Monday, July 27, 2009

Just what IS the Gospel, anyway?


If you were to give a 2 or 3 sentence statement of what the Gospel is, what would you say? What is the essence of the Gospel? is it the answer to these questions (who God is, who we are, what God did to redeem, and what God's purpose is for our redeemed lives)? How would you answer somebody who asked you "Just what IS the Gospel, anyway?"


Awhile ago, in response to someone's question to me, I said that the Gospel is this: that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. But that answer really doesn't get the essence of what the Gospel is, because it's incomplete. The definition probably should include something about God's identity and character, as well as ours, to demonstrate that there is a gulf between us that is uncrossable by any effort of my own. It should include something that describes that God did everything that was necessary for me to be reconciled to Himself, and why He would even care to do such a thing. It ought to say something about how that reconciliation happened (happens?) and how it gets to be reality in my life, and then, finally, how the rest of my life is lived.


Just thinking. More to come on this, as my husband and I dig through Paul's letter to the Romans.

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