The Gospel is NOT first and foremost a call to higher moral standards and adherence to a strict list of do's and don'ts. It is news to be heard and believed...The word "Gospel" meant in the original Greek language - Good News. The Gospel is the Good news that Jesus died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead. That the Gospel is NEWS is very important. Webster's online dictionary defines news as: 1 a: a report of recent events b: previously unknown information . This is not a new definition, the first century Greek reader of the Bible would have understood 'news' in the same way. 'News' is a report of an event that has taken place. It is information that was previously unknown. The Gospel then is NEWS - it is a report of an event that has already taken place. It is information that was not known. The event of the Gospel is that Jesus came - He lived - He died for our sins - He was buried - He was raised from death. The event gives us the information - Jesus died for our sins.
In the study, Gospel Christianity, Tim Keller wrote:
* the Gospel is news of what God has done to accomplish salvation through Jesus Christ in history. It is not advice about what we must do to reach God.* We do not achieve this salvation. We only accept it.
So, I say again, the Gospel is NOT first and foremost a call to higher moral standards and adherence to a strict list of do's and don'ts. It is news to be heard and believed.
This is the 2nd part of a multi-post series answering the question, What is the Gospel? (Part 1)
