A Summary
So what is the Gospel (meaning “good news”)? There is no way we can divorce its meaning from its Jewish context, and the anticipation of the coming Messiah. His reign of peace as king over his people was the desire of every God-fearing man and woman in Israel (See Isaiah, Lk. 1:33; 4:16-21). And this is where we begin to get a clear and full picture of what this good news is all about.
Simply put, the Gospel is the coming of the Kingdom of God (Mt. 4:23). This kingdom is now present and open to all who will enter by faith and repentance. This Kingdom is the good news because in it our sins are forgiven, man and God walk together again, God’s law becomes our delight and is obeyed. Peace and justice are fully realized. In this kingdom creation itself is returned to paradise – no, a condition better than paradise. All of creation is redeemed and reconciled to the Father, and sin, suffering and evil will forever be removed. All of this happens through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:18-25; Col. 1:20). Although this Kingdom has come and can be entered, it is not yet fully realized. When Jesus returns his kingdom will be perfectly established encompassing the whole world. This is the good news.
Seen this way, the Gospel is still Jesus-centered and salvation-full, but much larger and more holistic than what is popularly thought of as the good news. For many the good news is simply Jesus saving an individual from his or her sin. The greatest news of all time is boiled down to a rescue of me. While this is a part of the good news, it is not the whole. It leaves out the biblical emphasis of God redeeming all of creation for himself. So we proclaim this Kingdom, inviting all to enter in though faith in Jesus. It is about finding forgiveness of sin and peace with God, but that fits into the picture of God saving a people for himself, redeeming creation from the fall.
The next Gospel post will deal with the announcement and demonstration of the Gospel. This is being continued in a related series on Mission.
I am the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship; husband to Jen; Dad to Katherine, Elias, Madeline, and Kilian. If you're in town you can probably find me in the local coffee house or running through the neighborhoods.
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Nice Joe. I take it when you say “Jewish context” you simply mean that there was a reason the good news was good, because of the problems beforehand. In other words, Paul in Acts 17 doesn’t put the gospel in a Jewish context, but a salvation-history context. Is that what you mean, or did I misread?
Hmmm. Your second sentence is not what I meant by “Jewish context,” but the history of redemption idea you mention in your third sentance is what I meant. In Acts 17, Paul does not paint an explicitly Jewish cultural context, but gives a general salvation-history which is implicitly Jewish. So, yeah.
What do you guys think the difference would be between a Jewish context and salvation-history?
I want to say publicly how much I love that couch pic. Awesome. Let’s sit and speak some words of grace.
have you read Presence of the Kingdom by Jacques Ellul? it’s an amazing discussion how the Kingdom is here and now, and what we need to do to propigate it. A great read.
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