The Gospel - which verses?

[ianb321red]

Bit of a re-hash this thread (apologies) !

Q. If someone asked you to take them to a passage in the bible which best describes the gospel, which would you choose and why?

My choice:

Romans 3:23-26 "or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished"

Reason:
i) it explains the predicament for the human race - that ALL have sinned (our sinful nature)
ii) it explains that ALL can be forgiven, and that this forgiveness is given to us freely in the form of grace
iii) it explains the source and method of our redemption (death of Jesus)
iv) it explains what this signified in the eyes of God
v) it explains that this act needs to be accepted through faith
vi) it explains why God needed/ needs all this to happen

The key thing that this passage tells us about the gospel is the nature of our original sin, and what needed to be done by God to deal with it.
A verse like John 3:16 famously lacks this and is therefore not the gospel since we are not told why he gave his only begotten son, and why need to believe in him to not perish...

What other passages would people use for a concise summary of the gospel?

 

[savedbygrace05]

Matt 6: 33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness..."

This is my Gospel verse for our post-modern, post-Christian, post-God society.

1. It is His Gospel (Good News) and all people everywhere need to seek Him through Jesus.

2. He is right and it is His rightness (righteousness) that we all need to seek!

 

[ebia]

Bit of a re-hash this thread (apologies) !

Q. If someone asked you to take them to a passage in the bible which best describes the gospel, which would you choose and why?

My choice:

Romans 3:23-26 "or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished"

Reason:
i) it explains the predicament for the human race - that ALL have sinned (our sinful nature)
ii) it explains that ALL can be forgiven, and that this forgiveness is given to us freely in the form of grace
iii) it explains the source and method of our redemption (death of Jesus)
iv) it explains what this signified in the eyes of God
v) it explains that this act needs to be accepted through faith
vi) it explains why God needed/ needs all this to happen

The key thing that this passage tells us about the gospel is the nature of our original sin, and what needed to be done by God to deal with it.
A verse like John 3:16 famously lacks this and is therefore not the gospel since we are not told why he gave his only begotten son, and why need to believe in him to not perish...

What other passages would people use for a concise summary of the gospel?

That's all true, but its not the gospel.

 

[ebia]

Luke 1:1 to 24:53

 

[savedbygrace05]

Luke 1:1 to 24:53

The Gospel is Genesis to Revelation - the whole counsel of God

 

[ConfuseddotCom]

John 3:16

 

[ebia]

The Gospel is Genesis to Revelation - the whole counsel of God

Not really, no. Gospel is not just another word for truth. There is a reason why the 4 gospels are called that. Although some other books also explicitly refer to that same gospel, and some others - especially Genesis and Exodus, tell gospels in their own right.

A gospel is a proclamation of an event that brings peace, security, prosperity such as the crowning of a new king or the king winning of a war. First and foremost it's an announcement about the king, not a statement about us.

 

[savedbygrace05]

Not really, no. Gospel is not just another word for truth. There is a reason why the 4 gospels are called that. Although some other books also explicitly refer to that same gospel, and some others - especially Genesis and Exodus, tell gospels in their own right.

A gospel is a proclamation of an event that brings peace, security, prosperity such as the crowning of a new king or the king winning of a war. First and foremost it's an announcement about the king, not a statement about us.

The Gospel is indeed Good News that brings peace, hence the fall of humanity and creation in Gen 3, which led to alienation from God and the complete restoration of creation and the redeemed in Rev 21 through Jesus Christ His Son the only Saviour. Rev 21: 1 "Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...".

Like I said, the Gospel, the whole counsel of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), Gen to Rev.

 

[BelievingIsObeying]

22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

 

[ebia]

The Gospel is indeed Good News that brings peace, hence the fall of humanity and creation in Gen 3, which led to alienation from God and the complete restoration of creation and the redeemed in Rev 21 through Jesus Christ His Son the only Saviour. Rev 21: 1 "Then I saw 'a new heaven and a new earth,' for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...".

Like I said, the Gospel, the whole counsel of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), Gen to Rev.

Your "logic" doesn't follow.

The other stuff is connected to the gospel - but that's sufficient to make it gospel.

Gospel (or euangelion) is a precise technical word.

