Here's a crucial passage when it comes to "gospel" and "kerygming" in the New Testament:
5 Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 "or 'Who will descend into the deep?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Paul's gospel involves this:
1. Confessing verbally that Jesus is Lord.
2. Believing that God raised Jesus from the death (a bodily resurrection).
3. Anyone who believes this is saved.
4. God has chosen to proclaim this gospel through humans.
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I'm collecting and will be glad to share. :-)
I'm not collecting--but would love to receive the whole thing in one doc that I can work through off-line.
Just curious why you didn't have a point number "5. Calling upon the name of the Lord (v. 13)"? This OT statement (that "whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved") was also cited by Peter on Pentecost and seems to have been an important component of the apostolic kerygma. Paul goes so far as to characterize the people of God as those "who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours." It has always intersted me that the OT reference refers to calling on the name of Yahweh (as opposed to Adonai). Calling upon the name of the Lord is calling upon the name of Yahweh. It is also equated with calling on the name of Jesus, which fits with your point #1. However, we not only confess and believe; we call upon this Lord. While the phrase is a metonym for the whole act of getting saved, it seems to me that it is also part of the role Paul gives the mouth in salvation (v. 10). And it is important because by doing it we establish and enter into an actual living relationship with the risen Lord beyond mere inner assent and verbal acknowledgement. It is then that we are able to go on to proclaim because we are not just reporting information but have become actual "witnesses" who have experienced the resurrected Savior by the response and experience of his Spirit and grace. Having entered into that relationship we proclaim what we know and who we know in fulfillment of the church's apostolic calling. At least that's how I've come to see it. Any thoughts?
You could consider using Google docs, then publish the document and then post the link to the document.
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