What the Gospel
is...
"For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation
to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the
Greek."(Ro 1:16)
When we speak of "the gospel" we tend to think of
an evangelistic message and surely the gospel is that. But it is not
only a four or five point outline of salvation truths. The
gospel - in the sense Paul and the apostles employed the word,
includes
all the truth about Christ (cf. Rom. 1:1-6). It does not stop at the
point of conversion and justification by faith but embraces every
other aspect of salvation, from sanctification to ultimate
glorification. The gospel's significance therefore does not end the
moment the new birth occurs; it applies to the entire Christian
experience. And when Paul and the other New Testament writers spoke
of "preaching the gospel," they were not talking about preaching
only to unbelievers (cf. v. 15).
- MacArthur Study Bible
