What is the gospel? Most people in the church will mention something about the death of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, and spending eternity in heaven. In today’s Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Scot McKnight affirms that all of these are truths to be found in the Bible. However, he uses key texts to demonstrate that the gospel preached by the apostles focused primarily on the life, death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus.


In this way, the gospel was first and foremost about telling the story of Jesus Christ. The significance is that our presentations of the gospel move toward being Jesus-centered rather than human-centered. Then, because of the work of Jesus, the Holy Spirit transforms people, resulting in our justification, sanctification, and ultimately, glorification.


Want to learn more about the gospel? Scot McKnight has written a book called The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited (Zondervan, 2011). After making the case for how the original gospel was framed, he offers practical suggestions for how to engage in biblical evangelism and how to build a true gospel culture in our communities.


Key Scripture texts to consider:
Acts 2:14-40
Acts 10:34-43
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
2 Timothy 2:8