What is the gospel?

Good morning, Gateway Chapel!

Scripture

I believe in God, the Father almighty,       creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,       who was conceived by the Holy Spirit       and born of the virgin Mary.       He suffered under Pontius Pilate,       was crucified, died, and was buried;       he descended to hell.       The third day he rose again from the dead.       He ascended to heaven       and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.       From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,       the holy catholic church,       the communion of saints,       the forgiveness of sins,       the resurrection of the body,       and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayer

Intro

Good morning, Gateway Chapel!

It’s good to be back up here. Thank you for being a gracious church that allows your pastor three weeks off from preaching. Thank you to Weston Foucher, Fletcher Price, and Spencer Doherty for covering the pulpit while I was out. I also had three weeks off from seminary as well. I read fiction, I spent time with family, I enjoyed a few anticlimactic rounds of golf. I feel rested mentally and I miss being here serving you in this way.

About three years ago, I was in a discipleship group with our old pastor David Odell and a couple other guys, and one day we sat around in my kitchen talking about Jesus, theology, faith. And all of the sudden Dave looks at us and says, “I’ve got a question for you. What is the gospel? I want you to take out a piece of paper and write it down.”

We all kind of froze. If you knew Dave he’s not much of a homework kind of guy. It was surprising. We got nervous. The gospel…I should know this! I do know this. But how do I say it? How do I say it succinctly? John 3:16 I guess? We all wrote something, each with similarities but also quite different.

And I don’t remember what my answer was and even if I did I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable saying it.

I tell you this because it illustrates a problem. I've heard gospel sermons, gospel podcasts, sung gospel songs my whole life…and I froze when my own pastor asked me in a safe environment a simple question, “What is it? What is the gospel?”

So…I’d like you all to do the same. You don’t have to share with anyone! There is no grade. But we’re going to give you 2 minutes to come up with your own definition. If you’re not a Christian and you’re new to church, you’re exempt just laugh at the rest of the people here.

What is the gospel? Write it down on your sermon notes. Go!

How’d that go? How do you feel about your answer?

For some, that might have been easy and fun. You’re an evangelist at heart and love describing the gospel. For others, you’re like “Chris school is starting why are you triggering me with homework.”

As Christians, we want to find happiness the gospel. How can we if we don’t know what it is?

I wish three years ago when I sat down with Dave and anxiously wrote my own definition, that I had Romans 1:1-6 memorized. Romans 1:1-6 is not the only definition of the gospel in Scripture (John 3:16 is a great verse, 1 Cor 15:1-11 is another, 1 Tim 1:15), but it is an often forgot passage but a beautifully succinct definition of the gospel we Christians want to espouse.

So we’re going to look at Romans 1:1-6 together this morning and look at a six part definition of the gospel. And I have two thoughts to end that I pray will give you confidence and hope this morning.

Pray

Emily read Romans 1:1-6 for us.

Thank you, Emily! Romans is well known for good reason. It is the first epistle of the New Testament, it comes after the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and follows the book of Acts which is the narrative story of how the gospel spread after Jesus sent the Holy Spirit.

Romans is a letter from the apostle Paul to the church in Rome, and it is in a sense a Christian manifesto. It was written by a specific person for specific people, but it applies beautiful to all God’s people in all times and places.

Like William Wallace in Braveheart, Romans yells Freedom! Freedom for mankind through Jesus.

Romans was written in the first century AD, and has been loved ever since. William Tyndale, the father of English Bible Translators, described it as:

“The principal and most excellent part of the New Testament, and most pure Euangelion (gospel), that is to say, glad tidings … and also a light and a way in unto the whole Scripture’.

He went on to urge his readers to learn it by heart.

For, he assured them, ‘the more it is studied, the easier it is; the more it is chewed, the pleasanter it is.”

All of Romans is a definition of the gospel. But Romans 1:1-6 is especially so. When we read our Bible it’s important to note the genre. Romans is a letter. You wouldn’t read a text from a friend and respond, “Please put this on company letterhead.” It’s not the bi-laws. It’s a text! In the same way, Romans is a letter. So Paul begins with a greeting. Here’s who I am, here’s what I’m about, here’s who this letter is to.

Paul begins in verse 1.

Romans 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

Here, Paul introduces himself and his gospel.

Who is Paul?

