But what was this gospel which Jesus proclaimed. this gospel that is now to replace the gospel about Him which has been proclaimed by the Apostle Paul and the historic Church? Our only knowledge of it is obtained from the works of Jesus that are recorded in the New Testament. But those words as they stand make it abundantly plain that they gospel which Jesus proclaimed was also, at its very centre, a gospel about Him; it did far more than set forth a way of approach to God which Jesus Himself followed, for it presented Jesus as Himself the way which could be followed by sinful men. According to the New Testament our Lord even in the days of His flesh presented Himself not merely as Teacher and Example and Leader but also, and primarily, as Savior; He offered Himself to sinful men as One who alone could give them entrance into the Kingdom of God; everything in His teaching pointed forward to His redeeming work in His death and resurrection; the culmination of Jesus’ gospel was the Cross. The significance of redemption could not, indeed, be fully pointed out until redemption had actually been accomplished; and our Lord therefore pointed forward to the fuller revelation which was to be given through His apostles: but, although only by way of prophecy, yet clearly enough, He did, even when He was on earth, tell men what He had come into the world to do. “The Son of Man,” He said, “came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
J. Gresham Machen | What Is Faith? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1946), 107–08.
RESOURCES
- Subscribe To The Heidelblog!
- Download the HeidelApp on Apple App Store or Google Play
- The Heidelblog Resource Page
- Heidelmedia Resources
- The Ecumenical Creeds
- The Reformed Confessions
- The Heidelberg Catechism
- Recovering the Reformed Confession (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008)
- Why I Am A Christian
- What Must A Christian Believe?
- Heidelblog Contributors
- Support Heidelmedia: use the donate button or send a check to
Heidelberg Reformation Association
1637 E. Valley Parkway #391
Escondido CA 92027
USA
The HRA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Dunno how one can explain Jesus and His Gospel any better than this! Machen. Thank you✝️📖🙏