The Gospel – The Message of Jesus Christ

The Gospel Defined – What is the Gospel?

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, NASB

 

The Gospel is a Message

The word “gospel” comes from the Greek word “evanggelion” …2098 meaning “a good message, i.e. the gospel,” or “the good news.” This is where we derive our word “evangel” and also “evangelical,” two words which are commonly used in Christianity to speak of “the Gospel” or of “being Gospel believing.” When we use the word “Gospel” in Christianity it takes on a very specific and defined meaning which has its origin in the Bible, and more specifically in the New Testament(even though the Old Testament pointed to it frequently). It is in fact “the message of the good news” of Jesus Christ and the free offer of salvation from sin and reconciliation to God through Him. So to define the Gospel in a brief statement it would look something like this…..

The message or “good news” of the person and work of Jesus Christ, God the Son, come to the earth to fulfill God’s eternal plan of salvation. The message carries within it the power to transform the sinner by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, into a child of God and grant them eternal life. It furthermore includes the proclamation of all of God’s promises to mankind in Christ, as well as His threatenings to those who continue in their sin and rejection of God’s way of salvation provided “freely” through Jesus Christ. Primarily, mankind has been separated from God by willfully sinning against Him, is subject to His wrath, but that mankind can be saved from God’s wrath by repentance from sins and faith in Jesus Christ. This faith is defined as “trusting in and relying upon the person and work of Jesus Christ alone, receiving Him as both Savior and Lord.” It also announces the Kingdom of God, come to the earth now, under the rule of the King, Jesus Christ, and that He will soon return to the earth to destroy sin and evil forever, and renew all things in creation to God’s intended state of glory. Secondarily, that this gospel message is to be preached among the nations, so that mankind can be saved from sin and death and reconciled to God through adhering to it. (Romans 1:16-17, 3:19-28, 5:19-21, 10:9-10,17, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Acts 17:24-31, John 3:16-18, 1 John 5:11-13)

This message of the Gospel is at its core rather simple, and yet at the same time has many complex elements and nuances that are very important to understand.

 

The Gospel is Simple

When we consider the basic elements of the Gospel it is really rather simple. 9Marks.org has  classified them in these four basic categories…..

·        God – It is a message about the One true and living God and His claim on our lives as our Sovereign Creator and Righteous Judge.

·        Man – Man was created by God, in God's image, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. But man sinned against God by disobeying His holy law. Man therefore separated himself from God's holy and satisfying presence, and incurred His wrathful displeasure.

·        Christ – Christ’s death was the substitute payment for the penalty that we deserved for our sin. His death is God's only provision for the forgiveness of man's sin and the appeasement of God's wrath against him. His life provides a perfect righteousness for us in the sight of God.

·        Response – We are called to respond to this good news in repentance and belief – turning away from our sin and self-sufficiency toward God, and trusting in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as the substitute penalty that we deserved for our sin.

In these basic elements the Gospel is rather simple. In one sentence, “Man has been separated from God because of sin, and Christ is God’s provision to atone for man’s sins, and man can simply receive God’s provision through repentance and faith.” This is the good news about Jesus Christ that historic Christianity has always proclaimed and this is the essential message that we still proclaim today. The message is timeless and not subject to modernity, or culture or any other influence that would change its meaning until Christ returns in power to establish His Kingdom physically upon the earth.

 

The Gospel is Complex

Although the essential message of the Gospel is rather simple, it has many details and related matters that cause it to blossom and bloom into a very complex and beautiful saga of immense proportions. In fact, the Gospel is the central theme in History and the crowning achievement of God’s work in creation. The creation was created so that the Gospel story could be accomplished by God and this is what we call Redemptive History. The entire Bible is devoted to revealing this Gospel to us as the central focus of all of the History of mankind, both now and forever. In fact, Heaven is now and will be filled with high praises of the Lamb of God for His very loving and gracious sacrifice at Calvary!

Revelation 5:8-14 – 8 And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 "And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth." 11 And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever." 14 And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped. NASB

Therefore, the essential message of the Gospel is simple and clear, but the ramifications behind what it is proclaiming are complex and involved in a very awesome way. For example the Gospel confers on us a KING and a KINGDOM which has now broken into time and space in a certain spiritual way, but has not yet reached its fulfillment. Jesus reigns as KING from the right hand of God and is awaiting His enemies to be put under His feet. The Lamb of God has come and given His life as a sacrifice for sins to offer us forgiveness, and He calls us to willingly repent and follow Him. But this same Jesus, the suffering Lamb, is also portrayed in the Bible as the Lion of Judah who is a soon coming King who is coming to conquer and take His Kingdom by force, and warns all who do not obey Him willingly, that rejection of His Kingship will result in the worst possible consequences of all, eternal damnation. (John 3:36, 2 Thes 1:7-10) The KINGDOM has come in a very real way, but it has a “NOW” but “NOT YET” characteristic to it.

1 Corinthians 15:22-28 – 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all. NASB

Notice the terms used in this passage,…order….after that….then….when….until…etc. Thus the Kingdom of God has “stages of fulfillment” which have “NOT YET” reached their climax. All of this is conferred upon us in the Gospel message because in the Gospel we proclaim Jesus as King, and Judge of the living and the dead. All men will face King Jesus in judgment, at death, and will be judged by Him for the “deeds done in the body.” The Gospel calls us to obedience to Jesus Christ as both Savior and Lord, a Lord who rules over us as our King as well as a Priest who intercedes between us and God.

