Peter Sammons explores aspects of outreach evangelism
THE GOSPEL OF GOD
“….. 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). The ‘gospel’ might be said to be the story of all the good that God intends for Mankind in this world, if only we would respond to Him.
What is the Gospel?
The word gospel literally means “good news” and occurs 93 times in the Bible, exclusively in the New Testament. In Greek, the word is euaggelion, from which we get our English words evangelist, evangel, and evangelical. The gospel is, broadly speaking, the whole of Scripture. More narrowly, the gospel is the good news concerning Jesus, and the way of salvation.
There has been discussion within evangelicalism about how Messiahians should best define the gospel—whether we should say that the gospel is purely the message that rebels (‘sinners’) can be forgiven of sin through repentance and faith in the crucified Messiah, or whether it is something broader.
Two questions:
- What is the message a person must believe to be saved?
- What is the whole good news of Messiahianity?
The Bible uses the word “gospel” in two different, but closely related, ways. Sometimes it uses “gospel” in a broad way, that is, to describe all the promises that God intends to fulfill in Messiah, including not only forgiveness of sin, but also everything else that flows from it – the final establishment of The Kingdom, and ultimately the new heavens and new earth. There are other times, though, where the Bible uses “gospel” in a narrow way, describing specifically the forgiveness of sins through the substitutionary death and resurrection of Messiah Jesus. In those places, the broader promises are not in view.
Narrow definition
Here are some of the clearest places where the Bible uses the word “gospel” in the narrow sense:
- Acts 10:36–43:“As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Messiah (he is Lord of all), . . . To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes on him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Peter says that the gospel he preaches is that of “peace through Jesus Messiah,” by which he means specifically the good news “that everyone who believes on him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
- Romans 1:16–17:“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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
Paul defines the gospel in terms of “salvation” and the righteousness of God being revealed through faith. It becomes clear through the rest of the book that he’s talking here about forgiveness of sins (justification) being through faith, not works. His focus in Romans is not on the coming kingdom, but on how one becomes a part of it. And that he calls “gospel.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:17–18:“For Messiah did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Messiah be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The gospel Paul is sent to preach is “the word of the cross.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:1–5:“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Messiah died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”
The gospel Paul preached to them and which they received was that “Messiah died for our sins . . . was buried . . . [and] was raised.” The continuing references to the appearances shouldn’t be taken as part of “the gospel,” as if we have to tell someone that Jesus appeared to Peter, the Twelve, and James or we’re not telling them the gospel. Those references are meant to establish the resurrection as real and historical.
Broad definition
Here are some of the clearest places where ‘gospel’ is used in the broader sense:
- Matthew 4:23:“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”
This is the first mention of the word “gospel” in Matthew’s account, so we should expect some contours to be given to the term. To fill in the content of the “gospel of the kingdom” which Jesus preached, we look back to verse 17, the first mention of “kingdom.” There, Jesus is recorded as preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
The gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached was the message that (a) the Kingdom had been inaugurated, and (b) those who repent can enter it.
- Mark 1:14–15:“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.’”
With the exception of the very first verse, this is the first use of the word in Mark’s account. The “gospel of God” which Jesus proclaimed was: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
The gospel of God, then, is the message that a) the kingdom has dawned, and b) those who repent and believe can enter it.
- Luke 4:18:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed…”
This is the Old Testament passage from which Jesus launches his public ministry. The word “good news,” as used in Isaiah 61, refers to the full-orbed establishment of God’s kingdom-rule.
- Acts 13:32:“And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus. . . .”
Verse 38 is very clear that the good news Paul brought was that forgiveness of sin comes through “this man.” But also, in verse 32 the “good news” is said to be “that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled . . . by raising Jesus.” Surely God’s promises to the fathers, now fulfilled in Jesus, included but were not limited to forgiveness of sins?
Both definitions – implications
Looking carefully into the New Testament, it seems that the word “gospel” is used in both a broad and in a narrow way. Broadly, as in Matthew 4, Mark 1, Luke 4, and Acts 13, it refers to all the promises made to us through the work of Jesus – not only forgiveness of sins, but also resurrection, reconciliation with both God and others, sanctification, glorification, coming Kingdom, new heavens and new earth. Wow!
Broad use of the word “gospel” necessarily includes the narrow. Look at those examples from Matthew and Mark. Jesus does not just proclaim the onset of the Kingdom, He proclaims the onset of the Kingdom and He proclaims the means of entering it. Look closely: Jesus did not preach the gospel simply as “The kingdom of heaven has come!” He preached the gospel saying, “The kingdom of heaven has come. Therefore repent and believe!”
This is crucial, the difference indeed between Gospel and not-Gospel. To proclaim the inauguration of the kingdom and the ‘new creation’ and all the rest without proclaiming how people can enter it i.e., – by repenting and being forgiven of their sins through faith in Messiah and his atoning death – is to preach a non-Gospel.
Indeed is this to preach bad news, since people are given no hope of being included in that new creation? The Gospel of the Kingdom is not merely the proclamation of the Kingdom. It is the proclamation of the Kingdom together with the proclamation that people may enter it by repentance and faith in Messiah Jesus.
There’s only one command that is actually included in the gospel itself (whether broad or narrow): repent and believe. That is the primary obligation on human beings in this age, and therefore it must be our primary emphasis in our preaching, as well.
Further thoughts:
An inoffensive gospel is no gospel at all: https://Messiahiancomment.org/2022/05/01/an-inoffensive-gospel-is-no-gospel-at-all/
“FULL GOSPEL EVANGELISM” BY NATHAN JENSEN
Nathan Jensen’s booklet, at a mere 12pp (A4 format) and freely downloadable as a PDF, is certainly useful. Subtitled “Abundant Ways to Bring Good News” this study reminds us that, in fact, we have a range of tools to help us engage with those outside the Kingdom and encourage them to ‘meet’ Jesus in reality. Jensen reminds his readers that gospel presentation is a spiritual battle, but we have “contact weapons” (the message itself, power, evidence/reason, and testimony). Downloadable here: https://Messiahian-publications-int.com/images/PDF/FullGospel_Evangelism.pdf
The booklet is reviewed very briefly here: https://Christiancomment.org/2025/01/21/full-gospel-evangelism/
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