WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

We hear the word gospel all the time.

We preach the gospel. We obey the gospel. We defend the gospel. We send missionaries to preach the gospel.

But what does the word actually mean?

Before we build a definition from our traditions, let's do something simpler.

Let's see how the New Testament uses the word.

Gospel Means “Good News”

The Greek word translated gospel means good news or good announcement.

That immediately raises another question.

Good news about what?

The New Testament gives us the answer—but perhaps it is bigger than the definition we sometimes use.

Jesus Preached the Gospel

Mark tells us what Jesus began preaching:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:15

Notice the pieces.

The time is fulfilled.

Something God had promised was happening.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

God's promised rule was arriving.

Repent and believe the gospel.

This was good news that demanded a response.

Matthew describes Jesus as going throughout Galilee:

“preaching the gospel of the kingdom.”
Matthew 4:23

So before the cross, Jesus was already preaching the gospel.

That is important.

The gospel cannot mean merely, “Jesus died on the cross.”

His death is at the very heart of the gospel, but the good news had already begun to be announced.

God was fulfilling His promises through Jesus.

Then Jesus Went to the Cross

After the resurrection, the apostles could proclaim something that had now actually happened.

Jesus had died.

He had been buried.

And He had risen.

Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gospel he had preached to them:

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”
1 Corinthians 15:3–4

Notice Paul's repeated words:

“according to the Scriptures.”

The cross and resurrection were not God's emergency response when things went wrong.

They were part of the plan.

The promises were being fulfilled.

Is the Gospel About the Kingdom or the Cross?

Sometimes we speak as though we must choose.

Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom.

Paul preached Christ crucified and risen.

Are those two different gospels?

No.

They are parts of the same good news.

The promised King came.

He died for our sins.

God raised Him from the dead.

He was exalted to God's right hand.

And He reigns as Lord.

That is exactly where Peter's sermon on Pentecost leads.

Peter announces the resurrection of Jesus and then says:

“God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Acts 2:36

The crucified Jesus is alive.

And the risen Jesus is Lord and Christ.

That is good news.

The Gospel Is an Announcement Before It Is an Invitation

This distinction is worth noticing.

We sometimes reduce the gospel to:

“What must I do to be saved?”

That is an extremely important question. In fact, the people who heard Peter preach asked essentially that question:

“What shall we do?”
Acts 2:37

Peter answered:

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins...”
Acts 2:38

But their response was not itself the whole gospel.

The gospel was the good news that produced the response.

Jesus is the promised Christ.

He was crucified.

God raised Him.

He is Lord.

Now—what are you going to do about it?

The Gospel Demands a Response

Good news does not mean there is nothing for us to do.

Jesus said:

“Repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:15

Peter said:

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized...”
Acts 2:38

Paul later wrote of “the obedience of faith.”

Romans 1:5

The gospel announces what God has done.

Faith responds to what God has done.

We do not save ourselves.

But neither does biblical faith simply hear the announcement and walk away.

Paul Would Not Allow the Gospel to Be Changed

This brings us directly to Galatians.

Paul was astonished that some Christians were turning toward what he called:

“a different gospel.”
Galatians 1:6

Then he immediately corrected himself:

“which is not another.”
Galatians 1:7

There aren't several legitimate versions of the gospel.

The controversy in Galatia involved circumcision and the Law of Moses. Some were trying to require Gentile believers to come under those covenant requirements.

Paul saw that as more than a minor disagreement.

It changed the gospel.

Why?

Because God's promise was being fulfilled in Christ, not by turning Gentiles into Jews.

The Gospel Goes Back to Abraham

Paul makes a remarkable statement in Galatians 3:

“And the Scripture... preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’”
Galatians 3:8

There is our word again.

Gospel.

And now Paul takes us centuries before Jesus was born.

God's promise to Abraham was already pointing toward the good news.

“All the nations shall be blessed.”

Not Israel alone.

Not one race.

Not one nation.

God was working toward something that would reach all peoples.

And Paul tells us where that promise finds its fulfillment:

“If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Galatians 3:29

Now the pieces are coming together.

One Good News From One God

The gospel is not merely a formula for getting into heaven.

It is the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ.

God kept His promise.

The Christ came.

He died for our sins.

He was buried.

God raised Him from the dead.

He has been exalted as Lord and King.

Through Him, the blessing promised to Abraham goes to all nations.

Jew and Gentile can become one in Christ.

Sin can be forgiven.

Death has been defeated.

And those who belong to Christ have hope beyond the grave.

That is good news.

Now Read the Text Again

Don't begin with what someone told you the word gospel means.

Read the passages yourself.

Mark 1:14–15
Matthew 4:23
Acts 2:22–38
Romans 1:1–6
1 Corinthians 15:1–4
Galatians 1:6–9
Galatians 3:6–9, 26–29

Then ask:

What did Jesus call the gospel?

What did the apostles call the gospel?

What had God promised beforehand?

What happened through Jesus?

And what response does that good news call for?

TEXT B4 TRADITION

Read First. Conclude Later.

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