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DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
1] The gospel is the message preached by
Christ and by His Church about God's coming Kingdom, the restoration of
His government on earth, and how mankind can enter that Kingdom and
government. It includes the message of what Jesus has done, is doing.
and shall do-and ultimately is the message of the entire Old and New
Testaments. The primary purpose and commission of the Church is to
proclaim this gospel in all the world as a witness to all nations, and
to baptize and teach those who respond.
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DOCTRINAL OVERVIEW
2] The word
"gospel" means simply "good news." The gospel of Jesus Christ is the
good news that He is coming again to establish His Kingdom on this
earth in place of man's governments, and the good news of how we
can become part of that government as sons of God. Hence, the gospel is
called "the gospel of the Kingdom of God" (Mk. 1:14), and it is this
gospel which Christ came preaching (same verse). As Jesus went on to
say, repentance and belief in the gospel go hand in hand (Mk. 1:15).
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3] In its
broadest sense, the gospel includes the whole story of the Bible-the
whole panorama of what God is doing with mankind, especially God's plan
of salvation and forgiveness of sins.
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4] The true
gospel is a message of hope given to a world in danger of destroying
itself. Christ's return is the essential component of the biblical
message. The reason for His return is the establishment of His Father's
Kingdom on earth, putting an end to man's unhappy and unsuccessful rule.
Hence, Christ's return and coming Kingdom is the subject of the message
that He commissioned His disciples and Church to preach to all nations
until His return.
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5] In John
18:33 Pilate asked Christ, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus
answered, "For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world,
to bear witness to the truth." That is the true gospel. Christ, destined
to rule this earth as the King of God's Kingdom, was to preach this
message the good news to the world. He came to bear witness to the
truth-to tell the world that God's Kingdom is going to rule this earth
whether mankind believes it or not.
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6] The
disciples of Christ had no doubts about the message Christ was
preaching. They understood He was coming again to put an end to this
present evil age and to replace it with the glorious Kingdom of God that
Daniel described (Dan. 2:7). The fact that the apostles asked Christ
when His Kingdom would be set up proves that they knew about that
coming Kingdom and had great expectation of it. Christ's answer to their
question was that His Kingdom would not be set up until the gospel of
that Kingdom should be preached to all the world as a witness (Mt.
24:14).
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7] The
message of the coming Kingdom of God includes, as an integral part, the
preaching of spiritual salvation for all through Jesus Christ-that He
died for our sins (I Cor. 15:1-3) and that He was resurrected (v. 14).
The only person who has already been saved is Jesus Christ, who was
resurrected from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God the
Father. He is the pioneer of our salvation, the one who has gone on
ahead and shown the way (Heb. 2:10). When He returns, at the end of this
age, those who have died in Christ in previous years shall be raised
from the dead and given eternal life to rule with Him. Previous to His
return, salvation shall have been offered only to a minority; at His
return, it shall be made available to all.
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8] Thus, the
true gospel is God's message to man through Christ about His coming
Kingdom and how humans may enter it. It includes the ultimate purpose of
human life and the plan devised by God to bring it about. This is the
true destiny of man-to become members of God's family. This
potential of being born of God as His children in His family is
universally applicable to all mankind-It is the potential of men and
women, Jews and Gentiles, all races and peoples, for we are all one in
Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28).
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9] This
gospel was understood in part by the Old Testament patriarchs and the
prophets. It has been preached "since the world began" (Lk. 1:70).
Hebrews 11 states that these men died in faith-not yet having received
the "promises" (i.e., of the Kingdom of God and eternal life, v.
13)-"but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on
the earth" waiting for God's Kingdom. Those who acknowledge the
temporary physical existence of this life "declare plainly that they
seek a country" (i.e., the goal of God's Kingdom, v. 14).
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10]
Likewise, many Old Testament verses show plainly that those with whom
God was dealing then knew of His coming Kingdom.
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11] "For
unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given: and the government
shall be upon His shoulders: ... of the increase of His government and
peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his
Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and justice from
henceforth and even forever" (Isa. 9:6-7).
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12] Only
God's government and Kingdom could be eternal-the Kingdom referred to in
these verses (see also Dan. 2; Mic. 4; Zech. 14; etc.).
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13] The
gospel of the Kingdom of God can be traced from the patriarchs of Old
Testament prophets, through the ministry of John the Baptist, and
finally to Jesus Christ who greatly expanded our understanding of His
coming Kingdom and showed how men might enter it as members of the God
family. Christ commissioned the disciples to preach it in all its
important aspects. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt.
28:19-20). "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the
world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Mt.
24:14).
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14] The
early disciples followed Christ's command to preach this gospel of the
kingdom as a witness to all nations. The Church of God also follows this
command and views as the primary reason for its existence the commission
to preach the gospel of the kingdom to all nations in accordance with
Jesus Christ's instructions. The church today strives to continue
fulfilling that commission with ever-increasing effectiveness, following
in the tradition of Elijah the prophet and John the Baptist (Mal.
4:5-6), by preparing the way for Christ's return through the
announcement of that gospel message
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