 

[ebia]

22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

And that has what to do with the question at hand?

 

[BelievingIsObeying]

And that has what to do with the question at hand?

The question was...

Q. If someone asked you to take them to a passage in the bible which best describes the gospel, which would you choose and why?

I think this best describes the Gospel and sums up all of Jesus' teachings nicely.

 

[savedbygrace05]

Your "logic" doesn't follow.

The other stuff is connected to the gospel - but that's sufficient to make it gospel.

Gospel (or euangelion) is a precise technical word.

It is not about human logic, it is about God's Wisdom (Jesus)

1 Cor 3 18 - 20 " Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become ‘fools’ so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’ and again, ‘The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.’"

 

[ebia]

It is not about human logic, it is about God's Wisdom (Jesus)

1 Cor 3 18 - 20 " Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become ‘fools’ so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’ and again, ‘The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.’"

Your conversations have no coherence to them whatsoever.

"Gospel" means something quote specific. God's wisdom does not mean "words mean whatever sbg chooses them to mean.

 

[ebia]

The question was...

Q. If someone asked you to take them to a passage in the bible which best describes the gospel, which would you choose and why?

I think this best describes the Gospel and sums up all of Jesus' teachings nicely.

But it doesn't contain a gospel.

 

[BelievingIsObeying]

But it doesn't contain a gospel.

It doesn't have to contain a gospel to describe the gospel.

 

[theFijian]

Bit of a re-hash this thread (apologies) !

Q. If someone asked you to take them to a passage in the bible which best describes the gospel, which would you choose and why?

My choice:

Romans 3:23-26 "or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished"

Reason:
i) it explains the predicament for the human race - that ALL have sinned (our sinful nature)
ii) it explains that ALL can be forgiven, and that this forgiveness is given to us freely in the form of grace
iii) it explains the source and method of our redemption (death of Jesus)
iv) it explains what this signified in the eyes of God
v) it explains that this act needs to be accepted through faith
vi) it explains why God needed/ needs all this to happen

The key thing that this passage tells us about the gospel is the nature of our original sin, and what needed to be done by God to deal with it.
A verse like John 3:16 famously lacks this and is therefore not the gospel since we are not told why he gave his only begotten son, and why need to believe in him to not perish...

What other passages would people use for a concise summary of the gospel?

Why are you comparing a didactic passage of several verses with one verse from a narrative passage? As such your criticism of John 3:16 being 'not the gospel' boggles the mind. We went over this the first time you raised this and saw that your argument against John 3:16 didn't hold water.

 

[Danny777]

Bit of a re-hash this thread (apologies) !

Q. If someone asked you to take them to a passage in the bible which best describes the gospel, which would you choose and why?

My choice:

Romans 3:23-26 "or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished"

Reason:
i) it explains the predicament for the human race - that ALL have sinned (our sinful nature)
ii) it explains that ALL can be forgiven, and that this forgiveness is given to us freely in the form of grace
iii) it explains the source and method of our redemption (death of Jesus)
iv) it explains what this signified in the eyes of God
v) it explains that this act needs to be accepted through faith
vi) it explains why God needed/ needs all this to happen

The key thing that this passage tells us about the gospel is the nature of our original sin, and what needed to be done by God to deal with it.
A verse like John 3:16 famously lacks this and is therefore not the gospel since we are not told why he gave his only begotten son, and why need to believe in him to not perish...

What other passages would people use for a concise summary of the gospel?

1 Corinthians 15 is a very concise summary of the gospel (particularly verses 1-22).

Whenever John 3:16 is used, it definitely needs to be put into context as you say. I agree that the Romans 3 passage you quote above is an accurate summary of the gospel message.

 

[theFijian]

The question was...

Q. If someone asked you to take them to a passage in the bible which best describes the gospel, which would you choose and why?

I think this best describes the Gospel and sums up all of Jesus' teachings nicely.

Interesting then that you chose a passage outlining the Law and not the gospel, ie. things we are to do rather than what has been done for us.

 

[BelievingIsObeying]

Interesting then that you chose a passage outlining the Law and not the gospel, ie. things we are to do rather than what has been done for us.

Well he came as a teacher. I think it more important to know what to do, than what has been done for us.