What is the Gospel?
This is the question I want to answer today.
For many, when they hear the word "Gospel," different ideas come to mind.
My ideas.
Before I became a believer and follower of Christ, as a child, the word "Gospel" was related to the biblical club (AWANAS), where we competed weekly, playing and memorizing the Bible to win prizes and awards. In my adolescence, the word "Gospel" was associated with fallen televangelists, who claimed to preach the truth but stained the name of Christ with their immoral and selfish decisions and activities.
Today, when I hear the word "Gospel," I hear something completely different. Hearing the Gospel, I feel hope, life, and love. I hear the Truth.
I do not know your perception of and relationship with this beautiful word, Gospel, but I hope to teach you something about its meaning.
What the world thinks the Gospel is.
According to the Royal Spanish Academy, the word Gospel is:
"History of life, doctrine and miracles of Jesus Christ, contained in the four stories that bear the name of the four evangelists and make up the first canonical books of the New Testament." (https://dle.rae.es/evangelio?m=form, 2023)
The Gospel: It offers us the truth because it is the truth
Today, our generation demands a feel-good message. However, the truth was not written nor exists to make us feel good. The Truth is. Therefore, the Truth was revealed and the Truth guides us because it is firm, consistent and trustworthy.
The pastor, theologian and writer, Paul David Tripp, said, “The study of theology (God) should not only produce praise and worship of God, but also a pain that is felt, a confession and repentance. Truth that does not rebuke or confront, it is not handled correctly. ” (Tripp, Paul D., “Do You Believe?” Crossway 2021 p.24)
Romans 1:16-17 (NLT) tells us:
For I am not ashamed of this Good News (Gospel) about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
John 14:6 (NLT) also affirms:
Jesus told him (Thomas, the doubter), “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."
You will either believe this statement or you won't, but my guess is that if you have read this far, it is because you are searching.
What is truth?
To answer this question, we must first see what it is not ...
The truth is not simply what works. This is the philosophy of pragmatism, which prioritizes ends over methods. Lies may seem to "work," but they are still lies, not the truth.
The truth is not simply what is consistent or understandable. A group can meet and form a conspiracy based on falsehoods in which everyone agrees to tell the same false story, but that does not make their presentation true.
The truth is not what makes people feel good. Unfortunately, bad news can be true.
The truth is not what most say it is true. 51% of a group can reach a wrong conclusion.
The truth is not what is exhaustive. An extensive and detailed presentation can result in a false conclusion.
The truth is not defined by what is intended. Good intentions can be wrong.
The truth is not what we know, but what is so.
The truth is not simply what is believed. A believed lie is still a lie.
The truth is not what is proved publicly. A truth can be known in private (for example, the location of a buried treasure.)
The Bible tells us that, in the end times, "...people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good." 2 Timothy 3:2-4 NLT. It also declares that: "For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT. Doesn't that sound like the times we are living in?
Regarding the Truth and modern man's rejection of it, the Bible also states: "He (the Anti-Christ) will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth." 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 NLT
In addition, the Bible also says: "Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons." 1 Timothy 4:1 NTV
The truth and what it is...
Philosophical perspective
The truth is what corresponds to reality.
The truth corresponds to reality, or "what is." It is real. The truth is also of a corresponding nature: it coincides with its object and is known by its reference. For example, the teacher in front of a class can say: "The only exit to this room is on the right." For the class in front of the teacher, the exit door can be on their left, but the door is indeed to the teacher's right.
The truth is what coincides with its object.
The truth is also corresponding to its object. It may be absolutely true that a specific person needs a certain amount of milligrams of a medication, but another person may need more or less of the same medication to produce the desired effect. This is not a relative truth, but only an example of how the truth must correspond to its object. It would be incorrect (and potentially dangerous) that a patient asked his doctor to recite an inadequate amount of a medication, in particular, or to say that any medication for his specific ailment would serve.
The truth is simply saying it like it is.
The truth is simply to say things as they are. It is how things are really and any other point of view is wrong. A foundation of the principles of philosophy is to be able to discern between truth and error, or as Thomas of Aquinas observed, "It is the philosopher's task to make the distinction." (Drewlo, E. F., Thoughtful Adaptations to Change: Authentic Christian Faith in Postmodern Times, FriesenPress, 2017, p.155)
The definition of "truth"
"Aletheia" orig. gr.= A Divine Revelation, Lit. meaning: "What cannot be hidden." This word transmits the idea that the truth is always there, open and available for everyone to see it, without anything hidden or in the dark.
