What Is the Gospel? | The Cross & The Kingdom

Type of Doctrine: Primary (i.e., central aspects must be affirmed in order to be saved) and Secondary / Tertiary (i.e., specific nuances)

"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 ESV

Why Does It Matter?

The gospel is the good news that God saves. I can't imagine a more important subject. The difference between being saved or not is heaven or hell. The article below will explore this question: What is the gospel?

Obviously, the central aspects of the gospel must be affirmed in order to be saved by God. Thus, in this sense it is a primary issue. However, specific nuances of this doctrine may fall into secondary and tertiary categories respectively.

What Is It?

If you're like me, you probably thought: "What? There is disagreement on the gospel?" Indeed, today there is confusion on the gospel. If you put together different definitions of the gospel by various Christian preachers, scholars, and authors, then it becomes apparent that many define the gospel differently.

In his book titled What Is the Gospel?, Greg Gilbert explains, "Is the good news simply that God loves me, and that I need to start thinking more positively? Is it that Jesus is a really good example who can teach me to live a loving and compassionate life? It might have something to do with sin and forgiveness. Apparently some Christians think this good news has something to do with Jesus' death. Others apparently don't" (20).

What does the word "gospel" mean? Most simply it means "good news." In Scripture, the word "gospel" sometimes appears by itself; other times it appears with various words attached to it. The three most common are: (1) the gospel of Jesus Christ; (2) the gospel of God and (3) the gospel of the kingdom. (I explore the many times the word "gospel" appears in Scripture in my devotional book: Chad Lee, The Good News: Meditations on the Gospel. Independently Published, 2020.).

Why do we need good news? Because after God created everything good, people sinned (Gen. 1-3). We committed treason against the King. Adam and Eve did what God said not to do. (We would have done the same. Sadly, we prove that by our choices every day.) The effects were far-reaching: sin, sickness, and suffering. Ultimately, sin is why we have death--that is, physical death and eternal death. All of this is bad news.

God could have left us. We deserve his wrath. We deserve punishment. We deserve to be separated from him for all of eternity. But, thankfully, he didn't. That is why Scripture uses the term "gospel," or good news. The good news is that Jesus, our Savior King, came for us. He lived a perfect life in our place. He took the punishment upon himself in our place on a bloody, wooden cross. He resurrected from the grave. Now, all who believe in him are forgiven of their sins and have eternal life. John writes, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16; emphasis mine). (Reader, if you have not believed in Jesus, then I plead with you to do that now. Believe in Jesus!) Ray Ortlund provides an excellent definition of the gospel,

God, through the perfect life, atoning death, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, rescues all his people from the wrath of God into peace with God, with a promise of the full restoration of his created order forever--all to the praise of the glory of his grace. (Ray Ortlund, The Gospel, 16)

Thus, God saves through faith in Jesus by the power of the Spirit.

The gospel is the good news that God saves through faith in Jesus by the power of the Spirit.

Likewise, in his book God Is the Gospel, John Piper writes that because of Jesus' "death and resurrection . . . the gospel promises a great salvation" (41). However, Piper insists that the chief gift in the gospel is that we get God! "The gospel of Jesus and his many precious blessings are not ultimately what makes the good news good, but means of seeing and savoring the Savior himself. Forgiveness is good because it opens the way to enjoying God himself" (back cover). So many times we come to God wanting something from him (i.e., forgiveness, blessings, wisdom, help, etc.). That is okay sometimes. But Piper helpfully convicts us. Ultimately, we come to God for God himself! He is the gift! Piper continues, "Justification is good because it wins access to the presence and pleasure of God himself. Eternal life is good because it becomes the everlasting enjoyment of Jesus" (Ibid.).

Two Main Lenses

However, there have been some disagreements on the gospel. I believe that much of this disagreement is due to talking past one another (although there are some real disagreements as well). One crowd is generally emphasizing the cross and personal salvation. This crowd usually focuses on individuals responding to the good news of Jesus with faith in order to be forgiven and justified.

The other crowd is generally emphasizing the kingdom and the cosmic salvation. This crowd usually emphasizes the implications of the gospel (e.g., justice, healing, the poor, transformation of the world, the resurrection. of the body, etc.).

Scripture refers to both. In my view, one enters the kingdom (which is both already and not yet; it will be here in fullness when Jesus returns) through the cross. In other words, the good news of the cross is the doorway which leads to the good news of the kingdom. Sadly, however, some are emphasizing one rather than the other. Both are true. And here is a scary thought: the kingdom is not good news without the cross! Instead, there will be judgment for those who don't believe (John 3:16). Therefore, the stakes couldn't be higher.

Some call this the narrow lens and wide lens of the gospel (DeYoung and Gilbert, What Is the Mission of the Church?, 92). Others call this the gospel on the ground and the gospel in the air (Chandler and Wilson, The Explicit Gospel, 9). Still others see three lenses: (1) the gospel of the kingdom; (2) the gospel of the cross and (3) the gospel of grace (Montgomery and Cosper, Faithmapping, 9).

