The Gospel

When someone says Gospel, what comes to your mind?  Like gospel music or Billy Graham?  Maybe good news or Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?  Well one of our tasks over the last few months at Round Lake Christian Church has been to define the gospel for our community of believers.

Why do we feel the need to define the gospel?  Hasn't it been pretty well defined for over 2000 years?  Yes and no.  We feel that every church in every culture should seek to find a way of describing the gospel that is Biblically accurate and culturally relevant.  And by culture I don't mean what media tells us that culture is.  I mean, what makes sense in the world around us.  So here is how we have defined the gospel.

THE GOSPEL IS THE GOOD NEWS THAT, FOR GOD'S GLORY, JESUS DIED FOR OUR SINS AND WAS RESURRECTED SO WE MIGHT MOVE FROM DEATH TO LIFE.

Notice that we connected the Biblical historical truths of the death and resurrection with a statement about what Jesus accomplished in that.  He died so that we might live.  We believe the gospel is all about people moving from just existing in this world as the "walking dead" to becoming truly alive in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.  We want a church family that believes and lives like they have tasted life!

Please note as well that we believe the gospel exists for God's glory.  We have come to understand glory as the power, presence, and praise of God.  As John Piper has stated, "God is the gospel."  In Jesus, God displayed the fullness of His power and presence.  And only Jesus is worthy of all our praise.  Therefore, the gospel is for God's glory or you could say it IS God's glory.

Finally, take heed of the crucial little word "might".  Mark Twain said that words are the difference between a harmless lightning bug and lightning.  So words do matter.  And this word matters eternally.  The word might shows us that the promise of moving from death to life does not occur universally.  The Bible is clear that faith in Jesus Christ is the condition of the gift given called life.  Faith breaks down into a belief that Jesus is who He says He is and a trust that He is our Savior, King, and God.  Only this kind of faith allows one access into the promised "abundant" life that is offered through Jesus' death and resurrection.

So how would you define the gospel?  Check out I Corinthians 15:1-8 and John 5:24 to see more about how we define the gospel.