THE GOSPEL: WHAT IS IT?

This was a sermon given by Dr. Michael Horton, host of the Whitehorse Inn broadcast, and Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary, California. His text was taken from 2 Timothy 1:8-14, Genesis 15, and Romans 4, and in this sermon, Dr. Horton makes some very strong and truthful statements about the meaning of the Gospel.

First of all, he stated that the Gospel says come out of yourself completely and not to be better in yourself. In fact, this statement coincides with the words of Jesus in Luke 9:23, which says:

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me"

The word "deny", in Greek, means to "disavow" or "refuse association with". So, in essence, the true Gospel of Jesus Christ commands that we break fellowship with our whole man (the sinful tendencies and desires we crave), die daily in doing this and follow the way of the LORD Jesus revealed in Scripture. This is radically different than what you hear from the Osteen's and Jakes' (to name a few) today that tell you that you can "Have your best life now" and "Reposition Yourself" despite your spiritual state. In fact, Horton went on to elaborate this point with the following statements:

"Christ did not die to make your life in Adam better, but to abolish your Adamic life altogether"

"You can live a great life in Adam and be an enemy of God. Likewise, you can live a miserable life in Christ and be a friend of God".


Another interesting point that Horton brought up was the timing of the Gospel. He said that the Gospel begins and does not end with Sovereign Election. The words of Paul in Ephesians 1:4 tells us that we were chosen in Christ "before the foundation of the world", Jesus states in his explanation of the judgement that the kingdom is prepared for the elect before the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34). In short, man has no say in regards with his salvation. And to prove this point, Horton gave (what I believe) one of the most striking quotes in the sermon which he recalled a time when Martin Luther was asked about this issue. In which Luther replied,

"Yes! We do bring something to our salvation: Our sin and resistance"

Staying on this point, Horton brings up God's promise to Abraham to further elaborate. This portion actually blew me away when Horton showed that God (in relating his promise to Abraham) always said "I will", but Abraham responds "How will I". This shows that Abraham believed that he had to do something on his own volition to fulfill God's promise, even though God expressed that He would take the steps Himself to see the promise fulfilled. Truly, all of man's righteousness is like "filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6), and Scripture tells us that God must work in us both to "will and do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). So despite the notion that we have a "free will" outside of the purposes of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a monergistic Gospel (i.e, all the work is done by God). By using the examples given, Dr. Horton hit a bulls eye on how Scripture expresses this claim in comparison to man's beliefs.

Third, Horton states that the Gospel is Christocentric. In other words, it is all about Christ from beginning to end. Again, Horton gave a unique (yet strong) example to prove this point. He stated that if you look at the Apostle Paul's testimony about his salvation, Paul never gives a personal testimony about himself. But rather, his testimony is all about what Christ has done by His obedience in His life, death, and resurrection. This is vastly different from today's testimonies that focus on what God has done for us, instead of what He has done in Christ. In fact, just recently I was explaining this point in my jail ministry due to the fact that I have constantly heard some of them equate what God has done in their court cases, their personal lives outside of jail, or in their cell unit with salvation. The Gospel message is truly Solus Christos! It is Christ who is at the center of our redemption, regeneration, acceptance, glorification, and any other blessing or benefit we receive from God. Thus, when we think on how God has blessed us with this amazing gift, we should echo the words of the apostle Paul who said,

"Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31)

So, in short, Dr. Horton definitely hit a "Home Run" with his message on the meaning of the Gospel. It was very informative and very precise in its biblical support. Dr. Horton was witty, yet direct in his delivery and I believe that those who heard it at the conference (or will hear it on YouTube or on CD) will be impacted by the issues declared. An, in the end, I pray this impact will give people more understanding of the true Gospel and (more importantly) give many the right perspectives of its content.


If you want to view a small segment of Dr. Horton's message please click here