Restoring Apostolic Faith

The Question Everyone Asks—and Rarely Understands

Few questions are asked more confidently in modern Christianity than “What is the gospel?”

And few answers reveal more confusion.

Most people asking the question are not actually asking what the gospel is.

They are asking for a citation.

Usually Romans 8 or 1 Corinthians 15.

Almost always looking for a formula.

That expectation already tells us something is off.

The Problem with How We Use the Word

That impulse—to reach for a verse instead of a meaning—is what flattened the gospel in the first place.

In modern Christian speech, the gospel has been reduced to a compressed summary:

Jesus died, was buried, and rose again so you can be saved.

That statement is not false.

But it is incomplete—and incompleteness eventually distorts meaning.

A formula answers a question.

The gospel announces a reality.

Confusing the two is why so many modern debates about salvation, faith, assurance, obedience, and judgment never even get off the ground.

The Gospel Is an Announcement, Not an Explanation

The Greek word translated “gospel” is euangelion.

In the Greco-Roman world, euangelion did not mean:

• inspirational encouragement

• personal reassurance

• abstract “good news” meant to make someone feel better

It referred to an official public announcement, usually connected to:

• victory

• kingship

• regime change

In other words, it announced that reality had shifted.

Authority was assumed.

Consequences were expected.

Allegiance was implied.

That distinction matters more than most Christians realize. 

Euangelion was news, not advice.

Something had happened—and life now answered to it.

So when the New Testament speaks of “the gospel of Jesus Christ,” it is not offering a devotional thought.

It is declaring that God has acted decisively in history.

Why “Good News” Can Be a Misleading Translation

Calling the gospel “good news” is technically correct—but culturally misleading.

In modern English, “good news” sounds like:

• something encouraging happened

• here’s a positive update

• this should make you feel better

That is not how euangelion functioned.

In its native setting, it meant:

A new authority has been established—and you now live under its claim.

Whether that announcement was good or terrifying depended entirely on one’s relationship to the new ruler.

That’s why the gospel in the New Testament:

• comforts the faithful

• confronts the proud

• destabilizes existing loyalties

• provokes resistance

If the gospel were merely comforting information, it would not have produced persecution.

The Hebrew Roots We Routinely Ignore

The gospel did not begin in Rome.

And it certainly did not begin in church pamphlets.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the verb basar (בָּשַׂר) and the noun besorah (בְּשׂוֹרָה) mean:

to announce decisive news—most often victory or deliverance

Common Old Testament uses involve:

• victory in battle

• deliverance from enemies

• return from exile

• restoration of God’s people

But here is the crucial distinction:

In Hebrew thought, good news is not primarily about new rulers appearing.

It is about God proving faithful to what He already promised.

When good news is proclaimed, it means:

• God has acted

• the situation has turned

• oppression or exile is ending

• covenant loyalty has been vindicated

Isaiah 52:7 (NASB) makes this explicit:

“How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news (mebaser),

Who announces peace and brings good news of happiness,

Who announces salvation,

And says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”

Notice what the good news actually is:

God reigns.

Salvation flows from kingship.

Restoration precedes explanation.

Put simply, the gospel is not information about salvation—it is an announcement about who now reigns. 

Within Second Temple Jewish expectations, kingship, resurrection, judgment, and covenant restoration were never separable categories

One Gospel, Two Worlds—Intentionally Fused

Put the two backgrounds together:

Hebrew basar

• God has kept His covenant and acted to save His people.

Greek euangelion

• A new authority has been established—life now answers to it.

When the New Testament writers use euangelion, they are deliberately fusing both worlds:

God has kept His covenant by installing His Messiah as Lord.

That is not accidental.

That is theological dynamite.

Death and Resurrection Are the Means—Not the Announcement

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are essential.

They are not optional.

But they are not the gospel by themselves.

They are how God:

• defeated sin and death

• exposed and judged the powers

• vindicated Jesus as Messiah

• installed Him as Lord

The proclamation is not merely:

“Jesus died.”

It is:

“Jesus has been raised—therefore He is Lord.”

Resurrection is not the happy ending.

It is the divine verdict.

Kingship Before Afterlife

Modern Christianity often frames the gospel around one question:

“Where do I go when I die?”