We first meet Paul in Acts 7:58 when he is named Saul and approves of the murder of Stephen, a teenager who served faithfully in the local church. But Saul meets Jesus in Acts 9 and everything changes. Now in his letter to the Romans he identifies himself as a servant or slave of Jesus. Called to be an apostle, or a messenger of Jesus. Paul was a Pharisee which means “set apart ones” and now he is set apart for the gospel.

What is the gospel?

The gospel simply means good news. And Paul had his mind on the Old Testament use of the word which meant God’s final victory in history.

Isaiah 52:7 ESV

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Paul loved using this word “gospel” to talk about both the events of Jesus’ life death, and resurrection, and communicating that message to others. The gospel is both an event and a message.

But again, gospel is so frequently used that it can result in semantic satiation.

Like when you say the word “fluke” thirty times in a row and it loses all meaning. Fluke. Funny word.

So Paul gives us more. And you’ll see in your sermon notes a six part breakdown of what the gospel is according to Paul.

First, it is OF GOD.

Paul is not making this up. The apostles - the people Jesus entrusted to tell others about him - did not invent the story.

Paul says as much in Gal 1:11-12

Galatians 1:11–12 ESV

11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Peter had to argue his case similarly in 2 Peter 1:16

2 Peter 1:16 ESV

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

While you and I may struggle to define the gospel, at its core it is not our attempt to describe God, it is something from God himself. While others may doubt Christianity because, let’s be honest, WE CAN”T SEE GOD…the people who started the Christian movement SAW JESUS ALIVE and they stood so firmly on what they experienced that it lead them to their own death.

The gospel is of God. Without this we’re wasting our time.

Second, the gospel is

According to Scripture

Romans 1:2 ESV

2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

The gospel of God does not begin in the New Testament. Paul, trained as a Pharisee, is an Old Testament virtuoso. He sees Jesus through the Old Testament, like you can see Water Hole through the windows. God promised the gospel before Jesus’ birth through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.

Here we see the Bible telling us that it’s one unified story. Just like Spencer said last week, God is just as gracious in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sin as he is when the new heavens and earth appear in Revelation.

Jesus viewed the Bible in this way. Jesus believed this as well. Luke 24:44-47

Luke 24:44–47 ESV

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

The gospel was promised in the Old Testament. Scholars refer to Genesis 3:16 as the proto-Euangelion or the first gospel because God promises to send someone to defeat the snake: the source of evil.

Look what Paul says in Galatians

Galatians 3:8 ESV

8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

The gospel reminds us that God keeps his promises.

Titus 1:2 ESV

2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

Reading our Bibles reminds us that even when times are dark, the light has not left the room. We find hope in the fact that God is incapable of breaking a promise to his people. He’s with you.

So whatever the gospel is…it is of God, according to Scripture, and it is certainly

About Jesus

Romans 1:3–4 ESV

3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

To put it simply: the gospel is all about Jesus. The gospel is of God - who is one with Jesus - and according to the Scriptures - which point to Jesus.

John Calvin the famous theologian said:

“The whole gospel is contained in Christ...to move even a step from Christ means to withdraw oneself from the gospel.” - John Calvin

Paul says, “Jesus CHRIST our Lord.” Christ is the greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah. God’s anointed one. The savior. The Bible Project has an awesome 5 minute video on Messiah that I’d like us to watch and break down these verses.

Show Bible Project video - 6 minutes

The gospel is of God, according to Scripture, it’s all about Jesus the Messiah, but what is it for?

For the Obedience of Faith

Romans 1:5 (ESV)

5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith...

It doesn’t say, “So they can go to heaven when they die.” Life after death is a key component of our hope, but it’s not Paul’s main concern.

I like the Message’s translation of this verse to help get to the meaning.

Romans 1:5 The Message

5 Through him we received both the generous gift of his life and the urgent task of passing it on to others who receive it by entering into obedient trust in Jesus.

Jesus gave Paul - a murderer of Christians - the gracious gift of life, and a task to tell others who would receive the message by faith and enter into obedient trust in Jesus.

The ESV calls it the obedience of faith.

Now, if you know your Bible well you’ve heard Romans is all about justification by faith. We are saved by faith and not obedience. So is Paul contradicting himself?

No, for Paul obedience and faith are inseperable.

