Write Out the Gospel
“Give us a definition of the gospel in your own words.”
If you’ve ever applied for a ministry position, you have probably been given this prompt before. For something so foundational to all of the Christian life, it is surprising how few times I have had to actually define the gospel.
I have been a Christian for a long time. I grew up in church, hearing the gospel. I have read a plethora of books that dedicate a great deal of time to unpacking the Creation–Fall–Redemption–Restoration themes of Scripture. If I am honest, I often feel the temptation to just skim through them as if “I already know that stuff.”
I may feel I know it, but perhaps a more important question is, how effective am I at regularly communicating the gospel, especially with clarity and consistency?
ALWAYS BE PREPARED
I have not had someone come up to me out of the blue and request, “Give me a clear definition of the gospel.” But if I did, what would I say? What if I only had thirty seconds in an elevator with this person? What if I had five minutes? What if I had thirty minutes? Peter admonishes us, always be “ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." (1 Pet. 3:15).
Are we prepared?
We are oftentimes not. We view personal evangelism as this idealized, unrealistic phenomenon. We have all heard amazing stories of personal evangelism, but we often do not experience it ourselves. Sermons challenge us to go reach our neighbors, and in small groups, we share about opportunities for showing Christ to co-workers or friends. But are these conversations actually getting to the gospel?
What if part of the reason you and I seem to participate in so little personal evangelism is due to our unpreparedness in gospel proclamation?
This is where writing out the gospel comes in. To grow in our communication of the gospel, a valuable tool is taking the time to actually write out our definition of it, and familiarize ourselves with how we would communicate it on a napkin, in a thirty-second window, or over several minutes with a friend.
I know you know it. I know that it may seem elementary to you. But if you are like me, when you put a pen to a blank piece of paper to write out the gospel, you may be surprised at how tough it is to do effectively.
GETTING PREPARED
Here’s one simple way we can write out the gospel. Divide one side of a piece of paper into three sections. In the top section, summarize the gospel, in your own words, in one minute, or a few sentences. In the middle section, focus on how you would present the gospel to someone in five or ten minutes. Define the short biblical passages you would use to walk people through the gospel. Consider using a shorter outline here.
In the final section, focus on building a longer conversation, such as thirty minutes. You will probably want to have a substantial outline of your points in a longer conversation like this one. If it helps, include leading questions you can ask that will help you discern and listen, or helpful quotes you have picked up along the way.
“What unbelievers or ‘cultural Christians’ need more than a healthy understanding of unconditional election or eschatology is a healthy understanding that Jesus Christ came to die for sinners.”
Part of our need in speaking the truths of Jesus to those around us is learning to adapt to our environment. We’re not going to be able to take everyone to a coffee session to do this.
What are the benefits to writing out the gospel? First of all, it improves the clarity of our message. There are many traps of getting caught up in complex topics of discussion, so-called theological “rabbit trails.” What unbelievers or “cultural Christians" need more than a healthy understanding of unconditional election or eschatology is a healthy understanding that Jesus Christ came to die for sinners.
Also, many of these people have a preconceived definition of “Christian” and “church” and “Bible,” and whether or not it is an accurate one, we should be people who are willing to define clearly what we mean. Preach Christ crucified, and preach it clearly. Writing it out promotes clarity.
“Better to think, study, write, practice, and rehearse the gospel than to miss out when an opportunity comes. ”
Secondly, a side effect of writing out the gospel for the sake of others is that it embeds that same message in our own hearts. We never outgrow the gospel. Learning to preach the gospel to ourselves is a very important practice. Having God’s Word hidden in our heart is ammunition against sin (Ps. 119:11) and a lamp unto our feet (Ps. 119:105).
DESCRIBING THE GOSPEL
Here are some respected pastors and theologians who have aimed to summarize the gospel clearly and concisely. Don’t just copy them, but use their help as examples to work from.
One Sentence
Mark Dever: “God has made promises to bring [h]is people to [h]imself and [h]e is fulfilling them all through Christ.”
Zack Eswine: “Apprenticing with Jesus to become human again.”
Paul House: “The movement in history from creation to new creation through the redemptive work of Father, Son, and Spirit who saves and changes corrupted people and places for his glory and their good.”
You can find more of these one-sentence summaries here.
One Minute
Greg Beale: “The OT storyline appears best to be summarized as: the historical story of God who progressively reestablishes his new creational kingdom out of chaos over a sinful people by his word and Spirit through promise, covenant, and redemption, resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to extend that new creation rule and resulting in judgment for the unfaithful (defeat and exile), all of which issues into his glory; the NT storyline can be summarized as: Jesus’ life of covenantal obedience, trials, judgmental death for sinners, and especially resurrection by the Spirit has launched the fulfillment of the eschatological already-and-not-yet promised new creation reign, bestowed by grace through faith and resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to extend this new creation rule and resulting in judgment for the unfaithful, unto God’s glory.”
Five Minutes
This video from D.A. Carson is a helpful explanation of how we can explain the gospel in a short and simple way.
Thirty Minutes
Radical has put together a five-point presentation, with accompanying Scripture references, that is a great tool to use when in a longer conversation about the gospel.
A while back, I went through this exercise on my own. I labeled my three sections, “The Gospel in the Elevator,” “The Gospel in Ten Minutes,” and “The Gospel Over Coffee.” Here’s what I came up with:
The Gospel in The Elevator
The gospel is the news of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God, who came into the world to redeem and reconcile sinners to God by his death, resurrection, and ascension to the Father. Because of the gospel we can be declared righteous, we are being sanctified for his glory, and we will be glorified with him in eternity.
The Gospel in Ten Minutes
Why and How Did God Create? (Gen. 1-2)
Why and How Did Man Fall? (Gen. 3)
Why and How Will God Restore? (Rev. 21)
The Gospel Over Coffee
“A (New) Romans Road” (Rom. 1:1-5)
What is the “gospel of God?” (v. 1) Why is a gospel necessary? (see Gen. 3)
Connection to OT prophets (v. 2)
Connection to King David’s lineage (v. 3)
Christ is the promised prophet, priest, and king (v. 4)
Christ is proved the Son of God and Lord by his death and resurrection (v. 4)
Our purpose in Christ: “to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations.” (v. 5)
OVERCOMING AWKWARDNESS
You may think methods for this kind of thing are hokey and feel awkward or robotic when presented to someone. You may think it stunts the “organic” nature of discipleship we should strive for. Maybe that is true. But God spoke through a donkey (Num. 22:28), and he can do the same in our prepared, amateur gospel proclamation. Let’s not allow our awkwardness about these matters to sound the death knell for unbelievers.
I know it is time-consuming. You may need to practice first. But having a sense of readiness to make the good news known to needy sinners should drive us, whether that’s a moment by the copier or over dinner. Ultimately, it’s the Spirit’s work to convict hearts.
Paul describes the gospel as “the power of God for salvation,” and we like him should be unashamed of its goodness (Rom. 1:16).
Better to think, study, write, practice, and rehearse the gospel than to miss out when an opportunity comes.
Zach Barnhart currently serves as Student Pastor of Northlake Church in Lago Vista, TX. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Middle Tennessee State University and is currently studying at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, seeking a Master of Theological Studies degree. He is married to his wife, Hannah. You can follow Zach on Twitter @zachbarnhart or check out his personal blog, Cultivated.