The \u2018gospel\u2019 is claimed and proclaimed by every Christian tradition and denomination and most preachers will happily tell us it means \u2018good news\u2019. Yet every denomination\u2019s gospel differs in one way or another, so a sincere enquirer might well be left wondering, \u201cWhat is the real gospel?\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Apostle Paul acknowledged there was another gospel, a false gospel, that really is no gospel at all. He knew the difference between grace and works, between salvation accomplished and applied freely by Jesus Christ to God\u2019s elect, and salvation offered conditionally as a possibility to everyone.<\/p>\n
If salvation is accomplished and applied by Jesus Christ it is God alone who saves sinners and we must acknowledge His sovereignty in salvation. If our gospel offers the possibility of salvation the question must be asked, \u201cWhat else needs to be done?\u201d because to be saved we need to find out quickly and do it!<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the gospel can only really be \u2018good news\u2019 if this missing part is something we are capable of doing. Otherwise, we are being presented with an offer beyond our ability to take. Religion, of course, has plenty of suggestions about what we must do and we find this \u2018something\u2019 to be generously elastic. It stretches from good works to a willing heart, from making a commitment to deciding for Christ, from living a good life in the world to dedicating our lives to God and separating completely from the world. Just find a gospel to suit your taste.<\/p>\n
The trouble with this works-gospel, however, is that it does not match the gospel of the Bible; the gospel of Jesus Christ and His apostles. Christ\u2019s gospel tells us we have no ability to do anything towards our salvation because we are weak, helpless and opposed to God. In fact, to emphasis our complete inability, the Bible tells us we are spiritually \u2018dead\u2019 in our sin and Jesus told Nicodemus, \u201cYe must be born again\u201d from above. It is why Paul describes all who are \u2018made alive\u2019 as new creations.<\/p>\n
Here at New Focus Magazine we believe salvation to be all God\u2019s work; a sovereign act of mercy, freely and unconditionally gifted by grace with nothing at all required from a dead sinner. Preaching the gospel is preaching the doctrine of grace. Occasionally, we describe it in terms like \u2018total depravity\u2019, \u2018unconditional election\u2019, \u2018limited atonement\u2019, \u2018irresistible grace\u2019, and \u2018perseverance of the saints\u2019 but in the end it is just the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the gospel that actually saves and for that reason, above all else, it is good news.<\/p>\n