(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
What is the Gospel?
Intro:
Today is an emotional one…partly because I just finished reading a redemptive story of an evangelical theology professor and his gay son, partly because I’m weak from a fungal infection I’m fighting (if you listen closely, you’ve been able to hear it in my voice in the last number of days), partly because I just watched a sappy Christmas movie that had me blubbering, and partly because today we’re talking about the most important idea in the whole Bible — a weight I don’t take lightly. And if this was a radio show, I’d say we step on stage and never let ‘em know what happens backstage. But this is a ministry, and I’m just being real.
So…today we hit both new books in both New and Old Testaments, and I’m actually excited about what we’ve got going.
NEW TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
The most important question in the Bible is “What must I do to be saved?” Put another way, the question is, “What is the Gospel?” And it is the Gospel that is the central theme of Galatians which, interestingly enough, Paul addresses with higher saturation in Galatians than even Romans. So get ready for some slicing and dicing. And it’s with no small measure of weightiness that in our Bottom Line segment I’ll address a subtlety that is a big deal.
Galatia was, roughly speaking, where present-day Turkey is now. We’re going to tackle two chapters because they really go together, and because you’ll hear him make both a weighty charge of what’s wrong and a clear declaration of what’s right.
Passage: Galatians 1-2
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 47
Words: ~994
So, even if an angel tells you something different, don’t believe ‘em. Of course, we might ask, “What kind of an angel would tell you a false gospel?” Pretty weighty stuff, right?
OLD TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
For our OT segment we get rolling with the book of Ezra, but there’s an important element with regard to you and me and our journey through the OT — for the next couple weeks, we’ll be trying out something I’ve not done to date…reading even more chronologically. So you might remember that our final reading in Daniel began, “In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia,” and today you’ll hear Ezra begin “In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia.” But in our English Bibles Ezra is well before Daniel in book order. And we’re going to be doing some switching of books mid-book, and I’ll remind you as we get there.
Passage: Ezra 1-2
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 81
Words: ~1993
Stay tuned, we’ll dig into some cool stuff tomorrow.
The bottom line:
Note for you looking at the notes: Let me give credit where credit is due…inspiration for this is taken from Greg Gilbert.
What is the gospel?
Regular listeners here will recall the tension between grace and truth – too far one way or the other, and you’ve got a problem.
At risk of over-simplification, that’s like problem with defining the gospel, but UNLIKE grace-truth, the two points aren’t a left-right continuum like grace-truth, it’s more like two concentric circles, a smaller one and then a bigger one around it.
Sadly, there is a troubling trend in the realm of Christianity, so given Paul’s stern warning in Galatians about preaching another gospel, now’s a good time to address it.
My goal: no heavy theology terms and equipping you to be aware and discerning. But I’m also, for the sake of brevity, NOT going to be providing extended Scriptural support which I have, so ping me if you want it.
Those two circles answer two different questions:
The smaller circle: What must I do to be saved?
The larger circle: What is the whole good news of Christianity?
Important: The Bible speaks of the gospel in both ways. You can see the challenge, then, if your church or favorite teacher uses one but not the other. I will use one example for each:
In a small-circle sense, 1 Co 15:1-5a
Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures… (1 Co 15:1-5a, CSB)
In other words, sin, and Jesus’s substitutionary work on the cross for that, is specific and personal. YOU stare down a real offer of grace, and there are real consequences based on how you respond.
In a large-circle sense, Luke 4:18a
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed… (Luke 4:18a).
In other words, God’s Kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven, ultimately is about new creation, renewing the world through Christ.
So…both are correct and tell a different part of the story. You can see how if you talk…
…“small circle” to “big circlers,” the big circlers will use words like “truncated gospel” telling you that you miss the real whole story.
…“big circle” to “small circlers,” the small circlers may accuse you of preaching a social gospel that doesn’t save anyone.
Now here’s a real problem. The big circle necessarily includes the small one. If you only talk about the inauguration of the Kingdom without talking about how people can enter it, you indeed fail to really love them (which is to answer the question, “What must I do to be saved?”).
The other way around is a lesser problem. Answering “What must I do to be saved?” without also talking about “What is the whole good news of Christianity?” definitely leaves part of the story out.
So I leave you with this – maybe thinking about it from a time perspective will help:
The cross is the necessary gate to the Kingdom, but if you just stand at the gate, you’ll miss out.
Only talking about the Kingdom without talking about what it means to enter is false. Consequently, only talking to someone about “following Jesus” or “walking in the way of Jesus” or “living like Jesus lived” without talking about sin, repentance, and atonement, is delivering a false gospel and a false hope.
And if you keep your ears open, you will hear that very thing in some churches. As we’ll hear Paul exhort the Galatians, entering the gate isn’t more than “repent and believe,” but at the same time you now an understand why Jesus himself said,
On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’ (Mt 7:22-23, CSB)
And that, my friends, is entirely sobering and utterly humbling. Because it’s all about Him, not about me, and all of the hope.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
Greg Gilbert, What is the Gospel, 9Marks, June 13, 2014, accessed November 29, 2020 at https://www.9marks.org/article/what-is-the-gospel/.