Notes on the Gospel in Ten Words

Summary of “Out of the Jungle”

Part 1: What is the good news?

There is no shortage of gospel presentations available through every form of media. Paul Ellis in this book shows that it is a mixed message that supports common misconceptions about God and the good news (that’s what gospel means).

Here are some things the gospel is not:

• It is not the Bible – the Bible contains the gospel, but has a lot of other necessary information in it.
• It is not even what Jesus said – He said some things to His Jewish audience that are not applicable to us. Not everything He said was good news.
• It is not the holy law – He gave harder rules, but just to show that you are not able to live by God’s rules without God’s help. So many testify on Sunday, and confess on Monday.

The gospel is the revelation of God’s true nature and His love for mankind. The gospel is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The good news is a gift package that you receive and unwrap. The gift is the person of Jesus, a personalized offer of relationship. That is what makes the gospel a “living word”.

Think about it

We are all aware that there is wickedness, evil all around us. When it is aimed at us, we would like to be delivered from it. How would you stamp out evil? What options would God have to deal with evil?