Definition of the Gospel
Question: "I'd also like your suggestions on where to read to defend the idea of the broader definition of the word Gospel as it is appearing in the Revised Statement of Faith."
Answer:
Regarding the gospel, I would suggest a number of things. As an introductory response to your question, read and ponder this excellent statement by F. F. Bruce about the gospel. He writes the following:
The NT use of Gk. euangelion, �joyful tidings,� �good news,� has an OT background in Is. 40-66, where the LXX verb euangelizomai, �bring good news,� is used of the declaration of Jerusalem�s deliverance from bondage (Is. 4:9; 52:7) and also of a wider announcement of liberation for the oppressed (Is. 61:1, 2). This last passage provided the text of Jesus� inaugural preaching at Nazareth: he gave notice that it had been fulfilled as he spoke (Lk. 4:17-21). Jesus� message was otherwise described as the gospel of the kingdom of God. Its contents are set out in his parables, where the Father�s loving bestowal of mercy and free forgiveness on the undeserving and the outcasts is presented with vividness and warmth.
With Jesus� death and resurrection a new phase of the gospel begins. The preacher becomes the preached one: his followers, whom he commissioned to preach the gospel after his departure, proclaimed him as the one in whom the Father�s pardoning grace had drawn near. �The gospel of God. . . concerning his Son� (Rom. 1:1-3) tells how, in the coming and redemptive work of Christ, God has fulfilled his ancient promise of blessing for all nations.
For the first generation after Christ�s ascension the gospel was exclusively a spoken message; the earliest written record of the gospel appeared in the 60s.
Only one saving message is attested by the NT. The �gospel to the circumcision� preached by Peter and his colleagues did not differ in content from the �gospel to the uncircumcised� entrusted to Paul (Gal. 2:7), though the form of presentation might vary according to the audience. Paul�s testimony is, �Whether therefore it was I or they [Peter and his colleagues], so we preach, and so you believed� (1 Cor. 15:11).
The basic elements in the message were these: 1. the prophecies have been fulfilled and the new age inaugurated by the coming of Christ; 2. he was born into the family of David; 3. he died according to the Scriptures, to deliver his people from this evil age; 4. he was buried, and raised again the third day, according to the Scriptures; 5. he is exalted at God�s right hand as Son of God, Lord of living and dead; 6. he will come again, to judge the world and consummate his saving work.
Another excellent source is John Stott. Stott roots his definition of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15, but he rightly points out that the gospel is broader than the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. You will find this in his book Evangelical Truth: A Personal Pleas for Unity, Integrity and Faithfulness, CDGP (IVP, 2003), pp. 25-33. He summarizes six aspects of the gospel from 1 Corinthians 15:1-5: 1) the gospel is christological, 2) the gospel is biblical, 3) the gospel is historical, 4) the gospel is theological, 5) the gospel is apostolic, and 6) the gospel is personal.
Beyond these helpful definitions of the gospel, I would suggest that you go back to the sources to do your original word study. Consider the entry on "gospel" (consider both the noun and the verb) in the A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (DBAG), and do the concordance work, i.e. find all the uses in the New Testament. There are many computer programs, both in the original languages and in English, that will expedite the search process. Once this is done, consult the word in the following dictionaries: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Development, New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible, I think you will be amazed at what you discover. I think many of us have too limited an understanding of the gospel. Our more narrow understanding of the gospel, viz. Christ's death, burial and resurrection, is certainly right and necessary, but not exhaustive and thorough. The gospel certainly addresses salvation, but salvation both narrowly and broadly defined and understood.
It might be helpful to consider one more example. Regarding the gospel theme or framework, I thought you would be interested in reading what Doug Moo has written in his very good commentary, The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996). I am including a couple paragraphs from the introductory section. The first paragraph comes under the section of �The Theme� (pp. 29-30). The second comes from the section �Structure� (p. 32). This is followed by Moo�s actual outline. As you read this, it will ring true to what we are saying about the gospel.
Before I include Moo's quotes, it is important to note that we are not just emphasizing Romans, and we are not just Pauline. We do not want to develop a canon within a canon. This is why I asked about the gospel and the kingdom earlier (Mk. 1:14-15). (Cf. question #6 under the subject "Preamble and Structure.") But the fact that Paul�s most theological and missiological book could be structured with the gospel theme says something! Is the narrow understanding of the gospel too much of a hindrance such that to use it in the SOF would cause more problems and confusion, or do we see it as a wonderful opportunity to teach what the true biblical gospel is? We believe the latter.
Here are Moo�s quotes:
�The Theme�
�What, then, is the theme of the letter? The gospel. The word �gospel� and the cognate verb �evangelize� are particularly prominent in the introduction (cf. 1:1, 2, 9, 15) and conclusion (15:16, 19) of Romans � its epistolary �frame.� And this is the word that has pride of place in Paul�s statement of the theme of the letter: 1:16-17. �For I am not ashamed of the gospel�.� True, Paul goes on to speak of the interplay of salvation, the interplay of Jew and Gentile, and justification by faith; and each has been advanced as the theme of the letter. But they are all elaborations of the main topic of these verses, the gospel. And we require a theme as broad as �the gospel� to encompass the diverse topics in Romans. Moreover, as we have seen, Romans grows out of Paul�s own missionary situation; and the gospel Paul preaches would naturally be the focus of attention in any letter that arises from such a situation. Romans is Paul�s summary of the gospel that he preaches. But because he writes this summary in a context charged with uncertainty and controversy over the gospel�s relationship to the OT � especially the torah � and its embrace of both Jew and Gentile, he nuances his summary with constant reference to these issues.�
�Structure�
�My own outline reflects what I think is the theme of the letter: the gospel. There is general agreement over the major sections of the letter, with one significant exception: the place of chap. 5. Many interpreters, especially in the Reformed Protestant tradition, made this chapter the conclusion to Paul�s argument about justification by faith in chaps. 1-4. But gaining in popularity has been the decision to take chap. 5 with chaps. 6-8, a part of Paul�s �two-age� presentation of Christian existence and hope. As I argue in the introduction to chaps. 5-8, I am are [sic] convinced that the latter alternative is correct.�
Here, then, is how he outlines the book with the gospel theme:
1:1-17 � The Letter Opening
1:18-4:25 � The Heart of the Gospel: Justification by Faith
5:1-8:39 � The Assurance Provided by the Gospel: The Hope of Salvation
9:1-11:36 � The Defense of the Gospel: The Problem of Israel
12:1-15:13 � The Transforming Power of the Gospel: Christian Conduct
15:14-16:27 � The Letter Closing