To understand the gospel (good news), one must start with the fall. We must start with the understanding that, as McRaney says, “man is naturally not good but sinful and in need of a Savior.” [1] What was the fall? Was it merely the eating of the forbidden fruit? The fall was an act of man disobeying or going outside the will of God and so defying the authority and sovereignty of God. The fall wasn’t merely about eating the fruit but more about going outside of the will of God. Just like lost is just as sinful as adultery itself, Adam and Eve had sinned in their hearts and mind and forsaken the will of God before they actually ate the fruit.
Imagine that humans were fish that God created and put in a river that was flowing towards and emptying into a large ocean (of God’s love). The fish was called to swim downstream towards the ocean. However, the fish disobeyed and jumped out of the river onto dry land and so encountered corruption in all its being. With death in it’s being, and also facing punishment for disobeying a sovereign and righteous creator, all fish stood condemned to eternal death and punishment. Because of the effects of the sin on its body, the fish wasn’t merely unable to get back into the stream and swim towards the ocean it was called to swim to, it was also unwilling. The depravity that sin caused in the fish affected every fundamental relationship these fish had. According to Bryan Meyers in his phenomenal book, Walking with the poor, it impacted its relationship with God, self, others, and the rest of creation. As a result, generations of fish created systems that only perpetrated their brokenness and depravity. [2]
Unable and unwilling to help themselves, dead spiritually, dying physically, socially, and psychologically, God loved the world so much that he sent his son to die to save all fish. And this while they were yet sinners.
Paul expresses the gospel succinctly when he said, “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 NET
The gospel (of Christ) is the good news that Christ died for the sins of the whole world. From the above scripture, McRaney chapter 3, and other sources cited below, I see the following essentials of the gospel message.
- GOD. The gospel starts with the sovereign trinitarian God made of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three persons have vital roles in the gospel and salvation. The attributes of God such as Holiness, Justice, Grace, Sovereignty make it such that God cannot simply pardon man’s sin without a sacrifice. In the words of Paul Washer, “The Justice of God demands satisfaction.”
- MAN’s (Human) sin. “Christ died for our sins”. Our sins, the fall, necessitated the response that we call the good news.
- The Cross (Sacrificial Atonement). As humans, we couldn’t pay for our sins, so Jesus was crucified on our behalf.
- Resurrection. The resurrection not only proved Christ’s deity, but it also promised our own resurrection from the dead.
- Repentance. Repentance (Metanoia)–change of mind–is required for salvation. Looking at my analogy of the fish, the fall really was man’s decision to take a mental turn outside of the will of God. Repentance brings us back in line with the will of God mentally and in-line with an honor of God’s sovereignty and authority.
- Surrender. Surrender must follow repentance because that’s how we yield as fish to remain in the stream or river of God’s will so that he can carry us towards the ocean of his love.
- Faith/Belief. Having faith in Christ is crucial to salvation.
- Regeneration (Born again). “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:12-13 NIV. Those who believe are born of the Holy Spirit.
One’s persuasion (whether Calvinist or Arminian) will determine how they interpret the finer points of the gospel. In spite of that, I think the above are essential aspects of the gospel.