What is The Gospel of Christianity?
Amos 8:12 reads: “People will stagger from sea to sea, and from the north around to the east. They will wander about looking for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.” This reminds us of Jesus’ own question: “When the Son of Man comes, will he really find Faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). The truth of what Amos wrote and Jesus pondered is apparently and urgently relevant to our present time.
The first question to all would-be believers is, “What is the Gospel of Christianity as Jesus preached it to us?”
The Gospel of God
There is one unifying Gospel, called God’s Gospel.
Let us start with Jesus, as he speaks to us. Mark 1:14-15: “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God and saying, ‘The Kingdom of God is about to come, repent and believe that Gospel.”
Romans 15:16: God called Paul “to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the Gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 2:2: “But after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the Gospel of God amid much opposition.”
“The preaching of the Gospel of God refers to the Kingdom of God which will begin with the Parousia [Second Coming].”
Everything depends on our response to the Gospel Message about the Kingdom as Jesus preached it. The gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are themselves evangelism models, inviting us to repent and believe the Gospel about the Kingdom (Mark 1:14-15) as well as in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Jesus said: “If they were to perceive and understand [the Gospel about the Kingdom, Matt. 13:19], they would repent and be forgiven” (Mark 4:11-12).
Society is divided into two Christian classes: those who hear and receive the word of the Kingdom and those who either do not know it or reject it.
Jesus had a central message that formed the basis for His entire ministry and teachings. He pinpointed this central message in the heart of His most famous sermon — the Sermon on the Mount. He made a statement about what should be the highest priority for His followers: ‘But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’ (Matthew 6:33).
