06/04/2022
Someone asked me to ask to write a short essay on "What is the Gospel?" so I thought I would post it.
What is the Gospel?
The word translated “gospel” in the New Testament is an exciting word, “euangelion.” Eu – means “good.” Words like “euphemism, eulogy, euphoric” have the same beginning. The second part is “angelion.” We immediately recognize the word “angel” in the middle of the word. Angels were messengers of God’s news and “angelion” means “news.” So to put it all together, “gospel” means “good news!” The world needs good news! The church needs good news! You need good news! I need good news! The community needs good news! The world needs good news! We are bombarded with bad news almost all day, every day. But the gospel is a wonderful contrast to the dismal news we hear all the time. Jesus died and was buried for 3 days. Jesus Rose and He lives! And because of the miracle of His resurrection, we can live with victory in Christ and have life more abundantly. John 3:16 sums it up well. We as the church go our own ways when the church service dismisses, but the work of the church and the sharing of the gospel have just begun.
My wife Robin noticed a great article today. It was entitled “Why We are No Longer a Welcoming Church.” That grabbed her attention and mine too. It was a shocking title for me. “What do you mean not being a welcoming church?? Are you kidding me? Don’t you believe the Bible when it says, “whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done also to me?”
Here is the brief summary of what the article said: “Welcoming” is a passive role. We wait until a “visitor” shows up and then we turn on our “welcoming.” Here is a better goal – Invite people to church. Be an inviting church. I will add that a church that invites will naturally treat people who come with joy and love. The fields are ripe for harvest. “Go into the hedges and byways” with the unhindered purpose of reaching out to our world and to the “uttermost parts of the earth.”
“Go ye therefore . . .” Share the gospel!
