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The Gospel
The Gospel or Good News which Jesus preached (similar to a military proclamation of victory) was that the Kingdom of God was at hand. That is, the promised reign of God with the Messiah at its head had now made a beach-head in the world, and the result would be unfolding justice and righteousness on the earth, especially toward and for the poor and oppressed. As Jesus said:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour" (Luke 4:18-19).
Thus we can see that overall, Jesus came to proclaim and ultimately establish a kingdom in which all His subjects would be totally FREE: free from oppressive powers and structures, free from bondage to sin, and free from the fear of death and fear on the Day of Judgement, thus living in love and the fullness of life which God had always intended for people. This is the Gospel!
This reign of God, Jesus said, will also necessarily involve judgement of those who continue to live contrary to the will of God (the detail of which Jesus also outlined in all His ethical teaching on what life in the Kingdom looks like), which will occur at the end of the age after the resurrection of the dead. Hence we read in Hebrews 6:1-2 that the 'elementary teachings', the foundations of the preached message, involved repentance from 'dead works'*, faith in God, instruction about baptisms**, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
[* Note: 'Dead works' in the context of the book of Hebrews mean most probably reliance on the Jewish sacrificial system and circumcision to make/keep one right with God. Thus, the next element of 'faith' would then imply trusting in God's new way, which is through the death of Jesus.]
[** Note: 'Baptisms' (plural) possibly means a putting into true perspective which baptism was now only necessary (a baptism into the name of Jesus) and that other previously practised baptisms (John's baptism of repentance, ceremonial washings for ritual purity) are now out of date, being fulfilled in this new baptism. This seems preferable to it referring to baptism into the name of Jesus plus baptism in the Holy Spirit, because the following term 'laying on of hands' most probably refers to the receiving of the Holy Spirit, unless of course if 'laying on of hands', equalling 'commissioning for leadership/ministry', was actually an expectation within the elementary teachings, which I don't think it was.]
Thus combining all these elements with the presuppositions into which they were preached (that there actually is a good God who is creator of all things who wants us to be in relationship with Him) leads us to what I suggest is an essential formal structure in which we may understand the Gospel:
The message of the Bible: a biblical meta-narrative
God is glorious. He is the creator and ruler of all things. He is infinite yet personal. He is holy, good, kind, loving, and generous toward all of His creation, and He loves being in relationship.
We as humans are made in the image of our glorious God. We have a free will and were intended to live in a way which reflects God's glory through obeying His easy commands. The result would be eternal life in harmony with God, each other, and creation.
But we have all fallen short of God's glory. We have listened to the devil's lies and have been selfish, covetous, proud, and unbelieving: the roots of sin. As a result our relationships with God, ourselves, each other, and the rest of creation are in a mess - subject to death. That's the result of sin. And to try and cover up our sin we choose to find our significance, sense of purpose, and wholeness, in things, beings, or pursuits other than the one true God. We try to hide from God.
But God's kindness, tolerance and patience are as such that He leads each one of us to see the state we are in, hoping that we will turn to Him with a desire to change our ways.
God's wrath is therefore deservedly towards those who consciously suppress this knowledge and His promptings and end up living a life of depravity, and there is coming a Day when He will judge the world based on truth.
But for those who do turn to God, there is good news! Because God in His gracious mercy and covenant faithfulness still loves us, wanting us to experience life to the full, He did for us what we could never do for ourselves - provide a means of taking the penalty due us, washing us from our guilt & shame, and bring us back into a right relationship with Him, each other, & creation.
This means is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, namely the Word of God incarnate on earth.
Thus, to all who turn to God asking for the forgiveness of their sins, believing in His means of getting right with Him - that is, ultimately trusting that Jesus died for you in your place, and that He rose again - there is the present eternal assurance of everlasting life: we shall not come into judgment; we have been washed of our sins & guilt! But to those who do not believe, there is the certainty of judgment & hell.
Furthermore, to all who trust in Jesus Christ there is the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit, to be able to live a new God-glorifying life now in humility, set free from the power of sin and healed of our brokenness and hurt which had so influenced many of our behaviour patterns. As we abide in Jesus through the Holy Spirit, we are able to do all that He told us and modeled for us. And to top it all off, the Holy Spirit also anoints each believer with gifts & abilities to serve the cause of Christ in the world!
Since Jesus Christ rose from the dead, this promise is sure. Therefore let us turn away from our sins, confess them, and turn to God asking for mercy, believe in Jesus and His death & resurrection for us, and be baptized in proclamation that we do believe and wish to die to our old way of living and rise to live the life we were always destined to live, with Jesus Christ as our Lord and master. We shall then receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as we ask to be filled by Him, and a God glorifying life in thought, word, and deed will unfold as we obey Him. This is living indeed!
And this new life is lived out not in isolation but together with others who also believe and are filled with the Holy Spirit. This is Christ's church, and we are the salt & light of the earth, being a microcosm, an illustration, an example, a sign of the Kingdom of God. But we are still living in the midst of an evil world whose god is the devil, and we will suffer persecution. But we live for Jesus Christ until the day He returns, after which there will be a new heaven & earth in which there is no more evil, the Kingdom of God in its fullness, and a whole new realm of living in His glorious presence will unfold. Amen.
An evangelistic flowchart
This structured story of the Gospel can be further transformed into an evangelistic flowchart, across which we can map the six steps Alpha to Zeta, thereby setting the scene for the rest of this document:
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