary elements – Christ’s death for our sin,  His burial and His resurrection to knew life. Well, we tend to love the “resurrection to new life” part, and we don’t really mind the “Christ died for our sins” part, as long as it doesn’t get too personal. What is ‘offensive’ to anyone whose heart has not been opened to hear and believe the Gospel, is the need to personally confront sin, repent of it, and believe. Maybe Paul didn’t specifically articulate those requirements, but Jesus certainly did:

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:14-15

Jesus also told Nicodemus, during a well known confrontation, why personally confronting sin is, as Paul says, is offensive to the unbeliever – they love their sin!

“And this is the judgment: the light  (Jesus) has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

No sweat, we’ll dump all that offensive sin, judgment and repentance stuff from our message and concentrate on the other half of Paul’s definition of the Gospel, the resurrection! It’s the part of the gospel message that appeals to everybody! We all want new, better, abundant lives and we all want to be loved! We’ll focus on all the promises God has for unbelievers if they just ‘accept’ Him. Get rid of the negative and accentuate the positive!

Well, that sounds good and gets lots of folks through the doors, but there’s one teeny weeny little problem. Unless the ‘negative’ is addressed first, unless the issue of ‘sin’ is dealt with, the ‘positive, God’s promises for the believer, just ‘ain’t gonna happen’.  Sorry I have to tell you that, but it’s true.

Christ’s atonement was all about the ‘sin’ issue, from the Old Testament through the New testament, from Genesis through Revelation. As Paul states,”Christ died for our sins”. All the promises connected to Jesus’ bodily resurrection and out spiritual resurrection to new life in Him, are ‘gravy’ – promises contingent upon having heard and believed that which is ‘offensive’ to the natural mind and hearts, but a beautiful symphony to hearts and minds enabled by the Holy Spirit to hear, comprehend, and receive it.

What we have today in so many churches is a ‘gospel of addition’, as John MacArthur has called it, that’s all about the good things God wants to add to your life, but void of the initial need to confront sin, deal with it at the Cross, and ‘subtract’ the penalty and bondage of sin from our lives. Friends, that’s worse than putting the cart before the horse, there’s NO horse!

Sadly, an ‘offenseless’ gospel is what we have in so many churches these days – at least it seems that way. And it’s not confined to churches and ‘stages’. What comes from the man in the pulpit or on stage, is adopted by the vast majority of those in the pews and/or theater seats. I was told by a sincere believer recently that his ‘calling’ is to just spread the love of Jesus, while dealing with the ‘sin’ related issues was the calling of the ‘spiritually gifted’ evangelist. He really believes that, and I find it incredibly sad. Evangelism is merely being able to convey man’s problem with sin, God’s solution in Christ, and inviting the lost and hurting to the Cross.

Dear friends, we don’t need an ‘attractive’ gospel message that omits the ‘offense’ of the cross. We just need to tell the salvation story to others, and leave the rest to God. Half a gospel never has, and never will, save anyone.

Food for thought. . .

What about my friends?

Posted by Dan C. on

That’s a question all believers face at some point, and it comes in many forms:

  • “Now that I believe in Christ, will I lose my friends, some of whom think Christianity is a joke?”
  • “Will I make new friends if I lose the old ones?
  • “Should I tell my friends about what just happened to me?
  • “How do I tell my friends I now believe in Christ as my Savior?”
  • “What will my friends think of me?”
  • “Do I have to walk away from my ‘worldly’ friends? Will they dump me?

And the list goes on. . .

The founder of The Navigators is said to have answered the “How long should I wait before telling my friends……..” question with something like “Do you want that in minutes or seconds?”

Well. my son Dan (also and mostly known as Hauss) told me this last Father’s Day how and why he handled the situation, and probably addressed the above list and most of the other questions that could be added to the list.

Hauss had already been sharing with me over the last year or so how he had been finding out, while ‘hanging out’ with the same crowd, that he no longer felt comfortable engaging in some of the activities involved, and was even developing a distaste for what he had previously enjoyed or thought perfectly normal behavior. The changes he was experiencing were not unnoticed by his friends, and he has been sometimes asked what happened, to which he would reply “I got saved.”, after which he would talk about it. No beating around the bush there!

