The Four-Part Gospel

Yep. There is bad news; and, if we really love others, we have an obligation not to hide it.

Rather than just one part of the good news—“God loves you”—modern people need to hear a four-part gospel.

In addition to the good news about God’s love, for instance, they need to hear about sin (even if we don’t use that word). Only when we have admitted that we have turned away from God and rejected his friendship can we understand that the fullness of the gospel is a rescue story, with Jesus as the one who rescues us.

Thus, our “elevator” presentation must be a bit more than a single sentence. It will need to be not just a simple statement but a story: about the loss of God and his movement to rescue us. And it is possible to share this before we reach our floor! The four-part story looks like this:

Part One: Good News—God exists, he loves you, he has a plan for your life. God is love. He created us and gave us this world because he loves us.

Part Two: Bad News—We are sinners and have broken that relationship. We have all fallen short of his glory by sinning. By our own choices, we have brought cruelty and suffering into the world, and we have lost the grace of friendship with God.

Part Three: Good News—God has not left us in this condition but has come in the flesh to rescue us. Jesus came to open the path to heaven, giving himself on the cross to ransom us from sin and death. And all who accept him and keep his commandments will find healing and will live with him forever in peace.

Part Four: Our Response—We need to respond by having faith in him, repenting of our sins, accepting baptism, and living the Church’s life of faith.

This is the gospel as the apostles taught it. This mix of good and bad news and the call for a response was present from the very day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit first filled the Church with the power to preach.

On that day, Peter drew upon the whole story of salvation familiar to his Jewish audience to tell them good news. But he also included the bad news that they, just weeks before, had personally rejected the Lord when he was with them in the flesh. “Let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).

With these words, Peter laid out the full consequences of sin. This brought forth a powerful reaction from the crowd:

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:37-42).

Here Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, demonstrates the full power of the gospel when it is presented and received honestly!

Peter didn’t try to sugarcoat the evil of the crucifixion but included this sinful action as part of his message. Those who accepted what Peter said, and responded by taking action, received every gift that Jesus has given. They were able to receive the fullness of the apostolic teaching and all the sacramental gifts because they became convinced that they needed them.

Without question, in this instance Peter tailored his presentation of the gospel to his audience. He knew they were a Jewish audience that was familiar with Scripture, so he quoted Scripture to them, situating Jesus within the familiar Jewish history of prophets and kings to make his story understandable. Later, when presenting the gospel to gentiles, Peter would use other methods. But whatever rhetorical method he uses, the content of the gospel and its power to overcome sin and death are the same: the fatherly love of God, the awful reality of sin, the salvation offered by Jesus, and the response of faith, hope, and love.

In presenting both the good and bad news of the story of Jesus, Peter pierces the hearts of his listeners. This allows them to respond by entering unreservedly into the new life offered in the Church.

We want people to understand that God loves them, but we also want them to know the value of this love in their lives. This value cannot be understood unless the person knows the full story. Jesus cannot be understood, and very likely won’t be truly accepted, if he is presented outside of this context.

Do you want to know how to talk to anybody about Jesus? It is likely the most important talk you will ever have,

Learn how! Order your copy of How to Talk About Jesus With Anyone today!