"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18,19).

Judged by the standards of traditional teaching, we might wonder what these socially-laden terms have to do with preaching the gospel. Doesn't the gospel simply deal with what we hear in church about going to heaven, possessing assurance, and overcoming personal sin? Isn't there a world of difference between the "real" gospel believed by Christians and mere social concern for injustice?

Poverty, oppression, and captivity are most often interpreted by conservative Christians in spiritual terms only, describing an inward bondage to sin and corruption. On the other hand, liberal Christians have a reputation for believing in a social gospel that plays down spiritual conversion and interprets Jesus in predominately naturalistic terms. But are either of these opposite approaches truly biblical? Are we permitted to divide the social and spiritual sides of human existence and limit the concern of the gospel to one dimension only? Is the gospel spiritual, or is it social, or is it holistic?

To ask such questions may be too uncomfortable for some Christians. To reexamine such basic issues may seem unnecessary and even threatening. It is even likely that some will resist the challenge to think through familiar paradigms and potentially discover just how comprehensive the gospel really is. Nevertheless, serious Christians ought to resist any traditional boundaries and rediscover the gospel in its biblical wholeness.

In the following discussion, the case is made for a unified gospel that encompasses the spiritual as well as the social. We maintain that to believe in Jesus is more than a matter of getting into heaven. In fact, we will challenge this common portrayal of the gospel as being fundamentally flawed and mythical. However, our ultimate goal is to be fully biblical and, if need be, to disabuse our minds of a conflicted gospel that leads to the tragic loss of spiritual power, on the one hand, or the disastrous depletion of compassionate concern for the world's poor and oppressed, on the other.

of individuals from eternal torment. The sinner who simply "accepts Christ" is instantly assured of a place in heaven. This concern for the saving of a person's soul is the essence of the church's missionary mandate. Social justice and the improvement of society are temporal matters that are important by virtue of our love for mankind; however, they are secondary issues and concerns, peripheral to the gospel.

reality of God's plan for man into the one-dimensional world of the spirit. The church needs to recover the essential historic nature of the biblical message and to that extent surmount the over-spiritualization of its message.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the unifying theme of the New Testament and the foundation of the Christian faith. Jesus announced a gospel of the kingdom, and the early church proclaimed Jesus as the Savior who died for sinners and was raised to rule as Lord at God's right hand. The thematic center of this gospel does not revolve around the limited concern to save men's souls and transport them to heaven.

Rather than despising the world and looking for redemption elsewhere, Christians are to pray for the arrival of God's kingdom and the flourishing of His will on earth as it is in heaven. Believers are given a heavenly calling for an earthly task. They are to seek those things which are above, not as far-off contemplations, but as down-to- earth necessities for flesh-and-blood existence.

From the start, in the preaching of Jesus, the various expectations of salvation are concentrated into a single major focus: the dramatic entrance of the "kingdom of God" into the dark shadows of human history. Christian salvation derives its source and hope from the restoration of all things under the lordship of Christ. The whole of creation will, at Christ's return, partake of the glorious liberty awaiting the children of God.

In his cross and resurrection, Christ established shalom/peace, reconciling mankind to God and to one another. This reconciling work begins in the church and foreshadows the wholeness of salvation in the age to come. Placed in the setting of the present darkness, a new community of believers shines forth as light, models the future and engenders improved social change in the present. Through its endurance and faithful service, it fills up the sufferings of Christ for the sake of the world.

Thus, the gospel of the kingdom focuses holistically upon man's plight, demanding both spiritual repentance and social renewal. The mistake of removing the substance of the kingdom from the earth to the ethereal space of heavenly dwellings is to disengage the conscience of the church from vital concerns of man's existence and limit the lordship of Christ to an inward religious experience.

the gospel, and it is possible to water down the message if Christians expend too much effort in causes of social justice and economic development. A social gospel would diminish the true witness of the church. Christians can and do play a significant role of social up- building in the daily rounds of family, work and cultural involvement, but the church must keep to its task of preaching the gospel. Its wealth should be invested primarily in its own maintenance and propagation, supporting approved clergy, missionaries, and church personnel. Support of the poor and needy, relief of the suffering, and good works are legitimate concerns but purely secondary in nature.

calls, and revivals is to abandon the dynamic power of the kingdom of God. Rather than restrict the primary agenda to the saving of souls, Christ's followers are to teach and instruct others in the full counsel of God. The ministry of evangelism serves the goal of God in the furtherance of the kingdom, making disciples of all nations and teaching them to observe all that Christ commands. All of life is to be conformed to Christ and his word.

Individuals are challenged to repentance and faith in Christ, but conversion was never divorced from ethical obligations and practical concerns in the broader world. Rather than awaiting escape to another world, they are sent abroad on the earth - hearts, hands, and minds intent on doing good works and faithfully serving in the name of Christ.

The restoration of economic justice was a major component in the jubilee agenda of Christ and the kingdom. He preached good news to the poor and deprived. The early church brought its material resources to bear upon the relief of the poor and needy, especially those in her midst. Ministering workers were passionately supported in their love for Christ. The Bible often reports the zeal of caring and sharing so that each received according to his need, and each gives according to his ability. The economics of greed and accumulation3