What is the Gospel? (Part 2)
© 2010 Earl Jackson
I heard two men arguing just the other day about “the gospel”. This is quite interesting I thought, two men arguing about ‘the gospel”. You don’t find that every day. But certainly it is worth arguing about, since it is at the heart of the Bible, the heart of Christianity itself. “Interesting”, I thought “two men arguing about the gospel”? Both men claimed to be Christians. Both men claimed to have been changed by the gospel. Both men based their ideas on verses from the Bible. But both men thought the other man was lost. Both men thought the other man preached a false gospel. And both men left the argument defeated, and more resolute in their animosity toward the other man and his “false gospel”.
This is a true story, and I’m sure that the two men I overheard are still arguing. But it is a story that has played out throughout church history. When any groups have contrary opinions about what the gospel is, and who and how men are saved by it, then absolute wars can break out. Men are more than willing to fight for something that is so precious to them as the gospel which they cherish. Church splits, and denominations have formed because everyone thinks that their particular gospel is right, and everyone else’s gospel is wrong. The Calvinist thinks that the gospel is believing in the Five foundation doctrines of Grace, and He thinks that because Arminians do not believe these things, they cannot possibly be saved, because Christians “Know the truth” (Jn. 8:32). The Arminian thinks that the Calvinist cannot possibly be saved because he does not believe that God really wants to save all men (1Tim. 2:4). So the Calvinist says, because you have a deficient view of the atonement, you are not saved. And The Arminian says because you have a deficient view of the atonement, you are not saved. And the two men have been warring for centuries.
Now I would not for one second imply or teach that truth is inconsequential. It is all important, especially when it comes to the matter of the gospel. The gospel is the truth. Paul called it “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Eph. 1:13). Over and over it is called “the truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:5; Gal. 2:14; Col. 1:5). You cannot separate the gospel from truth, because to do so is to create a falsehood…a false gospel. But if the Calvinist is claiming truth, and the Arminian is claiming truth, then who is right? Two opposites cannot both be right.
I am discussing here two opposing positions that both claim to be Christian, both claim to be based on the Bible, and both claim to have opposing interpretations of “the gospel”. I am not talking here about a Christian vs. a Muslim, or a Christian vs. a Buddhist (two obviously non-Christian systems of thought). I am speaking about two people who are shoving chapters and verses from the Bible in the other guy’s face. Two people who both believe that they are saved by the very gospel which they are so willing to fight for. How can they be so far apart?
Is it possible that neither one is really saved? After all their “hatred, strife, emulations, variance, wrath and animosity” does not appear to be Christian (Gal. 5:20). God calls such things“works of the flesh”, and that “they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:21). And what about the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)? Have we no right to look for that fruit among God’s true people? Maybe they’re really both lost, arguing away like that? Certainly they are both missing some important aspects of the truth, or they would not act so contrary to it.
The answer to this dilemma is in the nature of the gospel itself. I already taught you that the gospel is “truth”. But what part of the truth is it? Is it the part of the truth having to do with God predestinating the elect? Is it the part of the truth having to do with the nature of the atonement? Is it the part of the truth about “believing on the Lord, and thou shalt be saved?” or is it the part of the truth about “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord”, or is it the part of the truth about “repenting”? How about “the resurrection”, is that the part of the truth that the gospel is concerned with? Maybe it’s the part about “Grace” that is the important part? Or is it the part about human responsibility, and that “God commands all men everywhere to repent”? Exactly what part of the truth is the gospel? This may seem like an oversimplification, but this is an accurate assessment of the problem. People will always be fighting over the gospel, as long as they don’t know what part of the truth is the gospel! The gospel is the truth! But which truth is it?
Paul tells us that “the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16), unto every one who believes whether Jew or Greek. The gospel is the truth. But which truth is it? Obviously, it is the truth that is God’s salvation power unleashed. “The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation”. Any gospel which is not Gods power to save, is no gospel, and is therefore not the truth. It is not the true gospel, nor can it be. Nobody has ever been saved by believing a set of doctrines. Doctrines contain truth, but not gospel truth. The gospel is God’s salvation power. Learning about key Biblical truths is a wonderful thing. It has a very important place in the church. But don’t confuse it with the gospel. Doctrine resident in the soul, can do a lot to help you grow in your knowledge of God and the Bible. But doctrine cannot save. The Gospel truth, however, saves.
Let me put it even clearer. There is only one truth that can save men, and that is “the gospel”. If I say it another way, you will immediately see the truth, and know what the gospel is. There is only one person who can save men, and He is “The truth”! “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Jn. 14:6).
