Understanding the true meaning of the gospel

Over the years the word gospel has been used to describe many things. Someone may hear a rumor that a certain store is closing, claim they heard it from a reliable source and then say, “And that’s gospel.” The word has even been used in church settings in ways it was never intended. Some will say that doing a good deed for someone is what the gospel is all about. It is not.

The gospel is what Jesus did for us. Paul the apostle told the Corinthians, “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. What I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

The gospel is those three things: Christ died, Christ was buried, Christ was raised on the third day. The gospel is not about our performance. It is about what Jesus did on the cross to save sinners. All the good things we do as Christians are the fruit of the Spirit, but the gospel is the life-confronting, life-changing message of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection to save sinners. When we believe the gospel, we are saved.

That is a far cry from saying the gospel is about helping victims of natural disasters or buying school supplies for underprivileged children. Those are wonderful acts that absolutely need to happen, but they could be done by an atheist and therefore are not the gospel because they do not address where people will spend eternity.

So now that we know what the gospel is, what are we to do with it? Scripture gives us clear instruction.

Do not be ashamed of it. Paul the apostle said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.”

Proclaim it. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

Partner with it. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “I pray with joy about you because of your partnership in the gospel.”

Demonstrate it. Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Guard it. Paul wrote, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The helmet protects the mind. The world’s system tries to influence our thinking and undermine our decision to follow Jesus.

Defend the gospel. The apostle Jude wrote, “Contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.”

Love the gospel. The psalmist wrote, “Happy are those who don’t listen to the wicked, who don’t go where sinners go, who don’t do what evil people do. They love the Lord’s teachings, and they think about those teachings day and night.”

The word gospel appears 93 times in the Bible, all in the New Testament. It is the good news that a loving heavenly Father sent his Son to take the penalty of our sins. Jesus died, was buried and was raised from the dead for our justification. If that is not good news, I do not know what is. It is the gospel.

Ken Staley is pastor of Faith Church of Pleasant Grove, 9:30 a.m., and Harrisville Methodist Church, 11 a.m. Both are Global Methodist congregations. Text Ken at 918-852-9797.