Introduction

Our understanding of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has been in transformation. Despite the different understanding of the gospel held by different branches of Christianity (Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant), it is becoming more holistic where it’s not just about saving people and getting them to heaven. How we understand the gospel may not be such a narrow view, but much deeper than we realize.

The gospel coalition defines the gospel as the good news of what God, in love, has done in Jesus Christ, especially in his cross and resurrection to deal with our sins and reconcile us with Himself. This understanding of the gospel is not incorrect, but this gospel is not complete. It’s too individualistic, too human centered, and it’s centered on how I solve my problem. Matters outside of yourself tend to feel otherworldly. We have trouble relating to things that are happening right now. For example, what does the gospel say about racial justice, the pandemic, the environment, the climate change, and other for matters outside of ourselves?