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It is not proper for a Christian, especially a servant-leader to use biblical words without clearly understanding them. Unfortunately, this is the situation in which many find themselves.
A Bible College student once told me he understood “pulpit” to mean “pulling from the pit.” Others also mistake a lectern or podium for a pulpit. They do not know that a pulpit is a raised platform where ministers stand to lead worship.
“And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood..,” (Nehemiah 8:4, KJV).
Now, in this short article, I want us to study the term, “gospel”, a central word of the Christian Faith which many misunderstand. While a section of Christians comprehend gospel to mean the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, others define it as the word of God.
It is important to stress that the books mentioned above are a channel that conveys the gospel. In other words, they contain the gospel in its narrative form.
Therefore, the above are not the accurate meaning of the word under consideration. Gospel simply means good news. Biblically, it refers to the Good News of redemption through Christ Jesus.
It talks about the message regarding the sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus to procure eternal salvation for everyone who hears it and believes in Christ Jesus. Paul, the apostle, writes about this in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
In the passage above, Paul said he preached the gospel to the believers in Corinth by which they were being saved. Then, he tried to explain it to them by emphasising the death, the burial and the resurrection of Christ Jesus.
You can see that the gospel of God is not about books, money or material prosperity. It is simply a message or a word about Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. It is a message about Christ Jesus alone.
In the Pauline corpus (writings), and other books of the New Testament, the gospel of Jesus is referred to as the word of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 13:19), the word of truth (Ephesians 1:13), the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19), the word of righteousness (Hebrews 5:13) and the word of faith (Romans 10:8).
Now, there are many apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers today who identify with the Christian faith. However, only those who commit themselves to preaching and teaching about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus are true servants of Christ.
They are called, prepared and commissioned to preach the gospel which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. These ministers, like Paul, know that God called and set them aside for the gospel (Romans 1:1).
This means that even though several thought-provoking messages are available, they are trained and wired to preach and teach mainly about Christ in order to form Christ in the hearts of those hear them and believe in Christ Jesus.
By James Quansah
