viewpoint
T
he word gospel in the Greek
language is not inherently Christian
or even theological. It was a secular
word: euaggelion, found seventy-six
times in the New Testament and simply
meaning “good news”. In classical Greek
an euaggelios was a messenger who
announced a victory of personal news
that brought joy.
The main thing for us to consider is
what the apostle Paul means by the
Gospel when he says, “I am not as ashamed
of the gospel”. I honestly wonder if some
Christians are ashamed of what Paul means
by the Gospel as he articulates it in letters
such as Romans and Galatians. I am afraid
some may be ashamed of it. For there is
a great stigma to the Gospel that Paul
espouses. It is so offensive. It is why Paul
suffered persecution (see Galatians 5:11
and 6:13-14 for example). But the notion
UNASHAMED
OF THE GOSPEL
Dr RT Kendall tells why he follows the apostle Paul in saying,
‘I am not ashamed of the Gospel’.
of the blood of Christ pacifying God’s
justice and wrath in order that we might
not go to Hell is most offensive.
Once you know you are going to
Heaven, you are called to enter into
your inheritance. But we need to get the
right order. The Gospel first, inheriting
the kingdom second. We, through much
tribulation, must enter the kingdom of
14 Revival Times March 2018