Christianese - The Gospel

We Christians often share what we believe to be a common language. It carries with it words that we believe to hold common meaning. We don't, for instance, need to explain to one another who is "Christ". We know that it is a reference to Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph and, more accurately, the Son of God. We know He died for us and rose again and all that. Good. Common language. All set. And then you find out that the "Christ" you are talking about is not the same "Christ" that he (or she) is talking about. You're talking about the only Son of God, the One who came as God in the flesh, the second part of the Trinity, who actually died and actually, physically rose again and actually paid for our sin. He (or she) is talking about one of many sons of God(s), a representative from God, a godly human, a mode of God, a good prophet who didn't actually die or didn't physically rise again and didn't really pay for sin (how barbaric!), but just modeled how we should live. Not the same person. So we suffer from this common language that I call "Christianese", thinking that we're speaking the same language when, in fact, we may not be. I thought, then, that it might be helpful to define terms. Maybe you'll find that when I say "x", it's not what you mean when you say "x". Maybe you'll think, "Hey! I always heard that term, but I was never quite clear on what it meant!" Maybe you'll just say, "Yep, that's what I thought as well." But a little clarity might go a long way. So I'll do this in a series and it will be available for future reference and future conversations.

The first term that I find so easily confused when we think we're talking about the same thing is "the Gospel". We throw that term out there and assume we're all talking the same thing. Unfortunately, this can be hazardous. "Gospel" may refer to a musical style. That's not what's in mind. Some may be thinking of what is currently called "the social gospel" -- feed the poor, care for the needy, heal the sick, that sort of thing. Now, the biblical command for Christians to "love your neighbor" would certainly be good news ("gospel") to people who need it, but when we speak of "the Gospel", that is not the good news of which we speak. It isn't "live a good life", "be a good person", or even the popular "trust God and you'll be healthy and wealthy" or some such. Not at all.

Paul lays out the Gospel clearly in his first letter to the church at Corinth.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor 15:1-4).

This Gospel, according to Paul, is the only Gospel. Some like to argue that Paul's Gospel was different than other Gospels. Paul disagrees. "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel -- not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ" (Gal 1:6-7). There are other uses of the term, "gospel", but Paul's "Gospel" is the same as Jesus's "Gospel", is consistent with the entire New Testament "Gospel", and is what Paul describes here in 1 Corinthians.

Note that the text has some absolutely key components. First the bare facts: Christ lived, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Throw out all offerings whereby Christ did not live, did not actually die, or did not physically rise again. Second, an essential, obvious fact included: Christ died for our sins. He didn't die to be an example. Sin is not a non-problem. Sin is the problem for which Christ came, lived, and died. Another important point here is actually so important that Paul repeated it. Twice in this short explanation of "the Gospel" Paul uses the phrase "in accordance with the Scriptures". That is, however you define "the Gospel", it must be in accordance with the Scriptures. It must correspond to, align with, be in accord with the Scriptures.

That's it in short form. God's Son took on human form, lived a sinless life, and died because we, His creation, are sinners in Cosmic Treason against the Most High. We justly deserve Eternal Death for this crime, but the God-Man Christ came and took our punishment. Had it ended there, it would have ended there, but He rose again, completing the process and promise. By placing our confidence in this sole source of remedy for sin, we can share in the promise that we can be justified in God's eyes, be freed from the sin problem, and be guaranteed life ever after. That is the Gospel. It is the truth offered in the Scriptures. It is repeated throughout, actually from Old to New Testament. It is the consistent message of the Bible and the Church. It is the only hope, the only solution for Man's sin problem. Anything else is not the Gospel.