What are the essential elements of the gospel?
Hills to Die On
Subtitutionary Atonement (Isa 53:4-6; 2Cor 5:21; Heb 9:28). The atonement is absolutely necessary because the absolute justice of God's perfect character demands punishment for the sins of those He will forgive (Rom 3:25-26). The atonement is necessarily substitutionary because we are not able to bear the infinite penalty of sin in such a way that would restore our own righteous relation to God (Berkhof, pp369-370).
Physical Resurrection (Luke 24:37-43; John 20:27; Col 1:18). Paul hails Jesus "the first-born from the dead" in Col 1:18. Yet since Jesus had already raised Lazarus and others, his own resurrection must be more than mere restoration of physical life. It is that His resurrected body, while still bearing the wounds of the cross, is glorified and thus incorruptible. Christ's physical resurrection is the Father's declaration of victory over death, the vindication of Christ's holiness, the instrument of our justification (Rom 4:25), and the model for our own resurrection.
