The Heart of the Gospel

Michael Fierro
Jul 2
3 min read

Not a Moral Message—but a World-Changing Event

Many people think Christianity is primarily about ethics—“love your neighbor,” “do unto others,” “be a good person.” While these moral teachings are important, they are not the center of the Gospel.

The heart of Christianity is not a philosophy, a code of conduct, or a set of values.It is news. Specifically, good news.

“He is not here. He has risen.”—Luke 24:6

That announcement is what changed the world.

The Event That Changed Everything

The early Christians weren’t going around the Roman Empire preaching “love your enemies.” That message was strange and challenging, but not unprecedented. What they preached—boldly and at great cost—was that:

A man who claimed to be the Son of God
Had been executed publicly
And had risen bodily from the dead

That is the message that broke the world open.

In Acts 17, when Paul preached to the philosophers in Athens, some thought he was announcing two gods: Jesus and Anastasis (the Greek word for resurrection). That’s how central this was to the Christian proclamation—and how easily it was misunderstood, even by the philosophers of Athens. Some things never change. Nihil novi sub sole.

The Resurrection Is Not Optional

Over the centuries, some theologians have tried to downplay or redefine the Resurrection.

The 20th-century scholar Rudolf Bultmann argued that Christianity could be “demythologized”—that it didn't matter whether Jesus actually rose from the dead. What mattered was the faith of the disciples.

But this is not what Scripture says. This is not what the early Church believed.And it’s not what Paul preached.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul lays it out plainly:

“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”—1 Corinthians 15:14

If the bones of Jesus were discovered tomorrow, Christianity would collapse. Unlike the founders of other religions—Abraham, Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, Zoroaster—Jesus’ tomb is empty. And if it were not, then:

We are still in our sins.
Our faith is futile.
Those who died in Christ are lost.
We misrepresent God.
And we are the most pitiable of people.

A Concrete, Historical Reality

The Resurrection is not a vague spiritual metaphor. It is not a symbol of new life or the inner strength of the disciples. It is not a myth about the triumph of hope.

It is a real event, in real time, witnessed by real people. It is:

Concrete
Factual
Sensible
Empirical

And it means:

Love is stronger than death.
Goodness and power are no longer opposed.
We are not cosmic orphans.
Life has meaning.
Death has been defeated.

The Resurrection is not just important because it happened.It is important because of what it means.

The Center of the Creed

From the beginning, Christians confessed this as central:

“On the third day, He rose again from the dead.” —Nicene Creed

This is not a detail tucked into the back of the faith. It is the very hinge of history. Without it, Christianity becomes just another religious idea—useful maybe, admirable possibly, but ultimately powerless.

But with it, Christianity becomes what it truly is: The proclamation that death itself has been undone.