"The gospel" N.T. Wright

from Romans, a Commentary by N.T. Wright (The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 10), p. 427
well, well said -

"The gospel," in Paul's terminology, was not primarily a message about sinful human beings and how they attained justification and salvation. We can, of course, us words however we wish, but if we are to understand and appropriate Paul we will do well to use his words in his way. For him, "the gospel" was the sovereign message, from none other than God, concerning Jesus the Messiah, God's unique son. This message was not simply the offer of a new reordering of one's private spiritual interiority, a new clearing up of a morally dysfunctional life via forgiveness for the past and new moral energy for the present. It was not simply a new vocation to live for God and for others inthe world. It was, rather, news about God and about Jesus; news that this Jesus had become the spearhead of God's "age to come"; news that, within this new age, the principalities and powers, including earthly rulers, the powers of darkness, and sin and death themselves had been defeated and were now summoned to allegiance. "the gospel" was a command requiring obedience, much more than an invitation seeking a response.