Clarity about the gospel is a crucial issue for evangelicalism, and it has been a point of considerable dispute in recent decades. This paper will argue that clarifying the content and nature of the gospel is properly a systematic theological or dogmatic question. It is not resolved simply by examining the New Testament use of εὐαγγέλιον, though this makes an important contribution.
The paper argues that the gospel should be understood as the declaration entrusted to the church by Christ. It examines the New Testament to spell out the content and nature of this declaration, noting the range of ways it is expressed.
Building from the New Testament survey the paper will set out the scope of the gospel in interaction with the statements of the Second Helvetic Confession (1566) and the Westminster Confession (1646). It argues that the gospel has a Christological core and a soteriological emphasis. It announces what God has done and is doing in the world in Christ — he is Lord and the kingdom and salvation have come in his life, death and resurrection, and will be completed with his return. The gospel must be understood and announced as the fulfillment of divine promises to Israel and the completion of God’s intention for creation. On this basis, the gospel calls people to respond to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and to join the fellowship of his people.
There are dangers to be avoided in making the gospel too narrow and too broad. The paper will consider how recent debates about the ‘soeteric’ and ‘kingdom’ gospels have tended in these directions.