At some point he decided to just write a letter to everyone on his ‘close friend’ list and tell them all about it. The reason he gave me was basically that it was the right and fair thing to do. They are close friends and close friends don’t keep secrets from each other – he needed to just be up front and honest with them. There was nothing overtly ‘evangelistic’ – no motives other than honesty and integrity. What a concept!

Naturally I was pleased, but not terribly surprised, because I have listened to him share his testimony of having confronted sin, repented of it and trusting in Christ. I have no doubts concerning the genuineness of his confession of faith. What did come to mind however, was something I can’t remember ever having thought a lot about in the context of this scenario – sharing one’s faith with those who are close to us.

Hauss, with his letter, had not only answered a lot of questions faced by a ‘young’ believer, he had avoided the pain of being the one to initiate the severing of a close relationship, should that be the best course of action in the fuure. That ‘ball’ was no longer in his court! Since he had simply been open, honest, and caring, it was now on the shoulders of the receivers of the letter to respond. They would either :

  • Choose to remain friends, either dismissing Hauss’ testimony as only a temporary phase, or with a genuine interest/curiosity, possibly due to an ‘awakening’ in their own hearts, or
  • Sever the friendship at some point or other because they ‘couldn’t handle the truth’ presented, because they had not yet been awakened by the Holy Spirit to hear and receive the gospel message in Hauss’ testimony.

If they hung around hoping for a ‘phase, they would come to another decision point  whether to stick around any longer or just write Hauss off as a ‘lost cause’.

Interesting thing though. I don’t think for a second that Hauss has experienced much of the personal stress this whole scenario invites. He just did what came naturally. That’s just the way he is. Or should I say ‘new’ naturally!

If you are reading this and think writing a letter might not be for you, you could be right. Perhaps God will plant some other way to tell the ones, who are often the hardest to tell, about your salvation, The important thing is to face the question(s) head on, continue to read your Bible, pray about it and, like a famous commercial: “Just do it!”

God will take care of the results, whatever they me be, ‘positive’ or ‘negative’. Not only that, the peace you will find is beyond words, at least any words I have at my disposal – and I am a ‘wordy’ guy at times.

What ABOUT your friends?

The Apostle Paul Turns to the Gentiles

Posted by Dan C. on

The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you (the Jews). Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. – Acts 13:44-48 (ESV)

13:44-45. On the next Sabbath . . . the Jews (i.e., Jewish leaders), moved by jealousy . . . talked abusively against what Paul was saying (“abusively” renders the Gr. participle blasphēmountes).

13:46. To combat this Jewish opposition Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly, We had to speak the Word of God to you first. Apostolic preaching was noted for its boldness.

It was necessary that the apostles go to the Jews first for a number of reasons. First, the coming of the earthly kingdom depended on Israel’s response to the coming of Christ (cf. Matt. 23:39; Rom. 11:26). Second, only after Israel rejected the gospel could Paul devote himself to the Gentiles. Third, the message of Jesus is fundamentally Jewish in that the Old Testament, the Messiah, and the promises are all Jewish. (On “the Jew first,” cf. Acts 3:26; Rom. 1:16.)

So Paul turned to the Gentiles in Antioch. This pattern was repeated in city after city until Paul reached Rome (cf. Acts 13:50-51; 14:2-6; 17:5, 13-15; 18:6; 19:8-9). There for the final time in the book the Apostle Paul turned from Jews to Gentiles (28:23-28).

13:47. In thus turning to the Gentiles Paul and Barnabas saw an outworking of the prophecy of Isaiah 49:6, I have made you a light to the Gentiles. This Old Testament passage has at least three applications—to Israel (Isa. 49:3), to Christ (Luke 2:29-32), and to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.

13:48. The Gentiles rejoiced in this turn of events and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. It is difficult to miss the doctrine of God’s election here; the words “were appointed” come from the verb tassō, a military word meaning “to arrange” or “to assign.” Luke used it here to show that God’s elective decree included Gentiles.

i.e., id est, that is

cf., confer, compare

Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:390

What People Believe

Posted by Dan C. on

It’s been said that, in general, people believe what they want to believe. Conversely, they don’t believe what they don’t want to believe. If you can change what people want to believe, you’ve got them in the palm of your hand. Just ask the salesman who is an effective ‘closer’. His success as a ‘closer’ relies on overcoming the resistance of the person buying a car/boat/house/time-share/you name it. In spiritual matters it is not much different.

