← Previous · Home · Next →

The Gospel?

The following quote comes from an unnamed Christian artist, asked to define the gospel:

[M]y instinct is to say that it’s Jesus coming, living, dying, and being resurrected and his inaugurating the already and the not yet of all things being restored to himself . . . and that happening by way of himself . . . the being made right of all things . . . that process both beginning and being a reality in the lives and hearts of believers and yet a day coming when it will be more fully realized. But the good news, the gospel, the speaking of the good news, I would say is the news of his kingdom coming, the inaugurating of his kingdom coming . . . that’s my instinct.

—quoted by Greg Gilbert in What is the Gospel (Crossway, 2010), 16–17.

* I don’t know if the ellipses represent omitted text, or just a postmodern avoidance of anything as absolute as a period or even a semicolon . . . well, whatever . . .

I agree with that statement, as far as it goes. It contains a lot of truth that the church has, at least in my experience, neglected. Of course, there is a lot missing from it as well, and the missing content is everything that makes the gospel immediately vital to sinners. That makes it a really bad definition of the gospel.

Setting all that — i.e., the content — aside for the time being, there is one thing about that statement causes it to fail horribly, and would even if all essential points of the gospel were present. Can you see it?

I’ll update this post with the answer later tonight.

Later tonight . . .

The answer is indeed the “my instinct” nonsense. My instinct tells me nothing pertaining to propositional truths. As I become more knowledgeable in the Word, and more conformed to the image of Christ (sanctified), understanding the truth will come to seem instinctive to some degree, but knowledge of the truth — and therefore my ability to answer questions like “what is the gospel?” — will always come straight from Scripture.

I think what troubles me most about the “my instinct” answer is not only the implication that there is some extrabiblical way of knowing, but even more, the insinuation that the truth is not to be found in definite terms in the Bible. It leaves us with the picture of a man groping for clues to a mystery, and lacking any clues, is left to make his best guess. If that is the case, what assurance can we have? And what kind of evangelical witness can we have? Imagine:

Philippian Jailer: Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Paul & Silas: Well, we’re not sure, but our instincts tell us . . .

Not quite a 1 Peter 3:15 moment, is it?

TrackBack URL: http://www.thirstytheologian.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1445
Share this post: Facebook Twitter Email Print
Posted  in: Greg Gilbert · Soteriology & the Gospel · What Is the Gospel?
Link · 3 Comments · 0 TrackBacks
← Previous · Home · Next →

RSS Twitter Facebook Kindle

img

Feedback

3 Comments:

#1 || 10·07·08··10:40 || Kim in ON

Maybe I'm just being picky, but it seems like that phrase, "my instinct tells me" isn't quite right. Scripture defines the gospel, I'm thinking, not our instinct.

#2 || 10·07·09··04:28 || Kim in ON

I'm thinking that my instinct generally tells me a lot of emotion-driven, self-centered hogwash. My instinct tells me to create God in my own image.

#3 || 10·07·09··07:25 || David

I was going to go off on instinct as an animal characteristic vs. thought as a human ability, also, but after thinking it through, my instinct told me to stick to the main idea.

Comments on this post are closed. If you have a question or comment concerning this post, feel free to email us.