R.C. Sproul

would have really captured the New Testament concept of the gospel.

And so my conviction is that we are in a period of crisis with respect to our understanding of the actual biblical content of the gospel.

And so I want to spend some time with you looking at

this from an elementary, introductory perspective on the meaning of the gospel as it is declared to us in the Scriptures.

And let's start where I usually start, and that's with a little bit of a word study.

The word gospel is the English translation for the Greek word aewangelion.

The term awangelion is made up of a prefix and a root.

The prefix, which we pronounce awa, is really e-u, and the way that prefix comes over into the English language is by the prefix that we find attached to many words that is pronounced simply e-u, and we pronounce it ewe.

The prefix is found in words like euphonics, which means what?

Good sound.

Eulogy, which is a good word that is stated about somebody, usually in the context of a funeral oration.

Or a euphemism is stating something unpleasant in pleasant or good terms.

And so that prefix, eu, or eu, simply means good.

And the root, angelion, is the same word from which we get the biblical word angel.

An angel in Greek is an angelos.

and the reason why angels are called angels is that their chief function in the New Testament is to act as messengers for God.

It's the angel Gabriel who announces to Zechariah of the birth of John the Baptist.

The same angel is sent to Mary to announce

the impending birth of Jesus, the Messiah, and so angels are called messengers because that's their primary function.

So if we put the root ongelon, which means message, together with the prefix eu, you have the word evangelion, which means literally a good message.