In thinking about how evangelicals often define and frame the gospel message and comparing it with Scripture, there are parts that are usually missed. I recently preached a sermon which confused some people and I wrote these to help clarify what I think at least 5 of the most crucial aspects are with a brief explanation:
1. It is a story - The gospels, Jesus' preaching, the sermons in Acts, and even underlying thought of Paul centres on telling the true story of Jesus in history. This is how the Bible presents it even in its genre and I think we need to recapture that to a greater extent.
2. The story of Israel needs to be part of how we frame the gospel story - Because the gospel is so rooted in history and Scripture it means it only makes sense in the context of Israel's story unless we ignore the majority of both testaments and most of the gospel story itself. The Jesus story is the climax of the Israel story. We are Israel/Abraham's offspring/a holy nation/etc. so this is our spiritual heritage. It's a tough one to bring up to someone with no knowledge of God or the Bible, but it has to be built in eventually and we should definitely be teaching this to Bible-reading believers. This also helps us understand how God calls a people comprised of persons rather than persons that comprise a people.
3. Jesus as Messiah - Since 'Christ' is not a surname but is practically a synonym for 'Jesus', it should be central. 'Son of David' 'Son of God' "the Christ" are all things people called Jesus in the gospels and they all relate to Jesus as Israel's Messiah-King. It is also the word used instead of Jesus' actual name in gospel summaries. It was the basis of Peter's faith in Jesus as Christ on which Jesus would build his church. It is what Paul argued for from the time of his conversion. It was the last word of the two-fold declaration in the climax of Peter's Pentecost sermon at the birth of the church.
4. Jesus as Lord - The other major declaration in Peter's sermon was Jesus as Lord. FF Bruce says that the declaration of "Jesus as Lord" is the message of the New Testament. This means Jesus is Lord and Caesar isn't and his general rule over the cosmos, but with that he is YHWH (LORD) ruling with God the Father in heaven. I think this is a crucial basis for obedience, discipleship, submission, sacrifice, and other areas of our lives (and all of the world for that matter). I have also come to believe it is important for understanding early Trinitarian formulations in the New Testament (1 Cor 12:4-6, Phil 2:11, and 1 Cor 8:6 where Paul is inserting Jesus into the Shema of Deut 6:4 for example). Other than Christ, Jesus is called Lord most often in the NT and frequently in summaries of the gospel.
5. The gospel is about Jesus - This means that it is not about my salvation or its mechanics, but about what Jesus has accomplished which makes those two things possible. Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection paid for sin, overcame death, and disarmed all evil forces of their power. That is part of the gospel and through faith in the gospel about Jesus and what he has done I receive remission of sins, resurrection in the age to come, and am free from the power of darkness. It is a subtle, but important distinction to make in order to go beyond his work on the cross to who he is; Christ, Lord, Son of David, Son of God, Son of Man, etc. even though the cross is so important. Jesus as King dying on a cross is the 'foolish stumbling block' for both Jew and non-Jew. What a ridiculous non-worldly way to save the world and establish your reign over everything! Amazing.
What do you think? Is there anything you would add or adjust?
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