The Gospel: Saved & Sanctified

The gospel is how we are saved. (That is, saved at conversion. The word saved, or salvation, can have past, present, and future connotations. See the article listed at the end of the section for more on that.) In Romans 1:16 Paul writes, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

The gospel is also how we are sanctified. (Sanctification has many other aspects. For more on the different views of sanctification click here.) Paul claims in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that as we behold the "glory of the Lord" we are "being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." Likewise, in Titus 2:11-12, Paul says that the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation and "training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age."

Therefore, the gospel is for both nonbelievers and believers. Through the power of the Spirit the gospel brings salvation--that is, justification, sanctification, and ultimately glorification (click here for more on the topic of salvation and how we are saved in the past, present, and future).

Some Cautions

-Let's not miss Jesus in our emphasis on the gospel. Christ can so easily get abstracted from our churches and our doctrine. Listen to Michael Reeves, "It's not just our self-focus, though; we naturally gravitate, it seems, toward anything but Jesus--and Christians almost as much as anyone--whether it's 'the Christian worldview,' 'grace,' 'the Bible' or 'the gospel,' as if they were things in themselves that could save us. Even 'the cross' can get abstracted from Jesus, as if the wood had some power of its own . . . But the center, the cornerstone, the jewel in the crown of Christianity it not an idea, a system or a thing; it is not even 'the gospel' as such. It is Jesus Christ" (Michael Reeves, Rejoicing in Christ, 10; author's emphasis).

-I've heard a number of people say something like: "Let's live the gospel." But we can't. We can't live the gospel just like we can't live the daily news (Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life, 17-36). It is a message about God saving people through Jesus. I think it is probably well-intentioned. Probably, by this phrase, people mean: live in response to the gospel. We live in light of the gospel. We respond to the gospel. We seek to live holy lives. We seek to live lives worthy of the gospel. But we can't live the gospel.

-Make sure the kingdom blessings are connected to the cross. DeYoung and Gilbert elaborate, "So long as those blessings of the kingdom are connected properly and essentially to the cross, they are undoubtedly part of the whole good news of Christianity, and the Bible quite readily calls that whole message--kingdom through cross--'the gospel'" (DeYoung and Gilbert, What Is the Mission of the Church?, 111).

-You can't be a Christian merely by living a "kingdom life." You must have faith! Again DeYoung and Gilbert comment, "To be a Christian is to have come to the Christ in faith and repentance, trusting him as the only one with power and authority to forgive sins and secure a righteous verdict from God" (Ibid.). Moreover, nonbelievers are not doing "kingdom work" (Ibid., 112).

-As the Reformers used to say, believers are justified (i.e., declared righteous) by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone. In other words, when you have genuine faith, good works come with it. If you don't have good works, then James says you have a dead faith--which ultimately does not experience justification (James 2:14-26).

-The Great Commission is the church's primary mission (Matt. 28:16-20). If the blessings of the kingdom are ultimately enjoyed by those who have true repentance and faith in Jesus, then it makes sense why Jesus gave us a mission to spread the good news of Jesus (i.e., the gospel) throughout the earth (Ibid.).

-The gospel should always have an invitation given with it: repent and believe (Mark 1:15). Jared Wilson has said it this way, "[T]he preaching of the gospel should always come with an invitation (of sorts) to repent and believe in it" (Wilson, Gospel Deeps, 17). Sometimes the gospel is preached with no invitation. Other times the gospel is not preached (whether there is an invitation or not). Still other times the preaching is essentially 20 to 45 minutes of moralism or legalism, and then the gospel is tacked on at the end. Preachers must be clear on the gospel, the role of the law, preaching method (my preference is expository preaching; here is my article on the main methods), justification, and sanctification. All of these have significant implications on preaching!

Additionally, It is important to think through whether you exclusively define the gospel by justification by faith alone or simply justification by faith. If one defines the gospel by justification by faith alone, then anyone who does not subscribe to it (e.g., Roman Catholics) are not Christians. If one defines it more broadly by justification by faith, then other views on the subject can be included (even if the conviction of justification by faith alone is still held). Click here more information on the back story to this discussion.

In sum, the gospel is the good news that God saves through faith in the perfect life, sin-atoning death, and resurrection of Jesus by the Spirit's power.

Application

In the words of Jesus our Savior, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). The world is filled with bad news. Sometimes our lives are filled with bad news. Let's believe this good news. Let's remind ourselves of this good news. Let's share this good news throughout the earth!

Where Can I Learn More?

Bibliography:

-Gilbert, Greg. What Is the Gospel? Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010.

-Bird, Michael F., and Jason Maston, eds. Five Views on the Gospel. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2022.

-Chandler, Matt, and Jared Wilson. The Explicit Gospel. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012.

-DeYoung, Kevin, and Greg Gilbert. What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011.

-Horton, Michael. The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2009.

-Lee, Chad. The Good News: Meditations on the Gospel. Independently Published, 2020.

-McKnight, Scot. The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016.

-Montgomery, Daniel, and Mike Cosper. Faithmapping: A Gospel Atlas for Your Spiritual Journey. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013.

-Ortlund, Ray. The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014.

-Piper, John. God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2005.

-Reeves, Michael. Rejoicing in Christ. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2015.

-Sproul, R. C. Getting the Gospel Right: The Tie that Binds Evangelicals Together. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1999.

-Wilson, Jared. Gospel Deeps: Reveling in the Excellencies of Jesus. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012.