The Great Proclamation of the Gospel

from Dr. Timothy Tennent

…Christianity is a global proclamation of specific, historic acts that have transpired, demonstrating God’s power, grace, and love. We are not merely spreading religious ideas that inspire the human race. Christianity is not a pragmatic opiate to help us cope with life. We are proclaiming historical events upon which the entire history of the world is determined. They do, indeed, have a transformative effect on how we live, but the great proclamation of the gospel is about who God is and what he has done. Buddha is in the grave. Mohammad is in the grave. Confucius is in the grave. Jesus is the risen Lord.

105 words

Timothy Tennent has been president of Asbury Theological Seminary for the last 15 years. After this semester he’ll step down as president and serve as professor for the seminary.

I read the above quote in his book, Foundations of the Christian Faith: A Resource for Catechesis and Disciple-Making, a collection of shorter works also published separately (p. 63 Kindle edition). This comes from the section on Resurrection in “This We Believe: Meditations on the Apostles’ Creed.”

In this OMG Christianity is not another religion. It’s “the great proclamation of the gospel.” I appreciate that he makes the distinction between “spreading religious ideas” and “proclaiming historical events.” Without these events, there is no gospel. “He is risen!”

Starting today I will take a break from this blog to seek God about its future. It has turned out to be more challenging than expected to get OMG contributions for the long term. Friends and family have encouraged me to consider making it an audio or video podcast. I’m not sure if I’m ready for that added production commitment. We’ll see. Either way I have to decide whether to expand the scope of the content.

Thanks for reading. -st

The Gospel of God

We affirm that the gospel entrusted to the church is, in the first instance, God’s gospel (Mark 1:14; Rom. 1:1). God is its author, and he reveals it to us in and by his Word. Its authority and truth rest on him alone.

We deny that the truth or authority of the gospel derives from any human insight or invention (Gal. 1:1–11). We also deny that the truth or authority of the gospel rests on the authority of any particular church or human institution.

78 words, excluding scripture references

This OMG is the first of 18 affirmations and denials in the document, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration” which came out in the late 90s. The document has been critiqued by some for being too Calvinist and too narrow to include other evangelicals, such as Wesleyans and Pentecostals.

However, today I’m featuring article one of that document, not as a summary of the entire gospel, but as an introduction to it. The gospel did not come from us. It’s not the product of deluded disciples trying to recover from the death of their leader. It’s not a power play by religious radicals or clerics wanting to control others. As the statement says, “God is its author.”

Next post: Tuesday, February 14, “The Great Proclamation of the Gospel” from Dr. Timothy Tennent

-st