Michael P. V. Barrett on What is the Gospel?
“In simplest terms, the gospel is Christ. Too often the gospel is defined in terms of its benefits, results, and attendant circumstances without placing the essentially necessary focus on the person and work of Jesus Christ. The gospel is not ‘come to Jesus and be saved.’ The gospel, the good news, is that God gave His Son to be the only Savior of sinners. As the God/Man, Christ vicariously lived to fulfill the law, vicariously died to pay the penalty of the broken law–appeasing God’s wrath and providing cleansing from guilt–victoriously rose to evidence the death of death, and triumphantly ascended into glory where He now sits ruling and interceding until He comes again in all His glory. Because of all this, men everywhere ought to come to Jesus in order to be saved. Being saved is the wonderful and sure consequence of the gospel. This is why John summarizes salvation simply in terms of Christ: “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (I John 5:12).
HT: Matthew Hoskinson
