Both/and.
Yes, but.
Right, nevertheless.
And also.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
See? The Gospel is the kingdom.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
See? The Gospel is Jesus.
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
See? The Gospel is God's grace.
. . . to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
See? God is the Gospel. (Thanks, Piper!)
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
See? The Gospel is the glory of Christ. (Watch out, Witherington!)
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
See? The Gospel is salvation from sins.
. . . and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
See? The Gospel is peace. (Wait - what?)
And if you're not just using the word "gospel" the implications and demonstrations of the gospel are many, many more.
Can we stop cherry-picking verses now and saying the Gospel is this but not that?
Faithful gospel preaching will include a cogent articulation of the gospel that reflects the fullness of the biblical gospel.
All these false dichotomies make me wanna start handing out tracheotomies.
2 comments:
I would point out that the common denominator in all of these things are that they are "things" God does.
That's why "loving my neighbor" isn't the Gospel (but my neighbor being loved by me is).
Once our efforts creep into the equation, it's no longer gospel.
Yes, yes, yes, and yes! Thanks, Jared! I had started a page in my journal on what the gospel is according to the Bible. I had some of these down but you helped me fill that page. These are great reminders not only of what the gospel is but that it is indeed the gospel plus nothing. Thanks, man.
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