I called in to the show Stand to Reason recently, to ask a question about the meaning of “the gospel of the kingdom” in Matthew 4:23, 9:35, and 24:14. It was prompted by some comments made by a guest speaker at the Monday-night class at my church. He said that the gospel is more than justification & sin management, and pointed to the phrase “the gospel of the kingdom”. As he expanded on that, I agreed with what he was meant, but I was hesitant about the phrasing. I was hesitant about actually saying, “The gospel is about more than justification.” I know there’s something right about that, but something seemed wrong, too. I had to think it through… What can we say is the focus of the gospel?
Note: I was sensitized to this question by Mark Dever’s message the Together for the Gospel 2008 conference, “Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology“. It’s a great mp3.
I really appreciated Greg Koukl’s response to my question. He did a great job of giving a balanced answer. If you’re interested, you can listen to the mp3. (Go to ~25:00. It lasts about 20 minutes.)
I’ll just add one comment: I am amazed at how often I said “uh” or “um” during that call. My parents have told me that I do this, after some of my phone conversations with them. Now I’ve heard a recording. Yikes! I’ll have to keep working on that.