"Emeth" Heb. origin. = "Firmness, constancy, and durable." Such definition implies an eternal substance and something that can be trusted.
Challenging the Truth.
The truth cannot be challenged, because it is the truth (perhaps that is why it challenges our human sensibilities.) The truth cannot be challenged in the same way as 2+2 = 4.
The relativist's philosophy says that all truth is relative and there is no absolute truth. But if that were true, we have to ask: "If all truth is relative, is it relative truth or is it an absolute truth? To say that "the truth is relative," is to make an absolute statement.
And in the same way, every philosophy that tries to challenge the truth implicates itself.
Personal testimony.
My own experience with the lie is not easy to share.
As a child of 5 years, I was exposed to pornography. My child-like mind could not comprehend what I was seeing. As I viewed those images, I heard a lie that distorted my view of life and myself forever. I heard the words: “You were not born to be a man. You were born to be a woman." From that moment on, it was the pursuit of my heart.
When I was 18 years-old, I heard the Gospel presented to me. I took seriously, the message of the truth that God loved me unconditionally and offered me a better path than I had been on. I had been walking according to my feelings and passions, but Christ offered me the truth- He offered himself for me.
Some would have you believe that once you accept Christ into your heart, everything is perfect. I don't think that to be true at all. If you have a candid conversation with any true follower of Jesus, (if they are truthful) will tell you that even though they are saved; even though they have a new identity in Christ, and, even though they are secure in their faith, there will always be the memory and the experience of a life lived before their encounter with Jesus. Sin always leaves a scar as well as a mark on one's soul.
Through his Spirit and his Word, Jesus has been so good to me in letting me know that I am a new creation in Christ and that I belong to him (Romans 8). Nothing would ever change that. However, during the pandemic, I came across a video on YouTube of the story of a man who suffered with gender dysphoria. In the video, it says that the man finally came out and said that he had always longed to be a woman. After seeking therapy and getting the support of his family, he went into transition until he finally felt that he was a woman inside and out. The video concludes by stating that the man is now truly at peace with himself and happy because he is finally a woman. When I saw this video, it reawoke those old emotions and set in course a huge internal struggle. Keep in mind that we were in the middle of a pandemic, and I was alrerady feeling isolated as it was. My congregation was filled with fear over what was going on and what would happen. I found myself having to be a source of encouragement and offering words of hope to those around me while all of the while, I was battling my own internal doubts and fears. The only thing that sustained me was God's love for me.
Before you judge or criticize me, I would encourage you to heed the words of the apostle Paul: 3 Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? 4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? Romans 2: 3-4 NTV
My wife noticed a change in my behavior. I became isolated and withdrawn. She asked me if I was OK and if there was anything wrong going on. I refuse to let her in until finally I could no longer bear the weight of my thoughts on my own. After much hesitation, I let her in and I let her know what was going on. Her response was one of a loving and caring person. She embraced me and loved me.
I cried out to the Lord, "Help me! Help me out of this confusion and this dysphoria." It wasn't long before I came across the teachings of Dr. Tony Evans on Kingdom Men. I began to understand why it was such a privilege to be a man made in the image of God. I began to understand that it was an honor, not only a privilege. I began to embrace the joy of manhood, of having a servant leadership heart for my family, my congregation enter my world. In a time where the media in the world say that men are losers, I began to understand what a joy it was to be a man.
I also rediscovered that my duty as a follower of Christ – if we say we are truly his followers… The Bible challenges us by saying what our posture of heart should be: (Love) 5 ...does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.1 Corinthians 13:5-6. I discovered that if I wanted God's best for me that I would have to surrender to His will for my life.
What is true? Many things can possess truth, but only one is the truth.
Jesus said, “I am the way, truth and life. No one comes to the father if it's not for me." John 14:6.
Jesus Christ made this simple statement and declared that He is the truth, and this truth was validated and his deity confirmed when Christ resurrected from the dead. He is the TRUTH.
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