Acts 10:42-43 – 42 "And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. 43 "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." NASB

Romans 2:5-6 -5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who will render to every man according to his deeds: …..16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. NASB

Notice how both Peter and Paul tell us that the message or Gospel they are preaching contains this element of judgment to come as well as forgiveness of sins.

 

 

 

This teaching is a part of a 12 month series called "The Savior, The Cross, and The Gospel" ….

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Posted By Blogger to HeavensLight at 12/05/2012 02:54:00 PM

The Gospel is Objective Reality

1 Corinthians 1:30

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God,

and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, NASB

 

The Gospel is Objective Reality

This is to say that the righteousness which was merited by the life and death of Christ is outside of us, immutable and fixed. Our right standing with God does not change or shift with our feelings, circumstances or performance, but is that which rests solely on the merits of Christ and His perfect righteousness. He Himself is our righteousness and sanctification, therefore our right standing with God is “in Christ” and always steadfast, unchanging and adequate.

1 Corinthians 1:30 – 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, NASB

If you are “in Christ,” you have trusted in what He has done by His perfect life and death, and not in your own works or performance. On the contrary, our performance was a huge failure and by it we merited God’s holy wrath and deserve to die as a rebel and enemy of God. But Christ is our righteousness and we have believed in Him. Therefore our faith has laid hold of Jesus and His perfection and our righteousness before God is not subject to anything except that fixed reality that Christ IS righteous. The righteousness which we possess is a foreign righteousness, which is NOT our own, but is Christ’s and is complete and adequate.

Philippians 3:9 – 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, NASB

Our faith is placed in an historical fact which has happened and is accomplished. That is, that Jesus Christ lived a perfectly righteous life in my place, and that He died to absorb the wrath of God for me and these He both accomplished completely and perfectly. The resurrection is proof of the fact that it was accepted by the Father and that He did indeed triumph over sin and death. The grave could not hold Him because the effectual power of His life and death does “much more abound” over sin and death. Therefore the life and death of our Lord is an historical fact which is then outside of us and objective. It is not subject to any other thing which can change its merit or value, but is in fact a reality which stands, fixed in the heavens, unmovable and complete. Because of this objective reality we confess that our salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. This is to say that we are saved because God is rich in love toward us and gives us favor which we have not merited, but rather in Christ ONLY we have favor with God and this is applied to us by simply trusting in what He has done for us!

Ephesians 2:8-9 – 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. NASB

Therefore we can derive from this objective reality a sound and tremendous assurance of God’s love and favor for us. God only designs that which is good for the Christian and tends to our benefit and blessing. Even the worst circumstances of our lives work together for our good because God “causes all things to work together for good.” If God would not spare His own Son, but would give Him in sacrifice to justify us, will He not also graciously give us all things? What more could God do to prove His love and favor for us?

Romans 8:31-34 – 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? NASB

What then shall we say in response to this? How should we face our daily life in regard to this reality of God’s love and favor for us! We should live our life in view of what God has done, and live in the fullness of the blessing He has worked with a devoted life of love toward God and thanksgiving for His marvelous grace!

A response worthy of Christ

When we live our life in view of the cross, and allow it to define our lives, it changes the whole context in which we respond to the circumstances and relationships in our life. Consider once again the words of the apostle Paul in Galatians….

Galatians 2:20 – 20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. NASB

“I have been crucified with Christ” says Paul. What he means to say is that just as Jesus died to put away sins, we die to sins in regard to our behavior and live in the resurrection of Jesus life by faith. We are to consider the heavenly reality of our death to sin and our life is now purchased and defined by Christ’s death to sin and righteous obedience to God. In Colossians he tells us then to seek this heavenly reality in our thinking and be transformed in our behavior because of the reality of what Christ has done.

Colossians 3:1-4 – 1 If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

“Seek the things which are above.” That is, allow the heavenly purpose of God’s love in Christ to change the way we view our life, relationships and circumstances. We do this because, he says, “we died and our life is hidden with Christ in God.” We died to sin when we embraced Christ and His cross, therefore Paul tells us, to consider ourselves dead to sinful behavior.

Colossians 3:5-11 – 5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him 11 — a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. NASB

He then goes on to describe how this knowledge of what Christ has done should change the way we view our relationships and it defines the context of how we respond to others in light of the knowledge of the cross.

Colossians 3:12-4 – 12 And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Here Paul describes how the knowledge of the “things above v-2,” changes the context in which we view our relationship to others. If Jesus died to give His life as a sacrifice for us, surely we can view others with “compassion, kindness, humility gentleness and patience!” If Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross for our forgiveness, surely we can now “bear with one another and forgive each other.” This, he says, is “just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you!” In other words, Jesus life and death on the cross becomes an example to us of how we treat others and express His heavenly love and virtue through our relationships now in our daily life. He describes Christ’s love as if it were a garment to “put on” and tells how we are to let His peace “rule in our hearts” and to do this while being “thankful!”  Further we are to teach and admonish one another along with songs of praise and this also with “thankfulness in your hearts to God!” Our entire life, all our actions he says, are to be done “giving thanks through Him!” Let us therefore see how Christ’s cross is the wellspring of God’s virtue in our daily life!

 

 

This teaching is a part of a 12 month series called "The Savior, The Cross, and The Gospel" ….

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Posted By Blogger to HeavensLight at 12/05/2012 02:54:00 PM