GOSPEL--It Doesn't Mean What You Think!

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GOSPEL—LET’S DEFINE IT!

I’d say most people in the United States of reasonable age have heard the term “gospel”—even non-churchgoers.  Also, I’d argue that if one has attended a “Christian” church for some length of time, they have heard the word “gospel” mentioned or preached at least once—whether they remember it or not.

This word “gospel” seems to be a point of contention or even divisive at times within Christian or denominational circles.

Some say there’s more than one “gospel” in the Bible, but others argue there is but only one “gospel”.  Regardless, before we go down that rabbit trail, let’s first look at what the word gospel means; so, we can have some initial point of agreement of its definition.

The word “gospel” shows up 104 times in 98 verses in the King James Version Bible, all of which are in the New Testament.  The word gospel is an English translation of a few Greek words that have much the same meaning (without reviewing the subtle nuances).  Gospel simply means glad tidings or good news.

But don’t take my word for it, let’s look at how the Bible defines the word gospel; in fact, we shall compare a few verses.

Isaiah 61:1 King James Version

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach GOOD TIDINGS unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”

Versus:

Luke 4:18 King James Version

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the GOSPEL to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,”

Notice, that both verses in Isaiah and Luke are parallel verses.  In the first verse, the prophet Isaiah is recording scripture under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God.  In the book of Luke, Doctor Luke records the Lord Jesus Christ reading from the prophetical book of Isaiah about himself, thus fulfilling prophecy.  

Did you notice something interesting in the two comparisons?  

In Isaiah, scripture states, “…anointed me to preach GOOD TIDINGS…”.  But in Luke scriptures states, “…anointed me to preach the GOSPEL…”.

Now, again, these are essentially the same verses.  Isaiah was written in Hebrew in the autographs while Luke was written in Greek.  The meanings are identical.  You are simply looking at synonyms.

Let’s look at one more comparison example:

Luke 8:1 King James Version

“And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the GLAD TIDINGS of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,”

Versus:

Matthew 9:35 King James Version

“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the GOSPEL of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”

Did you notice the terms GLAD TIDINGS and GOSPEL are used interchangeably, much like the prior comparison?

In the first example, GOOD TIDINGS = GOSPEL.  In the second, GLAD TIDINGS = GOSPEL.

What’s the point, you might ask?  The point is, whether by dictionary or more importantly, the Bible (God’s inspired Word), the word “gospel” simply means “good or glad news or tidings”. 

DOES GOSPEL = SALVATION? 

No—not all the time.  There are many good news, glad tidings, or gospels exemplified in the Bible.  And not every instance refers to salvation!

Therefore, it is not wise to simply trust in anything that is referred to as a “gospel” in scripture and expect it to be the sole means of salvation.

Now understand me, I am not saying to distrust the Bible in any one place.  No, no, no.  ALL scripture in your English-written King James Authorized Version Bible is true, without doubt.  The Bible refers to itself as the “word of truth” repeatedly.  God is truth!  He wrote all 66 books through Holy Men without error.

What I’m saying is, to make sure you understand in context what or which gospel you are determining to trust or pronounce as a means for salvation for a sinner in this dispensation of the grace of God.  

You are certainly not “saved” by just any gospel—but a specific one!  If you’d like to know which one, look up one of my past studies on salvation and remember Galatians 1:6-9 KJV.

So, one example of a gospel or good tiding that DOES NOT pertain to salvation is in the book of Thessalonians:

1 Thessalonians 3:6 King James Version

“But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us GOOD TIDINGS of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:”

See, Paul is not speaking of salvation when he talks about Timothy’s return unto them.  Make sense?  You can study it out for yourself.

In closing, I hope this little study has provided some thought-provoking insight into the definition of the word “gospel” according to the Bible and that there IS more than one type of gospel.

I also hope that this study has been a blessing to you.

In the near future, we will investigate and compare some of the different gospels referenced throughout the Bible and build on the fact that there is more than one type of gospel.  

But for now, be blessed!

Brother, Michael

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