'I am not ashamed of the gospel,
because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
first for the Jew [i.e. Jewish person],
then for the Gentile [i.e. non-Jewish person].'
(Rom. 1:16 NIV)
The word 'gospel' is usually translated 'good news' in our English Bibles.
But in truth it can mean any news, good or bad. But, either way, it is always BIG news.
Thankfully, the Christian gospel - the gospel of Jesus Christ - is both big and good. It is good news for 'bad' people (not good people who have got it all together). The gospel is God's good news for a world gone bad. And it is all to do with his Son, Jesus Christ.
First, we start with what the gospel is not.*
What the gospel is not
And we could add plenty more of 'what the gospel is nots':
So, if this is what the gospel is not... what is the gospel?
What is the gospel?
Thankfully, the Christian gospel is not only good and big. It's also simple enough to sum up on five fingers.**
1. God [thumb]
This is God’s world, he made it.
[Now] God has made Jesus ruler of his world, through his rising from the dead.
[This means] Jesus has the right to control and run our lives.
2. People [pointer]
Everyone has rebelled against Jesus’ right to run his [or] her life. Some in open hostility, others in passive apathy – it is really just the same.
3. God (or, more specifically, Jesus) [middle finger]
God calls on us all to stop rebelling and to submit to Jesus.
[And I would add, here, that this is the same Jesus who ‘always lived under God’s rule’ (to use the language of box four in 2WTL), ‘yet by dying in our place he took our punishment and brought forgiveness’]
4. What if a person won’t? [ring finger]
If a person won’t submit to Jesus, in the end that person will be overthrown, Jesus really is in charge of God’s world.
5. What if a person does? [pinkie]
If a person stops rebelling and submits to Jesus he is treated as if he had never rebelled.
So there you have it, the gospel on one hand. God made it. We blew it. Jesus came to fix it, by calling all people to the obedience of faith that his risen lordship demands and deserves.
Strictly speaking, the five-finger outline covers both the gospel and our response to the gospel. But since the gospel is the kind of news that needs a response, it makes sense to keep the two together. As the Bible says:
'Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever rejects the Son will not see life,
for God’s wrath remains on him.'
(John 3:36 NIV)
So, here's the big question. Do you believe in Jesus the Son? The gospel is only good news for you if you do. And if you do believe in the Son, are you living in such a way that's consistent with this belief? For Christians, the gospel transforms every corner of our lives, by the power of the Holy Spirit, one day at a time.
If you've got questions, why not talk with one of the members of our church, or contact the minister directly: [email protected]
because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
first for the Jew [i.e. Jewish person],
then for the Gentile [i.e. non-Jewish person].'
(Rom. 1:16 NIV)
The word 'gospel' is usually translated 'good news' in our English Bibles.
But in truth it can mean any news, good or bad. But, either way, it is always BIG news.
Thankfully, the Christian gospel - the gospel of Jesus Christ - is both big and good. It is good news for 'bad' people (not good people who have got it all together). The gospel is God's good news for a world gone bad. And it is all to do with his Son, Jesus Christ.
First, we start with what the gospel is not.*
What the gospel is not
- Firstly, the good news is not simply that we are okay. in actual fact, the good news begins with the bad news that we are anything but ok.
- Secondly, the good news is not simply that God is love. Now, of course, it is true that God is love – the Bible tell us he is! But the good news includes the whole of God’s character, that he is also the creator and the redeemer, for instance, the Holy One revealed right through God's good book, the Bible.
- Thirdly, the good news is not simply that Jesus wants to be our friend. As Mark Dever writes, 'the Christian gospel is not a matter of mere self-help or even of a great example or a relationship to be cultivated. There is a real past to be dealt with. Real sins have been committed. Real guilt has been incurred. And so what is to be done?' Good question. And good news - the gospel has the answer. But before we get there...
- Fourthly, the good news is not that we should live rightly. How often, when I sit down with a family to plan a funeral do I hear something like this: ‘Oh, he wasn’t very religious. But he was a good man…’ And I sit there wondering how good is good enough? And if simply being a good bloke is all it takes to rest in peace, then why on earth did God’s Son have to die?
And we could add plenty more of 'what the gospel is nots':
- The good news isn’t simply social justice
- The good news isn’t simply spirituality
- The good news isn’t speedy in any sense of the word
- Etc, etc.
So, if this is what the gospel is not... what is the gospel?
What is the gospel?
Thankfully, the Christian gospel is not only good and big. It's also simple enough to sum up on five fingers.**
1. God [thumb]
This is God’s world, he made it.
[Now] God has made Jesus ruler of his world, through his rising from the dead.
[This means] Jesus has the right to control and run our lives.
2. People [pointer]
Everyone has rebelled against Jesus’ right to run his [or] her life. Some in open hostility, others in passive apathy – it is really just the same.
3. God (or, more specifically, Jesus) [middle finger]
God calls on us all to stop rebelling and to submit to Jesus.
[And I would add, here, that this is the same Jesus who ‘always lived under God’s rule’ (to use the language of box four in 2WTL), ‘yet by dying in our place he took our punishment and brought forgiveness’]
4. What if a person won’t? [ring finger]
If a person won’t submit to Jesus, in the end that person will be overthrown, Jesus really is in charge of God’s world.
5. What if a person does? [pinkie]
If a person stops rebelling and submits to Jesus he is treated as if he had never rebelled.
So there you have it, the gospel on one hand. God made it. We blew it. Jesus came to fix it, by calling all people to the obedience of faith that his risen lordship demands and deserves.
Strictly speaking, the five-finger outline covers both the gospel and our response to the gospel. But since the gospel is the kind of news that needs a response, it makes sense to keep the two together. As the Bible says:
'Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever rejects the Son will not see life,
for God’s wrath remains on him.'
(John 3:36 NIV)
So, here's the big question. Do you believe in Jesus the Son? The gospel is only good news for you if you do. And if you do believe in the Son, are you living in such a way that's consistent with this belief? For Christians, the gospel transforms every corner of our lives, by the power of the Holy Spirit, one day at a time.
If you've got questions, why not talk with one of the members of our church, or contact the minister directly: [email protected]
* These four points are based material in Mark Dever's The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (2007, Crossway Books)
** These five points are taken from John Chapmans outline in Know and Tell the Gospel (2005, Matthias Media)
** These five points are taken from John Chapmans outline in Know and Tell the Gospel (2005, Matthias Media)