The King Jesus Gospel

Book Review.
McKnight, Scot. The King Jesus Gospel. The original good news revisited. Zondervan. 2011
S.M. - (PhD. Nottingham)- professor in religious studies at North Park University, Chicago, Illinois.
Comment. Henry.
I have found in my reading that authors are saying significant things about topics (issues) that I have wondered about for years. Those are important moments for me. Scot is one of those authors. For most of my life the ‘Salvation Culture’ that Scot talks about has been the paradigm of my spiritual experience. It is all about ‘making a sale’. That is what evangelism is all about. Since I was not ‘making sales’ I was sure that I did not have the gift of evangelism. Scot has helped me with that dilemma. Sometimes (I think) he seems to overstate his thesis, perhaps to reinforce his message. I appreciate his ‘charity’ in not insisting that his is not an ‘either/or’ position. The tensions experienced by reading this book are, will be, healthy.
Introduction- N.T.Wright, Dallas Willard.
The gospel is more than salvation. It cannot be reduced to ‘napkin presentation’. We have a massive, non-disciple Christianity.
Scot gives this very brief summary of this book, “Most of evangelism today is obsessed with getting someone to make a DECISION; the apostles, however, were obsessed with making DISCIPLES.” (18) The gospel is understood by most professing Christ-followers in terms of salvation which in turn is expressed as a decision/commitment (justification by faith). “We have created a ‘salvation culture’ and mistakenly assumed it is a ‘gospel culture’”. (29)
Scot explains his defining of the gospel as arising out of “four categories”. (34) It begins with “The Story of Israel/the Bible. (Then) The Story of Jesus. (Followed by) The Plan of Salvation. (And finally) The Method of Persuasion.” (34) A ‘salvation culture’ stresses the last two categories.
Creating a gospel culture begins with Paul’s teaching in 1Cor. 15. It was the gospel that formed Paul’s original connection with the Corinthians. Paul was authorized to preach this authentic gospel about the story of Jesus, his death, burial and resurrection. This story brings to completion the story of Israel, according to the Scriptures. “The gospel is the resolution and fulfillment of Israel’s story and promises.” (51) The death of Jesus provided three ‘pillars of support’ for salvation; “identification, representation and substitution, and incorporation into the life of God”. (51) Jesus is central to a gospel culture and as such his resurrection, second coming and the coming of the Kingdom are also a part of that gospel. God’s purpose for man as stated in creation will not be completed until ‘his Kingdom comes’.
Support for the gospel is encapsulated in the creeds. “Creed and gospel are connected.” (68) “The Augsburg Confession and the Genevan Confession” (70) are significant documents that impacted the change from a gospel culture to a salvation culture. The personal testimony is a distinguishing element of this culture. Dallas Willard calls this “the gospel of sin management”. All four Gospels include evidence of the Israel Story. The Jesus Story marks the completion of the Israel Story. Paul makes a strong defence for this claim. “Jesus preached himself as completing the Israel Story.” (100) This claim becomes the key ‘cornerstone’ of the gospel culture.
The seven (or perhaps eight) “gospel sermons in the book of Acts” (114) demonstrate their support for and interpretation of the Israel Story, i.e. ‘according to the Scriptures’. The ‘apostle’s gospel’ focused on “the summons to respond in faith, repentance and baptism”. (121) This is the ‘how to’ of the gospel. Faith is the key and repentance and baptism are the manifestations.
“Gospeling” (132) according to the book of Acts (and other N.T. references), rests on a four-fold footing; “Israel’s Story, the lordship of Jesus, summoning people to respond, and the gospel (which) saves and redeems”. (132-133) six comparisons are made between the gospeling of the apostles and our “plan of salvation approach today”. (133) This is not an either/or comparison. The concern is about what is missing in our approach.
How then do we go about “creating a Gospel Culture”? “To grasp the gospel we have to grasp what God is doing in the world, and that means we’ve got a ‘story to tell’. The assumption- that the gospel can be reduced to a note card- or a napkin- is already off on the wrong track.” (148) note: Does that invalidate an ‘abbreviated’ form of presenting the gospel?
We must begin with Israel’s Story and then immerse ourselves in the Story of Jesus. From here we move to the apostle’s gospel which is the “story of the church” (156) This story, which is our story, counters the world views of the culture we live in. In our ‘gospeling’ our emphasis on baptism and the Eucharist needs to remain strong.
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