Piper summarizes some of his main concerns with Wright’s theology. Among them, is Wright’s affirmation that the gospel is not about how to get saved (18). Wright affirms that the gospel “refers to the proclamation that Jesus, the crucified and risen Messiah , is the one, true and only Lord of the world” (18). Piper has no problem affirming this definition of the gospel, nevertheless he finds it troublesome that Wright would deny that the gospel is not about how one gets saved. Wright believes that the gospel is a cosmic proclamation of the lordship of Christ over all political systems and earthly authority.
Wright’s proposition that the gospel is about a cosmic proclamation corrects much of the dualistic thinking in the evangelical world. The Lordship of Christ is a comprehensive and authoritative claim over all mankind. At the same time, by refusing to extend this lordship to the question What must I do to be saved seems rather minimalistic. The gospel is both authoritative– bringing earthly rulers under the authority of Messiah and salvific–and it answers the question what must I do to be saved with a definitive call to embrace Messiah as Lord and you shall be saved (I Corinthians 15:1-2).
