Reading Together: "What is the Gospel?" Chapter 1

Finding the Gospel in the Bible

Gilbert starts off his first chapter with a funny example about how important a reliable source of information can be for gps users as well as for people searching for spiritual truth.  He then goes on to explain why tradition, reason, and experience are not reliable enough to count on.  Only the infallible Word of God (found in the Old Testament and the New Testament) is 100% reliable for basing our understanding of the gospel on.  

Next, he takes readers through Romans 1-4 to see how the Apostle Paul (who wrote the letter to the Romans) would explain the gospel.  Through this example, Gilbert pulls out an excellent outline of the gospel: God - Man - Christ - Response.  These four main points make up the following four chapters, and they also make up the most familiar outline of the gospel for me, mainly because our [old] pastor (Mike Lumpkin at UBC) refers to this almost every time he explains the gospel.   Here is Gilbert's concise explanation of the gospel using the outline:

We are accountable to the God who created us.  We have sinned against that God and will be judged.  But God has acted in Jesus Christ to save us, and we take hold of that salvation by repentance from sin and faith in Jesus.  (p. 32)

I appreciate such conciseness and clarity.  After his example, he lists numerous passages in the Scripture in which the Apostles are also sharing the gospel (although they don't start by saying "this is the gospel").  I appreciated reading through these passages and hearing how the explanation can change (with the core truths remaining the same, of course) based on context, audience, and other variables.

If you zoomed through this chapter, I'd encourage you to go back and re-read it.  It is rich and provides a good foundation for how the book will be laid out.  

I will be posting about Chapter 2: God the Righteous Creator next Wednesday (8/15), Lord willing.

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For those who read along with me, here are some questions to ponder and/or answer below (via commenting):

Which explanation of the gospel really struck a chord with you?  Did any surprise you?

Do you expect the God - Man - Christ - Response outline to be helpful for you?  Are there any other outline (or formats) that have been helpful you in explaining the gospel?

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The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,

    rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

     enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the Lord is clean,

    enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true,

    and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,

    even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

    and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

     in keeping them there is great reward.

(Psalm 19:7-11)