Theological Term of the Week

the gospel
The good news of what God has accomplished through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

• From scripture:
  

  Now I would remind you, brothers,  of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 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, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…. (I Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV)

• The Canons of Dordt, The Second Main Point of Doctrine:

  Article 1: The Punishment Which God’s Justice Requires

  God is not only supremely merciful, but also supremely just. His justice requires (as he has revealed himself in the Word) that the sins we have committed against his infinite majesty be punished with both temporal and eternal punishments, of soul as well as body. We cannot escape these punishments unless satisfaction is given to God’s justice.

  Article 2: The Satisfaction Made by Christ

  Since, however, we ourselves cannot give this satisfaction or deliver ourselves from God’s anger, God in his boundless mercy has given us as a guarantee his only begotten Son, who was made to be sin and a curse for us, in our place, on the cross, in order that he might give satisfaction for us.

  Article 3: The Infinite Value of Christ’s Death

  This death of God’s Son is the only and entirely complete sacrifice and satisfaction for sins; it is of infinite value and worth, more than sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world.

  Article 4: Reasons for This Infinite Value

  This death is of such great value and worth for the reason that the person who suffered it is—as was necessary to be our Savior—not only a true and perfectly holy man, but also the only begotten Son of God, of the same eternal and infinite essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Another reason is that this death was accompanied by the experience of God’s anger and curse, which we by our sins had fully deserved.

  Article 5: The Mandate to Proclaim the Gospel to All

  Moreover, it is the promise of the gospel that whoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish but have eternal life. This promise, together with the command to repent and believe, ought to be announced and declared without differentiation or discrimination to all nations and people, to whom God in his good pleasure sends the gospel.

• From Charles Spurgeon in the sermon For Whom Is the Gospel Meant?, explaining the sanctifying influence of he gospel:

  When this Truth of God enters the soul, it breeds zealots, martyrs, confessors, missionaries, saints. If any Christians are in earnest and full of love to God and man, they are those who know what Grace has done for them. If any remain faithful under reproaches, joyful under losses and crosses—they are those who are conscious of their indebtedness to Divine Love. If any delight in God while they live and rest in Him as they die—they are the men who know that they are justified by faith in Jesus Christ who justifies the ungodly.

  All glory be to the Lord who lifts the beggar from the dunghill and sets him among princes, even the princes of His people! He takes the very cast-offs of the world and adopts them into His family and makes them heirs of God by Jesus Christ! The Lord grant us all to know the power of the Gospel upon our sinful selves! The Lord endear to us the name,work and Person of the Sinner’s Friend! May we never forget the hole of the pit from where we were drawn, nor the hand which rescued us, nor the undeserved kindness which moved that hand! From now on let us have more and more to say of Infinite Grace. “Free Grace and dying love.” Well does the old song say, “Ring those charming bells.” Free Grace and dying love—the sinner’s windows of hope! Our hearts exult in the very words! Glory be unto You, O Lord Jesus, ever full of compassion. Amen.

Learn more:

1. Monergism.com: What Is the Gospel?
   
2. Brian Schwertley: The Good News of the Salvation of Jesus Christ: A Gospel Primer
3. Jeffrey C. Nesbitt: A Gospel Summary
4. D. A. Carson: What Is the Gospel?—Revisited (pdf)
5. Southern Seminary:What Is the Gospel?
   

   What is the Gospel? from Southern Seminary on Vimeo.

6. John Piper: What Is the Gospel? (video)
7. D. A. Carson: What Is the Gospel? (mp3 download)
8. Phil Johnson: The Heart of the Gospel (mp3 download)
   

Related terms:

• active obedience of Christ
• Christ alone
• incarnation
• justification
• passive obedience of Christ
• propitiation
• reconciliation
• redemption
• resurrecton of Jesus
• substitutionary atonement

Related posts at this blog:

• Gospel List 1 
• Gospel List 2
• Gospel List 3

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