“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but–to proclaim good news; not in wisdom of discourse, that the cross of the Christ may not be made of none effect; for the word of the cross to those indeed perishing is foolishness, and to us–those being saved–it is the power of God.” 1 Cor 1:17-18

Now however, instead of the salesman, we are dealing with God. By nature, coming from the womb, we are spiritually dead, unable and unwilling to seek God on our own (See Psalm 14, Romans 3, and Ephesians 2). We don’t want to believe God, are living in rebellion against him objects of his wrath. That’s the bad news. Then, as Paul tells us, along comes the good news, the gospel of Christ and his death for our sins. But wait, a dead man can’t believe much of anything. What does God do?

God wakes the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, who changes what a person wants to believe, and guess what? The word of the gospel is brought to that one who now wants to believe it, he/she believes, and another adopted son or daughter joins the family of God!

What a mighty God we serve!

Saved From Unhappy Circumstances or Saved from God’s Wrath?

Posted by Dan C. on

by Bob DeWaay, Twin City Fellowship, Minneapolis, MN

A regrettable development in current evangelicalism is that the term “gospel” is often used in a way that lacks the content of the gospel as preached by Christ and His apostles. Today we hear, “come to Jesus and have a better marriage,” or “come to Jesus and find purpose in life,” or “come to Jesus and He will solve your economic or emotional problems.” None of these statements is the gospel. First of all, do the hearers of this weak message know who Jesus is? Perhaps some are Mormons who claim to believe in Jesus, but have a different Jesus. Secondly, do those who hear this message know what Jesus did for them? Maybe they hear that Christ died on the cross; but why? If Jesus came to solve their marriage problems, give them a better job, or get them off of drugs, why did He need to die on the cross for these matters? This confuses people because it is confusing. Jesus could help people solve problems without dying on the cross. God has the power to give people better marriages and find them better jobs without having His only begotten Son killed by murderous rebels.

Paul told the Philippians of Christ’s pre-existence with God and as God (Philippians 2:6), His death on the cross (Philippians 2:8), and His subsequent exaltation (Philippians 2:9). This is the essence of the person and work of Christ. This work of Christ was not to help people have less stress in the workplace, but to deliver them from the wrath of God against sin!

The true gospel is about God reconciling sinners (enemies) to Himself through the blood atonement:

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:8-10)

The false “gospel” being preached today says that Jesus came to save people from a lack of purpose, lack of happiness, or from living a stress filled and problem filled existence. The true gospel delivers sinners who are God’s enemies (whether they know it or not) from God’s wrath through the blood atonement. This is the gospel Paul preached and this is the “faith of the gospel” around which Paul told the Philippians they should strive to unify. Any church that does not clearly and publicly preach this message from the pulpit, yet talks about “unity,” is promoting a false and man-made unity that is unbiblical.

The true Biblical understanding of the gospel is shown by Paul’s address to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:17-35). Paul reminded them of his previous preaching to them: “how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:20, 21). The gospel says, “repent and believe.” If repentance is not preached, then the apostolic pattern is not being followed and the Great Commission is not being obeyed (see Luke 24:47). After God established a church in Ephesus through the gospel, Paul nurtured them. Here is his account of how he did so: “Therefore I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:27). Whatever of God’s purpose is revealed is to be declared publicly. The implication is that the preacher who knows the whole counsel of God but fails to preach it is guilty before God.

________________________________________

This is an excerpt from a larger article concerning true and false Christian unity, published by Critical Issues Commentary, that can be read here.

What did Jesus Say About End Times?

Posted by Dan C. on

Christians have always been curious about the End Times. It’s part of our nature to be curious about such things. Even Jesus’ closest followers asked about the end of the age:

Mat 24:3  As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?”

Mar 13:3-4  And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

Luk 21:7  And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

What is significant to note is the context around the disciples’ question. What is stated clearly in the Matthew account and inescapable in all three parallel accounts is that the question is asked in the context of the second coming of Christ. All of the accounts end with “then they will see the Son of Man coming”, followed by the gathering of ‘the elect’.

