David Wayne has an excellent post on just what is the Gospel [1]. For our soundbite-laden culture, we’re often tempted to reduce the Gospel to elements that can easily be handled or transferred:
When someone asks what the gospel is, they are asking a question that is a bit more dfficult than we may think. Typically, when the question is asked today, our thoughts immediately go to a formula or a presentation. We immediately start thinking in terms of “Four Spiritual Laws,” “The Romans Road,” “Steps to Peace with God,” or any of a number of things.
What I want to submit for your consideration is the notion that, properly speaking, none of those things should be considered the gospel at all. Rather, they are pedogogical devices that can be used as pointers to the gospel. Allow me to e’splain…
A problem that many Christians (including myself) often fall into is that they see such pedogogical tools as the Gospel in its entirety. If someone has heard the “droplet squeezed” version, then they’ve heard the Gospel. Chalk it up and move on.
The concept we musn’t lose is that though the Gospel may be easily explained on the surface, it enters our minds and hearts and begins to affect every aspect of our lives in a deep way. The good news about the “good news” is that there’s always more to the story. Read the rest of Wayne’s post [1] now.