What is The Gospel?

The word Gospel (Evangelion in Greek) means "Good News", so I have some good news to share.

I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.

Yes I know that's a dated reference, but it has more meaning here then just my demonstrating my love of Memes.

You see the joke in those commercials was that the "good news" was good news only to the person speaking and not something the person being spoken to has any reason to care about, and certainly not the good news they needed at that time.  But the marketing hook of it is that it can be your Good News too if you also switch to Geico.

There was one specific commercial I remember depicting an inmate on Death Row who's going to be executed soon, and his lawyer tells him "I've got good news" and the inmate thinks that means he got a pardon or something, but then the lawyer says "I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico".

You see I feel a lot of The Church especially in The West has become that very joke.  We're supposed to be telling people that death has no victory.  But instead we're telling them how we just saved a bunch of torture on our Hell insurance by switching to The Independent Fundamental Baptist Church of Philadelphia.  We're delivering a sales pitch not actual Good News.

Most Christians, at least in the West, think the Bad News we need saving from is Hell, and that they therefore need to convince people of the Bad News first.  But 1 Corinthians 15 which includes the most clear statement of what The Gospel is, is clear that the Bad News is Death, the Bad News is something people already fear.  Ancient Pagans had a concept of an After Life, but it wasn't a pleasant one.  The Gospel is The Resurrection.

But you're also not giving people good news if it's an ultimatum, or a threat.  1 Corinthians 15 says Everyone who Dies because of Adam will Rise because of Christ.  It isn't presented as a possibility it's presented as unavoidable.  It's a Free Gift not a Privilege.

I saw a description for one anti Universal Salvation YouTube video say "if everyone receives Grace no one receives Grace", which is basically the same as that mentality which The Incredibles ultimately vilifies "If everyone's special then nobody is".  The attitude that Grace is less if others aren't excluded is exactly the attitude Jesus was constantly trying to correct.  And guess what, every warning of "Hell" or Judgment Jesus gave was to believers, to the Pharisees (the Jewish sect early Christians broadly qualified as because the point was believing in The Resurrection) and his own Disciples, the Sheep and Goats parable was part of Matthew's Olvite Discourse, a speech given only to the 12.  The only exception is in Luke 12:47-48 where some judgment for non believers is alluded to, but it's clear those who do believe but still sin will have it worse.

These people are comparing Universal Salvation to the now constantly mocked idea of a participation trophy.  But that's not actually a valid comparison, the doctrine of Conditional or Exclusive Salvation should be compared to everyone on the losing team being killed or tortured for losing.  And in Calvinism it works like Pro Wrestling rather then a legit sport.

What Paul blatantly says in 1 Corinthians 15:55 is that it's Death and Hell who don't even get a participation Trophy.  Most Western Evangelicals think Satan gets the majority of Humanity, which would mean he wins.

So what is The Good News?

The Good News is that Jesus will Draw all Humans unto Himself according to John 12:32.

That all who Die will be Risen each in his order.  Some will face corrective punishments and be purified by fire.

But as Romans 5 explains all who are made Sinners in Adam will be made Righteous in Christ, for Grace will abound more then Sin.

And as Romans 11 explains the fullness of the Gentiles will be grafted into Israel and then All Israel will be Saved.  For God consigned them all to Disobedience so that He might have Mercy on All.

Revelation 21-22 explains that some will at first be outside New Jerusalem in Outer Darkness when the New Creation begins, but the Gates of New Jerusalem will never be closed, and the Leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations and a River of Pure water flows out of the City into the World.