The gospel

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Arthropod

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The topic for this thread is simple: Please define the gospel, as understood by you.

No debating please.
 
I would say it is the good news of Jesus Christ and what He’s done for us.
 
I am after something more specific. The good news of what Christ has done? Ok, What did he do? Why is it good? How does it bear any relevance to now?

Please pretend that I am an unchurched person who has never heard of the bible. Please explain the gospel from the ground up. Why do we need a savior? What are we saved from? (and don’t just say “sin”, define it), How did Christ save us, what do we do / believe / have faith in / to be saved, etcetera. The whole nine yards.

(I am quite familar with the bible and the church - but I am just curious to see how people will respond. And starting a thread is free.)
 
I started to write something, and then realized I was not going to be content until I had written WAY too much. I don’t think I can articulate in a brief summary all of the Glory of the gospels. There is simply too much - and in spite of all I could write, there is still much more I do not know regarding all of the nuances of His life here. All of the meanings of everything He said, the symbolism of His miracles. There really is such a wealth of knowledge compressed into the gospels! On a side note, I strongly recommend Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen. It is pretty long, pretty in-depth, and pretty amazing.
 
Arthropod - It has taken me 67yrs. to get were I am regarding the richness and depth of the Gospels, might I suggest you spend time with a knowledgable Catholic and debate the topic face to face?

Better still engage with that person in the spiritual exercise of Lectio Divina - I have found Lectio Divina to always be enriching, constantly providing new insights.

As RedFox says, there is indeed far too much to compress AND do justice in one or two posts.

Via con Dios.
 
Arthropod, this is another difference between Catholic and Protestant thinking. To post what you are asking would be to post the complete bible. The bible IS the gospel. You cannot take bits pieces out of it and consider that to be the single message God intended to have us glean from His book. If this were the case the bible would be much smaller.

There is no one or two verses that sum up the gospel therefore there is no summary a human can give that would do the gospel justice. The simplest summary is “the bible”. The simplest understand of the complete bible is “the teachings of the Catholic Church”.👍

Peace Brother!!!
 
The “Gospel” = the Good News.

The ‘Good News’:
  1. God:
There is a God. One God. Only one. He is God. God is the creator of the universe–of all visible, and invisible.
  1. Creation:
God created the world–in seven days–during which He created Man. He created Man in His image, and therefore loved Man. The first 2 members of this race were Adam and Eve.
  1. The Fall:
Adam and Eve ‘sinned’–that is, they violated the Lord’s trust, abused their freedom, and turned away from God–in what is known as ‘original sin’. As a result, they lost their godlike immortality, and were subject to death. Additionally, as a result, all ensuing members of the race of mankind, were stained wiht original sin, and subject to death, sin, and suffering–in what is known as a ‘fallen state’.
  1. Redemption:
In order to redeem Man from his fallen state, God sent His only begotten son, to redeem Man. His son was Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was both God and Man. He became Man, lived amongst Man, and suffered, died, and resurrected from death (the Resurrection), in order to redeem Man. In the process, He declared that He was THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life; and a result, offered Man THE Way to Salvation. He promised His followers, the Apostles–a paraclete–to guide them, after He ascended [back] to Heaven–40 days after His Resurrection.
  1. His Church:
Jesus Christ established a church–actually, The Church–to guide Man in The Way. He did this by assembling Apostles (12 in total; the leader of which is St. Peter), to lead His disciples (followers), and to attract sinners to become disciples. He bequeathed His authority, to The Apostles–and authorized, and instructed them to do the same. This authority included the Sacraments.
  1. The Communion of Saints:
Those who follow (or followed) The Way, are considered members of ‘the Body of Christ’–or ‘saints’. Those who died in God’s grace, are Saints. Together, living and dead, they comprise the ‘Communion of Saints’.
  1. Life Eternal:
Those who are ‘saved’, are rewarded with Eternal Life–in and with God, in Heaven.

Or, as the Church that Jesus Christ founded, put it:
We believe (I believe) in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages. (God of God) light of light, true God of true God. Begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnate of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary and was made man; was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried; and the third day rose again according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose Kingdom there shall be no end. And (I believe) in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son), who together with the Father and the Son is to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the Prophets. And one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We confess (I confess) one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for (I look for) the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen."
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🙂
 
I have to echo the other posters and agree that you are asking for too much to be condensed into a single forum post. I would try to be more specific in your question. You will find the people here are more than happy to answer your question when the questions can be answered.
 
But, to be fair, what Arthropod is asking for is the Catholic “elevator speech”. I’ve heard Evangelical preaching that exhorted Christians to prepare their three-minute testimony, so that, if they are presented with an opportunity, they can give witness to what they believe.

It’s not a bad idea for Catholics, either… 😉

(And no, I don’t have my own elevator speech prepared. But, for the purposes of this thread, let me see if I can’t put together the beginnings of how I’d approach it…!)
 
The good news is that we can attain the end for which we were created: to be united to our infinitely good Creator, the Lord of all, and enjoy Him forever.

How to achieve this union is spelled out in the religion our Creator revealed in stages, beginning with the Old Testament Patriarchs, and most completely when He became Incarnate as Jesus Christ, namely, the Catholic faith.
 
Ad_Orientem said:
The good news is that we can attain the end for which we were created: to be united to our infinitely good Creator, the Lord of all, and enjoy Him forever.

How to achieve this union is spelled out in the religion our Creator revealed in stages, beginning with the Old Testament Patriarchs, and most completely when He became Incarnate as Jesus Christ, namely, the Catholic faith.
Click to expand...
👍

Now THAT’s succinct!

(…and here I thought I had summarized the Faith rather succinctly …;))
 
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