The Scandal of the Evangelical Gospel
I have been thinking lately about Mark Noll’s book, “The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind” (published 30 years ago) where he critiques the intellectual shallowness of evangelicalism, arguing that it has neglected serious philosophical engagement with theology, history, and culture. I wonder if this same critique can be applied to the gospel message itself—where evangelicals have often reduced the good news to a message ABOUT Jesus (his death, resurrection, and personal salvation) rather than embracing the gospel OF Jesus, which was the arrival of the Kingdom of God.
We could call it The Scandal of the Evangelical Gospel.
Too often we have distilled the gospel into a transactional message focused almost exclusively on the afterlife—heaven or hell. The dominant evangelical presentation of the gospel frequently sounds like this: You are a sinner; Jesus died for your sins; Accept him as your personal Savior; Go to heaven when you die.
While this contains truth, it falls short of Jesus' gospel message. In contrast, His good news was about the in-breaking of God’s reign on earth—a new reality that reorders everything. When Jesus proclaimed the gospel, his message was: “The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). Jesus' message was not, "Believe in me so you can go to heaven when you die." It was a radical announcement that God’s rule was now breaking into human history through him—healing, restoring, and upending the world’s power structures. In this Kingdom:
The poor are lifted up and the proud are humbled (Luke 1:52-53).
Sinners are forgiven, but the self-righteous are exposed (Luke 18:9-14).
Healing, justice, and new creation begin now, not just in the afterlife (Matthew 11:5).
Power is redefined—leadership means servanthood (Mark 10:42-45).
The cross and resurrection do not merely secure individual salvation; they inaugurate God’s new world (Colossians 1:13-20).
Yet, much of modern evangelicalism has reduced this kingdom announcement into a gospel about personal salvation, missing the cosmic scope of Jesus’ mission.
How did we get here? Several factors contributed to the reduction of the gospel:
The Influence of Revivalism – Evangelists like Finney, Moody, and Graham focused on individual conversions, often reducing the gospel to personal decision-making moments rather than a holistic call to discipleship under Jesus’ reign.
The Sacred-Secular Divide – The Kingdom of God affects all of life—justice, economics, relationships, politics. But evangelicalism often spiritualized the gospel, making it only about souls rather than societal transformation.
The Influence of Western Individualism – The gospel became personalized and privatized, neglecting its communal, societal, and cosmic dimensions.
A Fear of Works-Based Salvation – In guarding against legalism, many evangelicals have underemphasized the call to embody kingdom life—justice, mercy, and reconciliation—as part of the gospel itself (Matthew 25:31-46).
Recovering the Gospel of the Kingdom
If the scandal of the evangelical mind was a failure to engage seriously with intellectual life, then the scandal of the evangelical gospel is our failure to proclaim and embody Jesus’ Kingdom vision.
We must recover the gospel Jesus preached by:
Proclaiming a Gospel Beyond Afterlife Assurance – The good news is not just about where we go when we die, but how we live under Jesus’ reign here and now (Luke 4:18-19).
Reintegrating Justice, Mercy, and Peacemaking – The Kingdom is about restoring all things (Colossians 1:19-20), not just individual forgiveness.
Calling People to Follow a King, Not Just Accept a Sacrifice – Salvation is not just about avoiding hell, but about becoming citizens of a new reality where Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).
Recovering the Church’s Role as a Kingdom Community – The church is not just a collection of saved individuals, but an outpost of the coming Kingdom, living as a preview of God’s new world.
The Need for a More Robust Gospel
If evangelicalism is to regain its credibility, it must expand its gospel beyond individual salvation. The gospel of the Kingdom is far more compelling, transformative, and biblical than the shrunk-down gospel of “pray this prayer and get to heaven.” Jesus didn’t just die to forgive our sins; he died and rose to bring a new world into existence—one where God reigns, justice prevails, and love restores all things.
