What is the Gospel?

‎"The gospel is this: that we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope" (Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage).

Once again I find myself uncomfortable with Dr. Keller's definition of the Gospel. This "Gospel-centered" pastor always seems (to me) to miss the point.

We Christians have a funny way of abbreviating our way into squishy half-truths. For example, we talk about "The Book of Revelation" and the mystery of the prophecies it contains. And we talk about "The Gospel" and how God lovingly wraps His Band-Aid plan of salvation around our suffering world.

In doing so, we carelessly demote the central subject and object of our faith: the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ is not about mapping a timeline of future events. Just so, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is NOT ABOUT US.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ
The Gospel does not revolve around people. It's not about how we feel. It's not about how we act. It's not about what we think. It's not about what we believe. The Gospel is not even primarily about what God does for us.

The biblical Gospel (good news) is Who God Is and how all of His acts display and confirm Who He Is. The Gospel is that God was in Jesus Christ (fully man and fully God), reconciling the world to Himself.

God created us for His pleasure, not ours.
He loves His creation for His sake, not ours.
He allows evil to accomplish His purposes, not ours.
He sacrificed Jesus for His satisfaction, not ours.
He gives us faith for His kingdom, not ours.
He judges the wicked for His honor, not ours.
He rewards the righteous for His glory, not ours.

It is God's supreme position over all His works and His utter holiness that cause us to bow down and worship.

We are convicted of sin by seeing God's perfection, not for believing we are "sinful and flawed in ourselves." We repent of sin because of His holy righteousness, not for the hope of "love and acceptance." And we love and do good (Does Keller's gospel include holy living?) because He left us an example, in Jesus Christ, that we should follow in His steps.

Is love and acceptance the best God that has to offer? If you're tailoring a gospel to my felt needs, you're going to have to do better than that. I can find love and acceptance by joining almost any club. What I may not be able to find in a club, however, is a living and unspeakably holy God, Who purposefully created me and calls me to Himself to show Himself strong and glorious.


"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:11–14).

The Worship-Gospel Continuum

1. What is your Worship focus? (John 4:23–24)
   Do you think more about Who God Is (Spirit and Truth) than about doing the right things? Do you think more about God than even good things, like singing praise and engaging other people?
2. What is your Gospel message? (I Corinthians 2:2)
   Do you talk more about Who Jesus Is than about what He gives us? Do you talk more about Jesus than even good things, like love and grace?

I've been thinking about this a lot. Probably too much, since it resulted in a visual. The horizontal line represents how we worship God. The vertical line represents how we speak the Gospel. Every person and every denomination fits somewhere on this chart.

• In the upper-left quadrant is the Christian's goal: worshiping God in spirit and in truth and proclaiming Jesus Christ.
• In the lower-right quadrant is the majority of religious beliefs: people looking for goodness, peace, and unity, but neglecting the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and the Lord Jesus Christ (the epitome of all that they desire).
• In the lower-left quadrant could be New Age teaching, which invites us to have spirituality, truth, and goodness without Jesus Christ.
• In the upper-right quadrant might be Post-Modern Christianity, which preaches Jesus Christ as a means of uniting people of all faiths and lifestyles. As long as you're sincere, you're in.

Someone could argue that the biblical ideal is in the very center of the chart, at the intersection of Worship and Gospel. I think, however, that the center is where we find the lukewarm church, mixing human efforts with the biblical ideal. True goodness, sincerity, and tolerance are fruits of seeking God, not targets in and of themselves.

There are infinite varieties of beliefs, but my point is, each one has a goal for their gospel and worship.

What are your goals?