The truth of the gospel is the person of Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and the gospel of truth in Him is the power of God unto salvation.
Which part of the truth is the gospel? The Jesus part!
Which part of the truth saves?… the Christ alone part!
What gospel is there apart from Christ?
Splitting hairs over verses cannot save anyone. Talking about an atonement is meaningless to someone "dead in trespasses and sin". Talking about repentance, faith, resurrection, new birth or any other doctrine is nonsense to a man who cannot hear. The gospel is not doctrinal content, it is Christ content. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1Cor. 2:14) . Dead men don’t hear doctrine. Dead men need resurrection. Dead men need salvation. Only the gospel can do that. Christ is the gospel. Christ is the truth. Preach Him. He is the power of God’s salvation, because He is The Savior! A dead man cannot understand even the simplest verse of scripture. But Lazarus could hear his name when Christ called him forth. That is what the gospel does. That is what the gospel is. It is the truth calling the dead to life. It is the Savior, doing his job…saving His people from their sins!
Someone say’s “yes, but you cannot separate Christ from his doctrine”. That is true, Christ brings all the truth with him wherever he goes, and when He saves a man, that man “knows the truth and the truth sets him free” (Jn. 8:32). But don’t forget that the children of light, are born into the kingdom as little babes (Matt. 18:3). That’s why it is called a “new birth”. Does a little babe understand all the glorious truths about his father? Certainly not. He has to grow, and the fact is because he is still human, he may never grow into a perfect understanding of every doctrine, every verse of scripture, every divine mystery, every aspect of the infinite work of Christ. Don’t judge a child of the Father because he has a different understanding of the truth than you, or an inferior knowledge of some of the many aspects of Christ’s truth. It does not mean that he has not come under the life giving resurrecting power of the gospel. You don’t need to know anything to be saved. You need to meet Christ. Salvation is by grace, not by knowledge or works, theology or imagined savability in the sinner. When you add to the gospel, you have forsaken it. When you put limits on Christ’s power to save, you have removed Him from the gospel. He saves who He wants, when He wants, where He wants, whenever He wants, and He does not need your approval to do so. He can save a Wesley as easy as He can save a Whitefield. He can save an Arminius as easy as He can save a Calvin. It makes no difference to Him, because He is “the power of God unto salvation”.
It is time to quit confusing a man’s theological understanding with the gospel. When a Calvinist says “No Arminian can ever be saved, because he believes in a false view of the atonement” he is disgracing the Lord. God’s power to save is not limited to a mans understanding of the atonement. Nobody would ever be saved, if that were the case! The atonement was an infinite transaction between God the Son and God the Father, and no man can enter it’s holy mysteries, or even scratch the surface of what that great doctrinal transaction actually entailed. You may be so proud that you think you understand the atonement, but you have not got a clue. Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God. Let God take care of God’s things, and you take care of the things he has commissioned you to do. “Preach Christ” (Phil. 1:15-18). If you read these verses in Philippians Paul clearly says that even if Christ is preached wrongly, from wrong motives, out of strife or contention, out of insincerity or good will, he still rejoices because “Christ is preached”. There are no perfect preachers, there are no perfect Christians, but there is a perfect Savior, and when He is preached men are saved. That is the gospel.
What a wonderful thing it is. It brings men to life from death. It takes them from the loneliness of isolation from God and unites them into an intimate living relationship with the Almighty. It brings fallen and helpless creatures, back to their creator, because of His initiative and His Grace. He loves them, that’s why He saves them. The gospel is indeed a wonder, so it is of the utmost importance that preachers marshal whatever strength and wisdom, whatever gifts and abilities they have to preach it. Let every servant of Christ, lift Him up, so that He will draw men to Himself. Let every true minister, quit trying to prove himself right, and start proving Christ right. The Lord saves! Praise God. If He does not, then we need to consign all of our theological degrees to hell, where we ourselves will also go. If Christ does not save, we are all doomed, Calvinist, Arminian, Pelagian, Fundamentalist, Reformed, Non-reformed, liberal, conservative, it does not matter. If Christ does not save, we are all doomed! Preach Christ. Preach the truth. Preach the gospel. All other preaching is not gospel preaching. But Christ preaching is the gospel. Let Him do His work of salvation. Lift Him up and He will do it. May God help us to be gospel preachers. Let the two men quit arguing about the gospel. And let them start preaching it! Amen
©2012 Earl Jackson All Rights Reserved
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