If you love someone, you do what they ask of you. If you say on your anniversary, “I love you forever.” And then they say, “I love you too. And I need your help around the house.” You wouldn’t say, “No, I love you, so we’re good now! I don’t need to do what you say.”

Paul later in Romans will use the story of Abraham.

Abraham had faith in God. He trusted that God was the kind of being who kept his promises. So when God promised Abraham that he’d given him a son even though he was 90 years old, he trusted him. And when God asked Abraham to take that son up on a mountain and kill him, Abraham had faith enough to obey.

True faith in Jesus and believing the gospel always results in obedience because we are given the Spirit of Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The obedience of faith is a phrase for Paul meant fully devoted love for Jesus, trust in his care, deep peace in his forgiveness, continuous awareness of his mercy and grace, and that caused him to be beaten, shipwrecked three times, hated, imprisoned, driven to despair, and ultimately killed.

The gospel produces more than good feelings. It demands a response of faith, and through the same Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead produces obedience and a changed life.

The gospel is of God, according to Scripture, about Jesus, for the obedience of faith, and...

For His Name’s Sake

Romans 1:5–6 (ESV)

5 ...for the sake of his name...

The gospel is of God and for God. It’s about Jesus and for Jesus. It produces the fruit of the Spirit so we glorify the Spirit.

We are to respond in faith and be obedient not because God is just OCD and wants sinful gross people out of his living room…but through the Spirit we are to become more like Jesus so God looks good.

The Old Testament is full of laws. Why? Because God likes laws? Because he chose Israel to be the kind of people you’d want as your neighbors and so their neighbors would say, “Who’s your God again? He must be amazing! You’re kind to each other, you treat your poor well, your kids are respectful, your businesses are ethical. Remind me the name of your God because our gods are crazy.”

How do you feel when you recommend a TV show, a restaurant, a podcast, and the person you recommended it to comes back and says, “That was terrible.” That show was boring! The vibe at that restaurant was so lame. That podcast was terrible.” How do you feel?

The same goes for Jesus. We as his people are to feel something when people don’t respond to him as he deserves.

We should be ‘jealous’ for the honor of his name—troubled when it remains unknown, hurt when it is ignored, indignant when it is blasphemed, and all the time anxious and determined that it shall be given the honour and glory which are due to it. The highest of all missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing (strong as that incentive is…), but rather zeal—burning and passionate zeal—for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Who is this for?

Everyone

Romans 1:5–6 (ESV)

5 ...among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

This is a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham back in Gen 12. Through you I will bless the whole world.

This is a shocker to those Jews who rejected Gentiles entirely and forgot that the promise of God applied not just to them but all people. Including you, the very people, the very Gentiles in the church in Rome to which Paul is writing.

I’m so glad to be a part of a small church, And, in a small suburban, largely white setting it’s hard to remember that the gospel is the most powerful multiethnic global movement in the history of mankind. The gospel is more than me and Jesus. It is a story and message that applies to everyone.

So, based on Romans 1:1-6, what is the gospel?

It is of God, according to Scripture, about Jesus, for the obedience of faith, for his Name, for everyone.

Now, the reality is, most of you will go to work on Tuesday (unless you have to work on Labor Day) and the people you interact with will not give you the time to explain all that. “Cheri, what was the third point again?”

And the issues is more than time, right? Maybe you work in a culture where you do not talk about faith. We’ve got people at Gateway in the military, firefighters, police, teachers, nurses, construction…how receptive are those places to the gospel? It’s hard! You might rather share your social security number with a coworker than your testimony.

So why does what we do matter?

Knowing the gospel well helps us simplify and share.

Paul wrote a sixteen chapter letter all about the gospel. He could write much longer because the gospel is all about Jesus and as John says there’s not enough paper in the world to write down everything about him.

But Paul knows the story well enough to simplify it in Romans 1:1-6 and put it in a way that made sense to his audience.

How could you do the same?

I was on Steve Jordan’s prayer team at the Compassion Clinic back in June, and we were a part of a training on how to share our faith. Check it out online it’s called “Three Circles.”

You may not have someone say, “Hey, tell me the six preposition definition of the gospel you learned on Sunday.”

But you know what starts a conversation…a question!

How’ve you been? What’re you hopeful about this Fall? When work gets crazy, how do you hang in there?

