Question: Bro Cyrus Johnatty, Grand Cayman, asks “What exactly is the ‘gospel’ that Paul preached to the Galatians? (1:8). As a Christadelphian, I have always taught that it is the promises to Abraham and their fulfillment as Paul expounds in chapter 3. A friend with whom I discuss the Bible insists that the gospel Paul preached was ‘Repent and be baptized, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ He points out that this was the gospel that the apostles preached as recorded throughout the New Testament.”
ANSWER: Many sincere people, including Christadelphians, make this question quite needlessly complicated. They all tend to equate “the gospel” with their own particular church doctrines.
The Bible’s own usage is far simpler. The English word gospel, like its Greek equivalent, evangel, is not really a religious word at all. It simply means good news. My English dictionary defines “the gospel” as “the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.” My dictionary of biblical Greek defines evangelion as “the good tidings of the Kingdom of God and of salvation through Christ.” This good news is the same from Genesis to Revelation.
God’s plan of salvation is good news indeed, wonderful news. God preached it to Eve when He promised redemption through her seed — Jesus Christ (Gen. 3:15). The angels of God “announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you” (Gal. 3:8). There can be no misunderstanding there! Nathan preached the gospel to David when he told him the good news about the Kingdom of God and Messiah its ruler, so that David “saw the Lord always before him” (Acts 2:25). Daniel preached the gospel to Nebuchadnezzar: “the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom.. .the great God has shown the king what will take place in the future” (Dan. 2:4445). All the Old Testament prophets preached the gospel, as Jesus himself told his friends on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27). Hebrews 11 gives us a list of men and women of faith who believed the “good news” of salvation through Christ, and tells us how it totally transformed and re-directed their lives.
What exactly is the gospel, you ask? The good news for all mankind (the “gospel”), back to Eve and forward to Armageddon and the day of judgment, is that Jesus Christ, the Jew from Nazareth, the Son of God, is the promised Saviour from sin and death. He is our great Deliverer appointed and sent by God to destroy the devil, conquer death for ever, and establish the Kingdom of God foreordained from the foundation of the world. He is the victor! The two clearest expositions of the apostolic gospel are Peter’s rousing speeches in Acts 2:22-39 and Acts 3:6-26. You and your friend would do well to make a detailed study of these together in a humble and seeking spirit.
The call to “repent and be baptized” is not the gospel. It is our own willing and eager response to the gospel. For unless we respond we cannot be saved (Mark 16:16). Unless we are “born again” we cannot see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One