What is the gospel? by Kevin Rogers

When I was a young Christian (in my teens), I thought I knew what the gospel was. It was an explanation of how a person became a Christian. I joined a church youth group, and we explained the gospel to people on Rundle Street using a booklet containing the 4 spiritual laws:
• God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life,
• Man is sinful and separated from God,
• Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin, and
• We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord to be saved.
Eventually, I suspected this definition was simplistic and so I went back to reading the Bible to find out what it said about what the gospel was.
So, I did a word search on ‘gospel’, especially in the 4 gospels. I found this approach to be frustrating. There are numerous mentions of Jesus preaching the gospel in the 4 gospels, but the meaning seemed to be assumed rather than defined. Try it yourself and you will see what I mean. However, others have asked the same question as me and there are good answers. The gospel includes how a person becomes a Christian, but there is much more. It also describes how we live in this world and what is our ultimate aim and destiny. It is very important. I encourage you to attend.
I am the director of Reasonable Faith Adelaide. I was a practising electrical engineer and then became a lecturer, researcher, and research supervisor at the University of South Australia. I am now mostly retired but continue with part-time research. I am also learning New Testament Greek, attend Ingle Farm Baptist Church and iam blessed with my wife (Ann), 4 children and 8 grandchildren.