Mat 24:30-31  Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mar 13:10  And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.

Mar 13:26  And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Mar 13:32  “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.

Luk 21:13  This will be your opportunity to bear witness.

Luk 21:19  By your endurance you will gain your lives.

Luk 21:27  And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

More importantly than ‘when’ are our actions and attitude. As believers we are not to speculate:

“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

We are not to be alarmed by the ‘events’ of the end times, whether they be personal persecution, drastic weather/natural phenomena, or warring nations. We are to endure by God’s power and we will be ‘gathered together’ with Christ – the ‘salvation’ spoken of in these passages.

Mat 24:6  See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

Mat 24:13  But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Luk 21:13  This will be your opportunity to bear witness.

Luk 21:19  By your endurance you will gain your lives.

We are to ‘bear witness’. Of what? the gospel:

Mar 13:10  And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.

How can we summarize Jesus’ teachings about the end times?

  • They began before the destruction of Jerusalem, which is specific to the above passages of scripture, and will end at the Second Coming of Christ.
  • A lot of ‘bad stuff’ (according to us and not necessarily to God) will happen between the beginning of the end times and Christ’s coming.
  • Some of that ‘bad stuff’ will happen to followers of Christ, but we are to continue to spread the gospel of Christ to ‘all nations’, meaning those in our areas of influence as well as the nations of the world.
  • All of God’s elect will be gathered together with Christ – our ‘final’ redemption to God’s great Glory.

While Jesus does does provide a lot of detail concerning the ‘signs’, he forbids speculation about the ‘when’. Rather, he tells his closest followers (and us) to endure while spreading the gospel of Christ, confident of His Second Coming and the hope of our final redemption and glorification.  What should the apparent escalation of ‘stuff’ we see do to our thinking and attitudes?

This old soldier thinks it should cause within us an even greater urgency to spread the gospel of Christ!

The Clear Call of the Trumpet

Posted by Dan C. on

In a passage specifically referring to the use of the gift of tongues in the Corinthian church, Paul had this to say:

“Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” – 1 Co 14:8 (NIV)

Barnes’ commentary provides further insight:

For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound – The trumpet was used commonly in war. It is a well-known wind instrument, and was made of brass, silver, etc. It was used for various purposes in war – to summon the soldiers; to animate them in their march; to call them forth to battle; to sound a retreat; and to signify to them what they were to do in battle, whether to charge, advance, or retreat, etc. It therefore employed a “language” which was intelligible to an army. An uncertain sound was one in which none of these things were indicated, or in which it could not be determined what was required.

Who shall prepare himself … – The apostle selects a single instance of what was indicated by the trumpet, as an illustration of what he meant. The idea is, that foreign tongues spoken in their assembly would be just as useless in regard to their duty, their comfort, and edification, as would be the sound of a trumpet when it gave one of the usual and intelligible sounds by which it was known what the soldiers were required to do. Just as we would say, that the mere beating on a drum would he useless, unless some tune was played by which it was known that the soldiers were summoned to the parade, to advance, or to retreat.

Looking around at the many ‘trumpets’ of evangelicalism today, one can no longer ‘hear’ a clear call to Christ. To what or to whom do we modern evangelicals call the lost and dying – those living apart from the saving grace of Christ? Do we call them to a better life down here – their ‘best life now’? Do we call them to have better marriages, success in their careers, great relationships, positive thinking, and social action? Or, like the Apostle Paul, do we simply call then to Christ who died for their sins.  

“. . .but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” – 1 Cor 1:23

Perhaps our faith would be less confusing to the masses of the lost and dying all around us, if all across the evangelical spectrum there would be a return to the clear call of the simple gospel that the Apostle Paul preached, so that the ‘foolishness’ of that simple gospel would save those for whom Christ died.

Gospel Definitions from Christians in the Present – No. 1

Posted by Dan C. on

R.C. Sproul
“There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the Gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they’re preaching the Gospel to you when they tell you, ‘you can have a purpose to your life’, or that ‘you can have meaning to your life’, or that ‘you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.’ All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don’t get to the heart of the Gospel.

The Gospel is called the ‘good news’ because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and I’m not. And at the end of my life, I’m going to stand before a just and holy God, and I’ll be judged. And I’ll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness – or lack of it – or the righteousness of another.

