Session #7 — What is the gospel and how much of it do people need to know to respond?

This is a challenging question because the answers will differ for different people. When you explain the gospel to a four-year-old child and ask her to put her faith in Jesus, the amount of information you need to give her will be limited. The same might be true with a cognitively impaired adult. But if you are presenting the gospel to a college professor with lots of deep questions you may need to provide lots of details.

The details are important to focus on when they help us trust Christ but we don't enter into a relationship with Christ by signing off on all the theological details. Our relationship begins with faith.

You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are. Ephesians 2:8-10 (CEV)

Child Evangelism Fellowship has created a tool called the Wordless Book. It literally has no words. The pages are colors. (Watch a YouTube version of this book at https://youtu.be/VXPEAOlYFB0?si=SzvnfMOcQzLjBPUH)  As you show the colors to a child you can use them to talk about what God has done for them and invite them to put their faith in Jesus. There is a bookmark that goes with the book. You can use the information on the bookmark to help with the discussion. Go to https://www.cefcmi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/The-Wordless-Book-Bookmarks.pdf to download the bookmark. (You can easily make a Wordless book with pieces of colored paper.)

For this assignment I want you to come up with your own list of things that you think people need to know before they can respond to the gospel. You can make the list for an adult or a child. (Perhaps as you make your list you'll have someone in mind who needs to start trusting Christ.) It would be good to include a scripture verse or two that illustrates each point on your list. Send your list to me at bboydston@piu.edu. This assignment is worth 25 points.

By the way, what exactly is the Gospel of Jesus? If you want bonus points go to Jesus' own description of the good news (gospel) in Mark 1:15 and add a definition of the gospel based on what Jesus says.