Re: On Summarizing"The Gospel"

Very thorough definition. Perhaps one brief phrase on Christ's Parousia/consummation?

Thank you for sharing and for bringing the gospel back to the forefront of my mind/heart right now.

kevo

Re: On Summarizing"The Gospel"

W,

Honestly, my initial response is not primarily intended to drive your readers to my blog. But by next week I will have a 'Minute Message' posted that will summarize the sermons I've preached so far this summer in the series entitled 'The 13th Perspective,' where I am attempting to follow the narrative arc of the Gospel from Genesis to the Revelation. Obviously, that summary will be incomplete (I've got seven more sermons to go in the series), and not nearly as concise as your statement above, but it will give you an idea of how I would respond to this post.

In the meantime, I've been teaching a Bible study series on 1 Corinthians, and Paul makes it clear in chs. 1 & 2 that he preached the gospel, which to him in that letter meant 'Jesus Christ and Him crucified.' (1 Cor. 1.22, 2.2) Now that's a concise definition of the gospel.

Also, I agree with Kevin. I might consider adding something about the Parousia. It is always the clear anticipation of the good news that awaits just over the horizon of another day.

As always I enjoy reading your posts, which are consistently thought provoking and excellent. Except for the occasional Tuesday offerings. ;-)

Yours, L

Re: On Summarizing"The Gospel"

Lee,
Where is your blog?

Re: On Summarizing"The Gospel"

Kevin,

Thanks for asking: www.two10five.blogspot.com

Yours,
Lee

Re: On Summarizing"The Gospel"

Lee,

Thanks man! I'll check it out, and want to encourage everybody else to as well.

I've already re-worked it a bit to add the Holy Spirit in connection with the gifts and agree that there needs to be an eschatological feature as well. I'll try to update this later.

Thanks dudes!
Wyman

Re: On Summarizing "The Gospel" [Updated]

W,

The updated version is very good. I especially like 'the eternal good news' and the concluding phrase about the church and the Holy Spirit. I have been impressed of late with the emphasis even Southern Baptists have been placing on the corporate privilege and responsibility of the church as a whole rather than as a collection of individuals.

Should we ever finish answering the question 'What is the church?' that we're working through on Wednesday nights, I'll introduce your statement to the Bible study group to see what they think about it and how they would respond to your question.

Thanks, L

Re: On Summarizing "The Gospel" [Updated]

Lee,

Cool.

And I agree with you: we are seeing a return to ecclesiology among Baptists. It's long over due. I notice that in Lewis' "Letters To Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer" he refers to "the heresy of 'Jesus-and-me'." I suspect he was talking about churchless Christianity.

W

Re: On Summarizing "The Gospel" [Updated]

Could your reword that into something a 3rd grader could grasp, understand, memorize and share with their friends. I have taken a few "tests" recently for 5th graders and seem to fail most of them, so I was thinking 3rd grade might be more my speed. Then I could go share it with my pals. The gospel if is anything must be the passing from death unto life at the hearing of the good news that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Nice summary you have made but its grasp is far reaching and also very important. I think the question at Pentecost might leads us to a concise answer ....."Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Just a thought or two. The KISS principle works as long as it doen't come from a Judas.

Re: On Summarizing "The Gospel" [Updated]

Johnboy,

I get your point, and don't mean this in a snarky way, but if I were talking to a 3rd grader I probably would try to, but I'm not. I agree about accessibility, but then again that standard would rule out large swathes of the New Testament and possibly the entire book of Romans, so I don't think it's really fullproof. And truthfully, I'm increasingly surprised by how much 3rd graders really do grasp! :-) But, again, I do agree we should be able to say the gospel simply.

For a 3rd grader I'd simply quote John 3:16.