Have you ever thought about the definition of the gospel?
I find it surprising that while all of us Christians like to talk about the gospel, few of us actually agree on how to define the gospel.
This is one reason I made my course, The Gospel According to Scripture, available here on this site.
I wanted to help people know what the Scriptural definition of the Gospel was so that they could properly know that they have eternal life, and also how the gospel calls them to live in this life.
I basically define the gospel this way:
The good news in Scripture is that God has done everything that needs doing as far as your eternal life is concerned.
This, of course, doesn’t mean that once you have eternal life, you can just go live however you want. The gospel contains all sorts of truths and teachings about how to live our lives now once we have the free gift of eternal life.
I unpack my definition of the gospel in my course, but I am curious about your definition of the gospel.
Please let me know in the comment section below, or, better yet, take the first couple lessons of the course for free (by becoming a member), and in those lessons you are invited to provide your definition of the gospel there.
Here are some other posts I have written about the biblical definition of the Gospel:
- What is the Gospel?
- What is the Gospel? (A sermon)
- How to Present the Gospel
- It’s Impossible to Believe the Entire Gospel
Want to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."
The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!
This might be an interesting read. It was in response to someone who bragged that, at a church youth meeting of, at least, 500 youths, he had preached the “gospel” without mentioning Christ.
http://atdcross.blogspot.com/2014/03/jesus-is-gospel.html
Such a very helpful study.I see myself as a seed sower,i sow the seed of the good news of the gospel,mainly through befriending people,constantly praying for an opening to share
Also like to hand out cards with simple gospel truth,praying it will create a hunger in people’s hearts to want to know more.
Oneday a young man refused to accept the card saying “i am an atheist”,I responded with “oh,God looooves atheists”,
This opened the door to an hour long discussion about the reality of God the creator.
He allowed me to pray with him and finished up hugging “i am 83 so quite safe? Wanted to meet again,but due to ilness i was unable (we met in a park and that was to be the place to meet again)
A lady i met in the street,gave her one of my cards,this was a God Appointment, she said”i have always wondered if there is a God”,i began visiting her,now 3 years ago,she still
Has not as yet “surrendered “,a difficult case,late 80 y.o.,a very wounded person,so i keep on loving her and I can see the walls coming down,one brick at the time.
And so it goes on,very exciting spreading the good news.
Mieke wow you are an inspiration i loved your testimony that is so awesome and you are so young of heart.Its a reminder that age is not an obstacle to God we dont retire as we are always on Gods payroll.I see in you the love of God reaching out to the Lost and hurting.We wont know in our lifetime how our life has affected others until one day we will meet them again in heaven.They will remind us of that kind word we spoke to them when they needed that word of encouragement when they were sad and depressed or that small gift of time that told them someone cares or maybe just that smile to know that they are someone of worth its those times that we take for granted that make such a big impact on a life because it was an appointment from the Lord.Thank you for sharing and caring for others its making a huge impact more than you will ever know.Through your testimony you touched my heart God bless brentnz
Thank you so much for that encouragement.
When we love the Lord and realize what it cost Him to save us,one can’t help but want to reach out to others.
Once I was lost and now I am found…….
The world was in darkness,and sin and shame,mankind was lost ,but then Jesus came……
When we are in love we want to talk about it,simple.
So the secret is to continually be in love with Jesus,be empowered by the Holy Spirit,it is all about passion,i am so hungry for more of Him,but then do I want to let Him have more of me,a continual dying to self…………being stripped
I like to share one amazing thing that happened.
One day this young girl from Japan visited our church with her host parents son.
Neither of us could speak each others language,but every time she saw me she would hug me,i would quietly pray for her ,did not want to let go.
Saw her only 3 times,
she brought me a little mirror,it is sitting on my window sill
Shortly after that there was the tsunami, somehow I believe I will meet up with her in heaven.
I am sharing this because the love of Jesus sometimes does not need words,the Holy Spirit ministered to her in her deep need whatever that was.I love that mirror as a reminder to pray for her wether she is alive or not.
Thank you so much for your response Mieke
Meike i believe she sensed in you the love of the Lord she had never experienced it before when you do you dont want to lose that sense of being loved for who you are.Its so comforting to know i am pleased she got the chance to experience his love life can be so short we dont know what tomorrow will bring and i do believe you will see her again..brentnz
That is wonderful! Thanks for the great encouragement.
The Gospel for me is the promise to live my life in freedom without fear. It’s knowing God and being known by him. It’s the veil of the temple torn in two, access to God from now on until eternity.
Love that. Living without fear. This comes, of course, from getting to know God as He is revealed in Jesus.
John 3 :16 says it all For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son and whosoever believeth in him shall have everlasting life.brentnz
I find it interesting that your quick summation of the Gospel does not mention Jesus. I also find it interesting that eternal life is the target.
I would summarize the Gospel this way: it is the good news that Jesus has made a way for us to be friends with God. I also like Bruxy Cavey’s (The Meeting House in Toronto) definition: the Gospel is the good news that Jesus came to show us God’s love, to save us from sin, to set up his kingdom and to shut down religion.
I find I am continually being drawn towards a faith that is less about rewards and punishment (read: heaven and hell) and more about developing a relationship with God here and now. I find that we are so inculcated in our western culture that heaven and eternal life can become pursuits with selfish motives (“I follow Jesus so that I can get to heaven where I will live in paradise forever”). I wonder if we would get a truer picture of our motives if we supposed there were no such thing as heaven or hell. I think the life of Jesus is compelling enough that I would follow him regardless.
