WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

As I have mentioned previously, I am on a quest to find a more effective means of evangelizing. The source of this venture stems from my focus on the current evangelical crisis that has been affecting the Southern Baptist Convention. This search for a solution to the evangelical crisis is the logical outcome of my criticism (both positive and negative) of that institution and the evangelical wing of the American Church as a whole. If one is going to criticize a movement or institution, it is always good to offer or suggest solutions to the problem that is being analyzed. Unfortunately, the solution to a problem is usually a more difficult beast to tame while pointing out a problem is simply capturing the animal (this is why Clyde Beatty was greater than Frank Buck).

The process of my exploration into the solutions for the evangelical crisis have taken many avenues: history, theology, philosophy, politics, and, of course, Scripture, to name just a few. I’ve also been reading many books about evangelism and ascertaining from various evangelism professors and evangelists about their views on the subject. I’ve also been testing my theories about evangelistic methods both in theory and in practice. By this I mean that I have begun to explain some of my findings on the subject to various people more active in evangelism than myself and, also, suggesting these methods of evangelism to various individuals for real like practice. The response I have received in theory has been quite positive. Most individuals have agreed with much of my findings in either theory or in experience or both. Still, the ultimate test of my theories will be with positive evangelistic results, i.e., conversions: the proof is in the pudding.

Now during the progression of my research and thought, I have frequently encountered the phrase “preach the gospel”. Every time I read or hear and evangelist, professor, author, or denomination or seminary leader speak about the issue of evangelism or the Great Commission (i.e., our purpose as believers of this age), I always hear that we are supposed to “preach the gospel.” Well, the meaning of “evangelism” is to “preach the gospel (or the good news)”. As evangelicals we are to “proclaim the good news”.

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The odd thing about this notion in our day is that most people do not seem to have any idea of what the “gospel” is. And I am not just talking about the everyday churchgoer; I’m talking about seminary students, pastors, church leaders, professors and even evangelists. And I will throw myself in on this pile. I had some second thoughts about my understanding of what the gospel is. I mean, if we are charged to go out and proclaim the gospel, it behooves us to know what it is. Therefore, I began to research the Bible and my various secondary theological books and ascertained what the gospel actually is … and it surprised me. It surprised me because my prior conception of the gospel was very limited; I had only recognized part of the gospel message and, therefore, my thinking along these lines was only partial.


Part of the problem comes from the fact that all of the New Testament writers have a different take on the gospel. Each writer emphasizes a particular part of the gospel which is somewhat different from the other writers. None of these aspects of the gospel is contradictory to the other but rarely are they complete. Some are more general while others are more specific. What occurs is that we believers latch on to one author’s emphasis (for whatever reason) and take it as our own and reject all others.

The other part of the problem stems from the first: we are not educating our brothers and sisters in Christ as to what the gospel actually is. I think that if we did educate them about the complete extent of the gospel then we might alleviate many of our current church problems (including our evangelistic problems, though I do not think that this knowledge in itself would solve the current evangelical crisis. While the content of our message is undoubtedly important and plays a significant factor, the context of our methods is my primary focus in researching this issue).

When I understood what the gospel actually was, much of the rest of the New Testament began to fall into place. In fact, much of the Old Testament began to fall into place. Yes, I did indeed move again a tad bit to the left. Perhaps that is one reason we do not emphasize other aspects of the gospel. Who knows!

Now I suppose you are all wondering what my new found understanding of the gospel is. Well, I am not going to tell you; I want you to tell me.

I want you to tell me in toto, WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

I really want believers to think about this. I really want believers to go back to the Scriptures. It appears that we are mostly ignorant on this pivotal issue and no one appears to think it necessary for us to know.

So, if you know, please comment.