The last three posts began to answer a simple, yet critical question. What are the essential elements of the gospel?

The Gospel is the message of God’s plan and work to save sinners from His wrath and bring them into a relationship with Himself through the work of Jesus Christ and the offer of that gift to all who will turn from sin and trust in Christ.

This very pregnant sentence demands unpacking so I began commenting on each phrase. Thus far we have made six statements. First, the “gospel” has a singular definition. Second, the “gospel” is a message or a definitive collection of concepts that relate a specific joyous announcement. Third, the “gospel” relates God’s plan. Fourth, the “gospel” tells of God’s work. Fifth, the “gospel” tells of God’s work to save. Sixth, the “gospel” offers salvation to sinners. Seventh, the “gospel” offers salvation from God’s wrath. Eighth, the “gospel” tells of God’s work to bring sinners into a right relationship with Himself.

Ninth, the “gospel” tells of the “work of Jesus Christ.” God’s work to save was accomplished through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He is only way to salvation thus the message about salvation must center on Him and His work.

Tenth, the “gospel” offers a gift. This message announces the solution to the deepest problem in our soul (our separation from God because of our sin). And this gift is FREE. It requires no work or merit. In fact, any attempt to earn the gift prevents a person from receiving it.

Eleventh, the “gospel” offers a gift to “all.” The only requirement for eligibility is to be a human being.

Twelfth, the “gospel” invites a person to repent from sin. Repentance is a change of mind resulting in a turn from sin. To receive the gospel a person must reorient their will away from sin. Don’t misunderstand, however, repentance is not work or merit. Rather it is a reaction to sin by a person who hears and believes the gospel.

Thirteenth and finally, the “gospel” offers a gift that is received by faith. In other words, faith is the means by which God appropriates salvation. The work of Jesus to cover our sin and reestablish our relationship with God is only applied to persons who trust fully in Christ. This trust is beyond mental acknowledgement of facts about His life, death, and resurrection. Faith in Jesus is life-altering causing us to rely solely on the work of Jesus to deal with our sin and to surrender absolutely to follow Him at any cost. When a person places his faith in Jesus, God applies Jesus’ work to him and saves him.

Therefore, the gospel is the message about salvation for salvation.

Again, read these statements and consider your beliefs regarding the gospel because this message lies at the heart of what it means to be “Christian.”

More than two months ago I introduced a book that deals with seven important topics promising to address each of them in turn. Having written about the first two (truth and evangelism), I come now to #3: the gospel.

With much contemporary debate and misunderstanding about salvation, my goal through these entries is to answer one question. What are the essential elements of the gospel?

Also, please don’t lose sight of our goal with this series and with what will be several entries about the gospel… “I want to challenge you to consider your beliefs regarding seven topics (and now ‘the gospel’) because they provide a foundation for your understanding of Christianity and the Church.”

The Gospel is the message of God’s plan and work to save sinners from His wrath and bring them into a relationship with Himself through the work of Jesus Christ and the offer of that gift to all who will turn from sin and trust in Christ.

This very pregnant sentence demands unpacking. And thus we will over the course of a few entries expound upon the phrases of this important definition. (I’ll try to keep track of my first, second, third, etc. as we move along, but I make no promises.)

First and obvious, the “gospel” has a singular definition. Much of the current discussion about the gospel is an attempt to circumvent any negligible definition. The gospel has become something of a moving target that bends and flexes as we roam along from culture to culture and society to society. However, biblical revelation is our guide to all matters of faith and practice and it most certainly provides a single definition. Thus, one can only embrace or share the ‘gospel’ when he or she has rightly identified it.

Second, the “gospel” is a message or a definitive collection of concepts that relate a specific joyous announcement. Often called the good news, the gospel tells a distinct story. Thus, one can only embrace the gospel as good news when he or she has heard and understood a specific message.

Betsie ten Boom lived in Holland with her father and more well-known sister Corrie at the time of the Nazi occupation during World War II. All three were imprisoned and the ladies eventually taken to a concentration camp. Betsie and her father died in earthly captivity. After years of imprisonment, Corrie was released and later wrote much about her family’s experiences in the popular book, The Hiding Place.

Prior to their arrest, they lived out their Christian faith by providing refuge for people who were hiding from the Nazi oppressors. For more than a year this family housed as many as seven people illegally. As the ten Booms ministered to these Jews and members of the Dutch underground, they trusted God in remarkable ways.

One night Betsie and Corrie awoke as German and English planes were fighting over their city. They huddled downstairs drinking tea until the commotion subsided. As Corrie climbed back into bed she cut her hand on a piece of shrapnel that had fallen through the roof and landed on her pillow. Racing back downstairs to Betsie for help, she couldn’t help but think of what might have been.

But before she could finish her sentence, Betsie stopped her cold with the life-altering application of a powerful truth…

“There are no ‘if’s’ in God’s world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety. . . . Let us pray that we may always know it!”

Betsie ten Boom, quoted from Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place, 70

Do you worry about the ‘if’s’ in life? Or do you trust completely in the safety of God’s sovereignty?