The New Testament frames it around another:

“Who rules the world—and who do you belong to?”

That is why Jesus preached:

• the kingdom of God

• repentance as a realignment of loyalty

• judgment as covenant accountability

Salvation flows from this announcement.

It is not a substitute for it.

What Happens When the Gospel Becomes a Formula

Once the gospel is reduced to a transaction:

• faith becomes mental agreement

• salvation becomes a status

• obedience becomes optional

• judgment becomes embarrassing

But when the gospel is heard as an announcement:

• faith is allegiance

• salvation is rescue into a new order

• obedience is covenant loyalty

• judgment is the rightful sorting of a reclaimed world

That is how the earliest Christians understood it—and why they spoke the way they did.

Here is a faithful, portable definition that does not betray the text:

The gospel is the announcement that God has acted through Jesus to defeat sin and death, establish His reign, and call the world into allegiance to His kingdom.

Anything less may be simpler.

It just isn’t the same thing.

Why This Still Makes People Uncomfortable

Because we shrank the gospel to answer a question Scripture is not primarily asking:

“How do I go to heaven when I die?”

The biblical question was:

“Who is Lord—and what does that mean for the world?”

And the answer was explosive:

Jesus of Nazareth is Lord.

Caesar is not.

The powers are judged.

Death is defeated.

A new creation has begun.

No one gets crucified for a private afterlife opinion.

Why Theologians Tend to Almost Freeze When Someone Asks, “What’s the Gospel?”

Because they want milk—and your conscience refuses to hand them powdered formula labeled as steak.

They expect:

“Jesus died for your sins so you can go to heaven.”

You hear:

“Explain cosmic authority, covenant faithfulness, resurrection, judgment, allegiance, and new creation—in one breath.”

A Way to Answer Without Selling Your Soul

Try this:

“The gospel is the announcement that God became king through Jesus—defeating sin and death, raising Him as Lord, and calling the world into allegiance to His kingdom.”

If they want more, they’ll ask.

If they don’t, that’s not on you.

Jesus didn’t water it down either.

He let people walk away.

One passage is so often misused here that it deserves its own clarification. 

Sidebar

Why 1 Corinthians 15 Is Not “the Gospel”

1 Corinthians 15 is one of the most cited passages when someone asks, “What is the gospel?”

That’s understandable—but it’s also misleading.

Paul is not defining the gospel in this chapter.

He is reminding the Corinthians of what he already preached in order to correct a specific error.

Hermeneutical Context Matters

The Corinthian church was divided, status-obsessed, and confused about resurrection.

By chapter 15, some were denying the future resurrection of the dead altogether.

Paul’s goal is not evangelism.

It is correction.

When he says:

“I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received…” (1 Cor 15:3)

He is not saying:

“Here is the complete gospel in four bullet points.”

He is saying:

“You already know this—now live as if resurrection actually matters.”

Death, Burial, and Resurrection Are Not a Standalone Formula

Paul emphasizes Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection because:

• resurrection is the linchpin of Christian hope

• denying it collapses the entire faith

• without it, allegiance to Christ is meaningless

But Paul assumes far more than he states:

• Jesus is Lord

• God has acted in history

• the kingdom has been inaugurated

• judgment and resurrection are coming

Those assumptions are the gospel framework—not the argument Paul is making in this paragraph.

Why Using 1 Corinthians 15 as a “Gospel Definition” Backfires

When 1 Corinthians 15 is treated like a gospel tract:

• resurrection becomes proof of afterlife

• lordship disappears

• allegiance becomes optional

• judgment feels awkward or unnecessary

Ironically, that is the very misunderstanding Paul is correcting.

A Better Way to Say It

1 Corinthians 15 tells us what must be true if the gospel is true.

It does not tell us everything the gospel is.

Paul is defending the consequences of the gospel—not re-introducing the announcement itself.

In Short

• The gospel is the announcement that Jesus is Lord.

• 1 Corinthians 15 explains why denying resurrection makes that announcement meaningless.

Use it.

Just don’t flatten it. 

Final Gut-Check

If the gospel feels too big to fit into a slogan—

Good.

That means you’re treating it like reality, not marketing.

Your discomfort isn’t a flaw.

It’s a sign you’ve outgrown reductionism.

And honestly?

The faith should feel dangerous again.