The gospel is about how God objectively saves us through the coming, continuing, and consummation of His kingdom AND the gospel is about how God subjectively justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies His people. Each one of these is a part of the good news, and all are presented and taught in the Scriptures. In fact – and here comes the application for preaching (where the rubber meets the road) – every passage of Scripture will fit into one of these six categories: (1) inauguration of the kingdom of God; (2) continuation of the kingdom of God; (3) consummation of the kingdom of God; (4) justification; (5) sanctification; and (6) glorification. Of course, there is a lot of overlap and many passages of Scripture deal with several of these simultaneously. Still, it helps to see that the “good news of the gospel” is about more than the justification of the individual believer. The gospel is the good news of the kingdom of God!

In recent weeks, the confluence of several parts of pastoral ministry have caused me to re-examine and meditate upon the important role of preaching. First, at the beginning of the year, we began a new sermon series in the book or 1 Corinthians in which we have seen the Apostle Paul’s emphasis on both the primacy and the purpose of preaching. Second, in our Men’s Discipleship Group, we just finished reading and discussing T. David Gordon’s book Why Johnny Can’t Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers. Third, in preparing for the next lesson in the adult Sunday school class on “Turning Points in Church History,” I have been wading through the issues and wrestling with the applications of a controversy about preaching from the eighteenth century in the Church of Scotland which has come to be known as ‘the Marrow controversy.’

As I’ve been turning these things over in my mind – and discussing them with others – I thought that I might endeavor, over the course of the next several weeks, to write about preaching. Though I have a tentative outline in mind, I don’t know how many weeks we’ll spend on this topic; however, my hope is that through this series of weekly emails, we all would grow in our understanding of the gospel, the preaching of the gospel, the relationship between the law and the gospel, the means and power of sanctification, how to read the Bible, how the Mosaic covenant and the Ten Commandments are related to the covenant of grace, etc., etc., etc.

So, let’s just get started and see how this goes.

Various definitions of “the gospel”

In applying Isaiah 61 to Himself, Jesus taught that He had been anointed by the Holy Spirit to “preach the gospel” (Luke 4:17-21). In the book of Acts, we read that the Apostles traveled about continuing to “preach the gospel” (Acts 14:7). The Apostle Paul attests that Christ sent him to “preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 1:17). Apparently, according to the word of God, “preaching the gospel” is important.

But what is “the gospel”? Well, if you were to ask several Christians this question, you might get some varied answers. Some would give a strictly objective and historical answer: “the gospel is the good news that Jesus died on the cross to save sinners.” Others might give a more subjective and personal answer: “the gospel is the good news that I am saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His work.” I’m persuaded that both of these emphases are appropriate, as long as you don’t hold to one definition to the exclusion of the other.

In my personal experience as a pastor, however, I have found that an increasing number of people answer this question by saying, “the gospel is the good news of justification” or simply speak of “the gospel of justification.”

If you think about it, that’s actually an odd phrase. It’s odd because it takes something that is so glorious and so grand, and reduces it to just one of its parts. Granted, justification is at the heart of the gospel, but it is most certainly not the whole of the gospel. You will never find this phrase – “the gospel of justification” – in the Bible, and yet I hear it thrown around as if it were an accepted descriptor. What’s worse is that there are people who define the gospel in this way, and don’t even recognize that they’re doing it.

Toward a better understanding of “the gospel”

In actuality, one of the primary ways in which the gospel is spoken of in Scripture is with the term “kingdom” (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; Luke 16:16). As Michael Glodo has written, “Biblically, the good news is the good news of the Kingdom of God/heaven.”

With the understanding that the gospel is “the good news of the kingdom of God,” I’ve arrived at two, three-fold ways of talking about this question. From the historia salutis (“the history of salvation”), the gospel is the gospel of the kingdom: how Jesus brought the kingdom (inauguration), how Jesus rules the kingdom (continuation), how Jesus will bring the kingdom in its fullness (consummation). From the ordo salutis (“the order of salvation”), the gospel is the gospel of the kingdom: how one enters into the kingdom (justification), how one lives in the kingdom (sanctification), and where one is going in the kingdom (glorification). For those who are familiar with John Murray’s work, you will see how this fits nicely into the structure of “redemption accomplished and applied.”

The gospel is about how God objectively saves us through the coming, continuing, and consummation of His kingdom AND the gospel is about how God subjectively justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies His people. Each one of these is a part of the good news, and all are presented and taught in the Scriptures. In fact – and here comes the application for preaching (where the rubber meets the road) – every passage of Scripture will fit into one of these six categories: (1) inauguration of the kingdom of God; (2) continuation of the kingdom of God; (3) consummation of the kingdom of God; (4) justification; (5) sanctification; and (6) glorification. Of course, there is a lot of overlap and many passages of Scripture deal with several of these simultaneously. Still, it helps to see that the “good news of the gospel” is about more than the justification of the individual believer. The gospel is the good news of the kingdom of God!

Preaching “the gospel”

This is why it is inappropriate to limit “the gospel” to justification. First, it is unbiblical, and stems from a very narrow reading of the Bible. Second, in any given sermon, the preacher is to preach the good news of that passage, not necessarily the good news of justification (unless of course, justification is the good news of that particular passage).

This is the real crux of the matter and something which has continuing application for the preacher (and for the hearers of preaching, as well). If one defines the gospel as being equal to justification, the end result limits the full-orbed, milk and meat, doctrinal teachings of the Christian faith. And, when that happens, God’s people will not grow, but stubbornly cling to milk. Yet, just as children grow and mature by eating solid foods, believers must grow in faith so that they may continue to drink milk, but also eat meat.

Unfortunately, I have seen the result of those who have been fed only “the gospel of justification.” Typically, I have found that when the gospel is limited to justification and does not include the good news of God’s kingdom, believers become stunted in their growth and easy prey for the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Conclusion

There’s more to be said on this, and the related topics, but I hope that I’ve at least given you some things to think about as we seek to be a people who know, believe, rest in, and proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. And, I pray that these meditations will cause us to worship and praise Jesus Christ, the King of that kingdom.

Peter M. Dietsch is pastor of Providence PCA in Midland, Texas. This article first appeared on his church website and is used with permission.

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