The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for me what I couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.

The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn’t concerned to protect His own integrity. He’s a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising Him from the dead – so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification. So the Gospel is something objective. It is the message of who Jesus is and what He did.

And it also has a subjective dimension. How are the benefits of Jesus subjectively appropriated to us? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith – and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him – and in Him alone. You do that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven of all of your sins, and you have begun your pilgrimage for eternity.”

Gospel Definitions from Christians in the Past – No. 2

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Jeremiah Burroughs

The gospel of Christ in general is this:

It is the good tidings that God has revealed concerning Christ.

More largely it is this:

As all mankind was lost in Adam and became the children of wrath, put under the sentence of death, God, though He left His fallen angels and has reserved them in the chains of eternal darkness, yet He has thought upon the children of men and has provided a way of atonement to reconcile them to Himself again…Namely, the second person of the Trinity takes man’s nature upon Himself, and becomes the Head of a second covenant, standing charged with sin. He answers for it by suffering what the law and divine justice required, and by making satisfaction by keeping the law perfectly, which satisfaction and righteousness He tenders up to the Father as a sweet savor of rest for the souls that are given to Him…And now this mediation of Christ is, by the appointment of the Father, preached to the children of men, of whatever nation or rank, freely offering this atonement unto sinners for atonement, requiring them to believe in Him and, upon believing, promising not only a discharge of all their former sins, but that they shall not enter into condemnation, that none of their sins or unworthiness shall ever hinder the peace of God with them, but that they shall through Him be received into the number of those who shall have the
image of God again to be renewed unto them, and they they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

C.H. Dodd

The Gospel” Summarized in 6 Parts

1. The Age of Fulfillment has dawned, the “latter days” foretold by the prophets. (Acts 3:18-26)

2. This has taken place through the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:22-31)

3. By virtue of the resurrection, Jesus has been exalted at the right hand of God as Messianic head of the new Israel. (Acts 2:32-36)

4. The Holy Spirit in the church is the sign of Christ’s present power and glory. (Acts 10:44-48)

5. The Messianic Age will reach its consummation in the return of Christ. (Acts 3:20-21)

6. An appeal is made for repentance with the offer of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and salvation. (Acts 2:37-41)

Gospel Definitions from Christians in the Past – No. 1

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Gilbert Beebe

Like so many Bible terms, the word GOSPEL has been given various definitions contrary to its original and proper meaning.

The word has its origin “in Christ before the foundation of the world.” This was contained in the “promise” God made before the foundation of the world. (Tit. 1:2) The “gospel,” the “good news” or “good tidings” is the declared fulfilment of that promise.

In Isaiah 61:1-3 is found the outstanding proclamation made by the Sum and Substance of the good tidings, — Jesus Christ Himself:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the meek, He has sent Me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of
vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn. To appoint to them that mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”

The Redeemer repeated this same proclamation of Himself in the synagogue.

While this prophetical statement is often quoted, its full significance is rarely understood. In this one sweeping declaration, there is encouched – not the beginning of the gospel, not a part of its fulfilment, – the grand total of what the Son of Man declared on the cross: “IT IS FINISHED”!

The Greek word “evanggelion” is translated “gospel” in the King James Version. This word, together with its rendering of “good tidings,” glad tidings” and “preach the gospel” occurs some one hundred and eight times in the New Testament, none of which intimate anything less than “finished redemption” in Christ.

F.F. Bruce

“Only one saving message is attested by the NT. The “gospel to the circumcision” preached by Peter and his colleagues did not differ in content from the “gospel to the uncircumcised” entrusted to Paul (Gal. 2:7), though the form of presentation might vary according to the audience. Paul’s testimony is, “Whether therefore it was I or they [Peter and his colleagues], so we preach, and so you believed” (1 Cor. 15:11).

The basic elements in the message were these:

1. the prophecies have been fulfilled and the new age inaugurated by the coming of Christ;

2. he was born into the family of David;

3. he died according to the Scriptures, to deliver his people from this evil age;

4. he was buried, and raised again the third day, according to the Scriptures;

5. he is exalted at God’s right hand as Son of God, Lord of living and dead;

6. he will come again, to judge the world and consummate his saving work.”