Mike i like what you wrote about the relationship with Christ its all about that.To me the gospel description is found in that verse it covers our fathers love that he has always loved us from the beginning when he created us it covers the reason why Jesus was sent to put things right to remove our sin guilt and shame and to receive from him new life his life eternal but it is just as real today and tomorrow and forever.brentnz
Yes, good point. That was an oversight on my part for this post. In the course, I go into great depth on how Jesus is the summation of the gospel, so that everything God has done and has promised to do is found and accomplished in Jesus Christ.
I also point out how while the gospel does promise eternal life, that life begins here and now, and the vast majority of the gospel is concerned with how we live our life now.
I believe the gospel means we are completely forgiven of all sins, past, present, and future.
Yes, that is definitely an important gospel truth!
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST IN JESUS NAME. AMEN
The gospel to be quickly put, the good news in reference to Jesus.
Yes. It focuses on and is centered around the person and work of Jesus.
(This is not to be taken as a criticism, just thoughts.) As I hear the way public discourse goes in the contemporary scene it appears that , in the West anyway, we have got into a habit of thinking that any subject should be able to be stated in a short definition or quick one liner, no matter the nuances and complexity of the subject. That approach seems to lead to slogans and catch-phrases that often don’t mean a lot.
For that reason I wonder if we should try and make a neat definition of God’s activities.
The word gospel is just an old English word for a very ordinary phrase; good news ( as opposed to bad news ) .
Luke tells us that,when the angel appeared to the Bethlehem shepherds the angel announced ” good news ” of great joy; the birth of the Saviour, Messiah.
Luke tells us that later, Jesus instructed His disciples to preach the “good news” of the Kingdom.
The apostle Paul says that the ” good news” is the power of God to salvation”
The writer of Revelation has a vision of an angel who proclaims the “everlasting good news ” then proceeds to declare judgement on the earth.
So is the “good news” the appearing of Messiah, the arrival of the Kingdom of God, the gift of salvation or the judgement against sin and death.
Maybe the answer is ; All of the above….and more.
Yes! I agree. The western world has often focused primarily on the afterlife and not so much on this life, but the gospel seems almost to focus primarily on this life, and not as much on the afterlife.
I do emphasize this point more in the course. Thanks for pointing it out here.
Jeremy has asked “What is your definition of the gospel?” He has also provided a definition that starts with “The good news in Scripture is…” It’s noteworthy that he replaced “gospel” with “good news”. The Institute for Scripture Research’s translation also does this. Since there are many [98] passages in the KJV scripture that contain “gospel” we have, as Neville has pointed out, a variety of news that is good. It seems that we should ask what was the “gospel/good news” that Jesus preached [Mark 1:14-15] and what was the “good news” that Jesus told His followers to preach [Matt 10:7 & Luke 10:8]? This is answered in 7 words…. “The kingdom of God is at hand”.
Yep. Good job noticing that. The bare bones “dictionary” definition of “gospel” is “good news.” But we need to ask ourselves, “Good news about what?” The Kingdom of God is definitely a large part of the Biblical gospel.
This could be a bit of a side track, but there is another element that comes with communicating the gospel.
That is, that some researchers have found that the word gospel means to some people simply a connotation word for a declaration of truth. ” It’s the gospel truth “, I have heard it used many times just as an affirmation of credibility.
And it seems that quite lot of people surveyed thought that gospel means just a style of music derived from 19th century plantation labourers.
So maybe if we want to communicate the message of Jesus we have to get away from archaic terms like gospel which have become traditional ” buzz words “or theological jargon devoid of precise meaning and make anew the original intent which was about an announcement of the coming of God’s Kingdom and all that that implies.
Isn’t it hard to give up tradition. 🙂
I like that. Yes, there are so many “buzz” words that people include, but which few really know the meaning of, or can agree upon. Let’s keep it simple and down to earth!
In essence for many years as a result of all the complex biblical teaching I have been immersed with and confused by, I find Jeremy that the clear way you put it helps a great deal. My understanding of the gospel today is birthed from seeing how Christ lived it and how those who came after Him behaved. Much of it was about life now not in eternity. I noticed that the good news definition came to life in peoples lives… not just because of words but mixed with actions……grace, mercy,compassion, fogivness, justice, healing, care for the for disadvantaged, reaching out to all where they were at in life. Words can be very hollow if not followed by grace. Gospel is action; word and deed…..Thanks Jeremy
Its not complex after all!
Thanks, Grahame. I know that sometimes my posts can get somewhat complex, but I do try to make things as clear and simple as I know how. Your comment is a great encouragement to me.
I have a progressive view of the gospel that I’m sure many won’t agree with. I believe that God accepts and loves us anyway and he didn’t need to kill Jesus (with great wrath) to take away our sin as much as to open our eyes to his love. And no, he didn’t make Jesus die out of his anger toward sin. Yes, Jesus bore our sins in such a way as to help us overcome sin and live in freedom, but not to forgive us. God has always forgiven sin, but man is so blind to his love, that he had to send his son to open up our eyes to ultimate love. Jesus chose to lay his life down willingly in a special teamwork with the Father and Holy Spirit so that we could see how much he loves us and be freed from the scales of shame and guilt and rejection that have blinded our eyes for centuries. I hope I’ve explained that in a way that makes sense.
…. your explanation is understandable … it’s also the typical liberal explanation of the gospel as Galatians 1:4 plainly tells us He gave himself for our sins … Also see John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 15:3, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Timothy 1:15, Hebrews 10:12, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 John 3:5, Revelation 1:5 ….
I don’t know if that’s a progressive view of the gospel or not, but it is also my view! Thanks!
One of the simplest scriptural definitions of the gospel that I have found so far is in 1 Cor. 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that 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: