In a third post Willitts' makes this observation:
Yes and No.
No first. The word are not identical, but one is geared toward the other. The gospel, says Paul, is the announcement about God's Son, who lived as the Davidic king in his fleshly life, and is resurrected from the dead by the Holy Spirit and reigns as Lord, Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1-4). But Paul was commissioned to preach this gospel for the purpose of all nations exhibiting the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5). This sounds like the great commission. Paul later says that the gospel is God's power for salvation, because in it, God's righteous (read: good) character is revealed in it. The character is revealed, says Paul, by faithfulness [of Christ] for the sake of faith (Romans 1:16-17). The gospel is the story of Jesus Christ and it is told for the sake of faith. So though the terms are not identical, the gospel is as much for human salvation as it is anything. But, the salvation is deliverance from the present evil time and it does so by saving individuals from guilt and giving them God's Spirit in preparation for a future resurrection from the dead.
Yes.
The gospel is not identical with salvation in the commonly understood sense. The gospel is never preached, even one time, in the New Testament as "now you can go to heaven when you die." Most people mean "go to heaven when you die" when they say the word 'salvation.' So, I agree with McKnight, salvation is not the gospel. Jesus actually equates eternal life with following him, not with the result of a particular or claim somebody makes about themselves. This is evident in John's gospel as well as the synoptics. What must I do to receive eternal life, "Follow me." Or, "This is eternal life, that they might know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
[McKnight]...contends that evangelicals today are really “soterians” (“salvationists”) instead of truly evangelicals. He means by this that most have equated the word “gospel” with “salvation”. But the two words, says Scot, are different. His argument is that biblically the concept of “gospel” is a much wider than simply the issue of personal salvation, although it surely includes it. This confusion, according to Scot, has led to what he calls a “salvation culture”- “a culture that focuses on and measures people on the basis of whether they can witness to an experience of personal salvation” (30). The problem with a salvation culture is in its obsession with securing decisions for Christ, it creates the problem of getting the decided to be a disciple.and then he asks this question:
Do you agree with Scot’s view that the terms and concepts of “salvation” and “gospel” are not identical? Do you agree with the implication he draws from the distinction? Are you a “soterian” or an “evangelical”?
Yes and No.
No first. The word are not identical, but one is geared toward the other. The gospel, says Paul, is the announcement about God's Son, who lived as the Davidic king in his fleshly life, and is resurrected from the dead by the Holy Spirit and reigns as Lord, Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1-4). But Paul was commissioned to preach this gospel for the purpose of all nations exhibiting the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5). This sounds like the great commission. Paul later says that the gospel is God's power for salvation, because in it, God's righteous (read: good) character is revealed in it. The character is revealed, says Paul, by faithfulness [of Christ] for the sake of faith (Romans 1:16-17). The gospel is the story of Jesus Christ and it is told for the sake of faith. So though the terms are not identical, the gospel is as much for human salvation as it is anything. But, the salvation is deliverance from the present evil time and it does so by saving individuals from guilt and giving them God's Spirit in preparation for a future resurrection from the dead.
Yes.
The gospel is not identical with salvation in the commonly understood sense. The gospel is never preached, even one time, in the New Testament as "now you can go to heaven when you die." Most people mean "go to heaven when you die" when they say the word 'salvation.' So, I agree with McKnight, salvation is not the gospel. Jesus actually equates eternal life with following him, not with the result of a particular or claim somebody makes about themselves. This is evident in John's gospel as well as the synoptics. What must I do to receive eternal life, "Follow me." Or, "This is eternal life, that they might know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
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