What The Gospel Isn't

What is the Gospel? I want to look at this question and answer it. Instead of talking about what the Gospel is, I want to look at what it isn't. There are many different "gospels" presented within Christianity. Because of this, what I want to do in this post is talk about what the Gospel isn't in order to offer a better understanding of what the Gospel actually is. The Gospel, in which I will be talking about, is the center of the Christian faith. The word "Gospel" means "Good News" but some people have changed that good news into something that it's not. Alas, here we will begin to talk about what the Gospel isn't in order to understand why it IS good news.

1. The Gospel is not a decree to sin endlessly.
Romans 5:12-6:4, here, Paul talks about how we are now dead to sin and alive in God because of the GIFT of Jesus Christ's death on the cross. Have you ever received a really cool gift? One that you cherished and maybe still have to this day? Now, what if someone took that gift from you, threw it on the ground and stomped on it, crushing into pieces? I know I would be upset, but that is what is different about God he doesn't get upset, all he wants is for you to have this GIFT he has offered us. (We'll talk more about what this gift is throughout this post)

2. The Gospel is not a crutch for the weak.
I hear this all the time "Christianity is just a crutch for the weak" A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of hearing Matt Chandler speak at a collegiate gathering. His response to this attack was excellent. His response was "Christianity is not a crutch for the weak, it's a stretcher for the dead". When I first heard this, I thought "That's even worst! People are going to jump all over that!" But I think it's a very witty and humble response, here's why: When we come to a perfectly good God, we're not just weak, we're dead. Romans 6:23 says that because we have sinned we get death. Romans 3:23 says that we ALL have sinned. But like we discussed in the previous section God gave us the gift of life.

3. The Gospel is not a work-based approval system.
Ephesians 2:8-9, Here Paul tells us that we CANNOT earn our salvation. As stated before it's a gift, you don't work for a gift, it's given to you. I feel that scripture makes this clear.

4. The Gospel is not a shellfish means to heaven.
I've heard some people call the Gospel "Fire Insurance" well I don't think that is what God had in mind. To back this idea I refer to Matthew 7:21-23. Here, Jesus says that only those who do the will of God will enter the kingdom of God. But it's in verse 23 what I find interesting, after Jesus talks about all the things people have done in his name, he responses to them and says "I never knew you". So I get the impression from this passage that salvation is A LOT more than "Fire Insurance"

5. The Gospel is not a passive act of belief.
There seems to be a trend in the west, in which after you become a child of God, you become stagnate. This is completely against what is shown in the Bible. If we look at what the disciples did after they experience the risen Jesus they got to work organizing a plan to spread the new found message. Take a look at the book of Acts, there we see the apostles working for the kingdom of God. Also, look at the letter of James particularly in chapter 2 where we see James describing how without work is dead. The gospel gives us a mission.

6. The Gospel is not a secret to be kept.
I think this is pretty self-explanatory. If you truly believe in the Gospel then you will have no problem telling people and if you don't know how you will want to learn.  

7. The Gospel is not a fairy tale.
Here we begin 2000 years of apologetics to determine if the story of Jesus is true. I have been led to believe that it is true and have chosen to let my life reflect that. If you don't where you stand on the issue I would urge you to take a deeper look into the debate. When someone says "I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life" that deserves investigation. C.S. said "Christianity, if true, is of eternal importance, if false, is of no importance at all. There is no middle importance."

This link will take to a video in which the gospel is explained by New Testament Scholar N.T. Wright.
 http://youtu.be/ICHovRHJAYY