Knowing the gospel well allows us to be brief when we share. We all know that fear of sharing our testimony and rambling. We want to make sense.

I might say something like, “I find hope in Jesus. I used to be afraid, anxious, and full of shame, but Jesus taught me to trust him and showed me how much he loves me. Who do you think Jesus is?”

And then if someone asks more questions, you’ve got Romans 1:1-6 as a backdrop to say, here’s the good news. Here’s why I have hope. Don’t feel like you need to share the whole thing, but like Paul, use it as a way to communicate love to people who need to hear about Jesus.

But it’s not just other people who need to hear the gospel, right? As Christians we still need it every day.

Knowing the gospel reminds us of our identity in Christ.

Romans 1:1-6 is not a dictionary definition. What is it? A introductory greeting of a letter. Paul says here’s who I am: the gospel. Jesus. For Paul, introducing himself was inseparable from introducing Jesus and the gospel.

Where do you find your identity? When things go awry, where do you go?

I was talking to Mike Mathews this week, and Mike as you know is an elder here and a captain in the Tacoma Fire Department. Mike was talking about how mental health is being discussed more and more in the fire service. One of his coworkers made a documentary that is all about PTSD in the fire service. And I asked Mike, “How do you handle all the crap you see in your job?”

And Mike said, “I’m gifted to be somebody who doesn’t dwell in the past too much.” That’s his temperament.

And, “I find comfort in the gospel. The world is MESSED UP.” Mike sees it more than most of us. Death, addiction, crime…and Mike said, “I hold onto the fact that God is doing something. He promised to send Jesus, and he’s promised to come back to make everything right again.

Mike knows the gospel and it helps him endure.

Paul says, “including you who belong to Jesus.” You belong to Jesus. Why? Because a long time ago, God made a good world, with people he wanted to share it with. But those people turned from him and went their own way. But God loved them so much that he promised to one day send someone to save them. And he had some people write down his promises in Scripture so we could hold onto it. And Jesus came as promised, he died for our sins and was raised from the dead which proved he was sent from God. And he gave his first followers the Holy Spirit and a job to share the good news that he was alive and reigning as king. And they were to trust Jesus and obey his teaching. Why? So the name of Jesus would be made great. And where did their message go? Across the whole world. After thousands of years, even here to you. And if you’ve responded in faith, you belong to Jesus.

And so if you lusted this week. Your sin fits in that story. Jesus paid for it. Your forgiven and still a part of the gospel story. If you lied this week…you are forgiven, you’re still a part of the story and wants you to move forward. If you’re anxious about the future, you can be sure that God is working all things for the purpose of Jesus being made great and your life fits in that story, no matter what happens. If you wonder if you’ll ever change, know the gospel and the God who can raise the dead. If you just don’t care much about faith and would rather talk football, dig into this story and learn how big and exciting Jesus is. If you don’t think you can keep going, remember the gospel. God is at work in the dark. That’s the gospel.

The gospel is of God, according to Scripture, about Jesus, for the obedience of faith for his name sake for everyone.

Know the gospel so you can simplify and share it. Know the gospel so you can find your identity in Christ.

The band is going to come up and we’re going to take communion. Communion is a family meal where we as the people of God remember the good news. We taste and see that God is good as we eat of the bread and drink the cup, remembering Jesus’ body broken and blood poured out for us. And each week we thank God. As the band plays quietly, consider reflecting on your week and how you need forgiveness for finding your identity in something other than the gospel.

Announcements

We care about you and we want to know you. Getting connected to us on Faithlife, through social media, these are tools for relationship. Mostly we just want to get to know you and help you grow in your faith. That’s why we’re here and I hope it’s why you’re here too. Faithlife is also where you can give online, or in the box in the back. Giving is a way we worship Jesus and we want to make that as simple as possible for you.

We want to help you grow in your faith by serving. Serving the body of Christ is a way we worship Jesus. So we want to help you worship Jesus and find a place for you to serve. We’ve got a few ways to do that, and I’m open to being creative.

Also, we’ve got a membership class coming up on September 25th. Membership was not created by Costco or Amazon. Membership is a way we reflect the gospel. It’s a commitment, like God committed to loving us. Like you committed to loving your spouse. Membership reflects reality. We’d love to talk to you about that, we’ll serve you lunch. It’ll be great.

Benediction

Romans 16:19–20 ESV

19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.