Category: Salvation, Word: GOSPEL
December 18, 2015 | by: Kendell Easley, prepared by Dave Maniquis | 0 Comments
Posted in: 52 Words
VI. SALVATION
When the city jailer of Philippi was roused one midnight, he asked the prisoners Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Every religion of the world provides a different answer to the jailer’s question. The answer given that night is profound in its simplicity: “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:31). Yet as simple as that answer appears on the surface, Christ’s followers have understood it in a great variety of ways. What, after all, does it mean to “believe”? Perhaps the jailer wasn’t even asking a question about saving his eternal soul; maybe he was more concerned about being rescued from the stress caused by the earthquake and the supposition that the prisoners had fled.
In any case, “salvation” is the broadest term used both in the Bible and by Christian teachers to discuss the sinner’s rescue from death to life with God. Many indeed prefer to speak of “salvation in three tenses.” God has saved the sinner in conversion; He is saving the sinner throughout this life; He will save the sinner at the resurrection.
The six words presented in this section focus on salvation in its beginning stages, that is, at conversion. Yet all of them at the same time include implications for things the “saved” person will experience from that moment and forward throughout eternity.
34. GOSPEL
Now brothers, I want to clarify for you the gospel I proclaimed to you; you received it and have taken your stand on it. You are also saved by it, if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you—unless you believed to no purpose. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)
DEFINITION: Gospel literally means “good news.” “Gospel” refers in Scripture mainly to the message that through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, God graciously acted to establish His kingdom and now welcomes into His family sinners who repent and receive Christ by faith.
In its original secular setting the gospel (Greek euangelion, good news) referred to a message about a military victory, the birth of a king, or some other momentous event. After the first century AD, “Gospel” came to refer to one of the books written about Jesus’ life. (Only four Gospels were considered inspired, although other writings were called Gospels.) But in the New Testament, “gospel” refers to the Christian good news, not to a book.
Jesus’ ministry after He was baptized was characterized by His proclaiming the gospel (Matt. 4:23: Mk. 1:14; Lk. 4:43). This explicitly included the news about the kingdom. (See the article on the kingdom of God. [Word 30]) It is a matter of some curiosity that John’s Gospel—which emphasizes faith in Jesus more than the others—does not directly use the terms for “gospel.”
After Christ’s resurrection, the message proclaimed always included the good news about Jesus’ death for sinners and His resurrection as living Lord. The Book of Acts is filled with many such examples (5:42; 8:12; 11:20; 20:24). Study of Acts suggests that gospel presentations normally included the following elements:
- Jesus’ historical ministry included miracles and teaching about God’s kingdom.
- He suffered and was crucified by wicked people, dying on the cross for sinners.
- God raised Him from the dead, demonstrating that He is Messiah and God’s Son.
- He is the exalted Lord and Savior at God’s right hand.
- Sinners everywhere are invited to repent and turn to Jesus for the forgiveness of Sin.
- Everyone who believes will receive God’s Spirit and become part of God’s family.
Paul was particularly concerned to preserve the true gospel and urged the Galatians to resist “a different gospel” (Gal. 1:6). For this reason, Christians in the early centuries labored diligently to proclaim the right understanding of God and Christ in succinct forms, such as the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, which have received universal acceptance from Christians. During the sixteenth century, the nature of gospel salvation was clarified by the famous “five pillars of the Reformation” (salvation as taught in Scripture alone, by Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, to the glory of God alone).
Those who embrace the gospel inevitably have their lives transformed so that they love and delight in God (2 Cor. 4:6). To believe in the gospel marks the beginning of an eternity of knowing Christ (Phil. 3:7-10). Versions of the “gospel” that stress God’s gifts and blessings more than receiving and enjoying God Himself are distorted at best and heretical at worst.
REFLECTION: What is the difference between the gospel and a Gospel? Why is it important for gospel presentations to include both proclamation of truth and invitation to respond?
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, the good news is about You more than about me. I praise You that You are actively seeking to convert sinners into saints who will love and enjoy You forever. Help me remember that the gospel means receiving You more than getting Your blessings. Amen.
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Dave Maniquis is a Teaching Elder at Restoration Church. He holds a BA in History from Rutgers University and an MA in Biblical Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary. He enjoyed a 23-year career in the U.S. Government, working and traveling extensively in Western and Eastern Europe. He has been a Christian for most of his adult life and has been involved in church planting, overseas as well as here in Port Orange, teaching the Bible and speaking into others’ lives with the Gospel. He is married to Maureen and they have two wonderful sons, Dylan and Evan.
