What Is The Gospel?

What Is The Gospel?

During a meeting of all the great religions of the world in Chicago, Dr. Joseph Cook of Boston stood up and said;

“I beg to introduce to you a woman with a great sorrow. Bloodstains are on her hands, and nothing she has tried will remove them. The blood is that of murder. She has been driven to desperation in her distress. Is there anything in your religion that will remove her sin, and give her peace?”

No one replied. Dr. Cook looked up and cried out,

“John! Can you tell this woman how to get rid of her awful sin?”

He paused

“Listen! John speaks! The blood of Jesus Christ his son, cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

In the face of our sin, the Gospel of Jesus Christ alone can meet our need. Our sin demands the blood of Calvary.

But you ask, “What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?”

But an even more basic question is, “What does ‘gospel’ mean?”

What is the Definition of Gospel? The word “gospel” literally means good tidings or good news! Whenever you read in scripture passages like

Isaiah 41:27“The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. “ or “one that bringeth good news or that bringeth gospel”.

Here we find a direct prophecy that Jesus Chris will bring good tidings, and if you remember the announcement of the birth of Jesus the angel said “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings (Gospel!) of great joy, which shall be to ALL people. Luke 2:10

The Angel said this is good news or the Gospel for everyone! Will all accept the good tidings? No, but it is available for everyone, we need to accept it.

This good tidings, this good news, this gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is first mentioned as such in the very first verse in Mark who portrays the servanthood of Jesus. It is the grace of God in action made available to every man, woman, child; every descendent of Adam. All we have to do is accept his good tidings, his gospel, by faith; For by Grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 His gift to us is Grace; God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is God’s ability. Faith is man’s responsibility. Paul says in Romans 12:3 that God has given every man a measure of faith.

Everyone has faith. Everyone demonstrates their faith daily. In fact, I just heard someone’s faith in action. Someone just passed by this building in a vehicle and they had faith that when they turned the steering wheel, which is connected to the rack and pinion, which is attached to the wheel, that the wheel would turn slightly in the direction the wanted to go and negotiated the turn. They had faith in a man-made object to do what it was designed to do! You came into this building today and sat in the pew. You had faith that it would hold you, you had faith that the steps you climbed would not fail. We all have faith. But the critical question is, what is the object of your faith? More importantly, Who is the object of your faith?

You see, we need to fully grasp the very essence of Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

It is the Power of God - God’s power to save us. It is not something we can do, so we shouldn’t put faith in ourselves or anything man-made to do something only God was designed to do, what only God can provide. Just like that vehicle that passed by, any one of the man-made elements may fail, and they do, we read or hear about those failures daily. We call them accidents. But the Power of God will never fail. God’s power will save us, everyone who believes. It doesn’t say that everyone will be saved. Rather the scripture says, everyone who BELIEVES. Everyone whose object of their faith is Jesus Christ. Who is the object of your faith? Are you trusting in yourself, your good works, your family heritage? Or are you trusting in the author and finisher of our faith? Hebrews 12:2

But what is belief? Belief is faith in action!

The story is told of a man who had a tightrope stretched across Niagara Falls. As he finished his preparations a great crowd was formed. He walked from one side of the falls, to the other, and back again. People cheered and applauded. He then proceeded to push a wheelbarrow across, and back. Once again the crowd cheered the ability of the man. He prepared once again to make the walk when suddenly, he stopped. The crowd hushed and waited to hear his words.

“Who believes that I can push this wheelbarrow across this tightrope again?”

“I believe!” shouted a man close by.

“Wonderful! You get in and let me push you across!”

We look back and we see the faith in action of those who have gone on before and we say we believe that the blood of Jesus did a marvelous work, Jesus looks to us and says, I am no respecter of persons. What I have done for them, I can and will do for you. Let me do the work, You get in the proverbial wheelbarrow of faith, and let me take you to the other side. Faith means Forsaking All, I Trust Him! Faith makes god’s amazing grace available. We just need to trust him.

We looked at the Definition of the Gospel, now, let’s look at the Content of the Gospel. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I deliveredunto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

We see here the basic content of good tidings. Paul said that first he declared the good tidings, then he preached. Just like when the angel said Behold I bring you good tidings! He declared it, then the angel said what it was, a Savior is born this day! Paul is following the same pattern. After Paul preached, then what happened?

The ones that believed, Received the gospel. I wonder, did all the shepherds that heard the angel bring the good tidings of great joy, did they all go to the manger to see? Or did one stay behind and say, someone has to be reasonable and responsible and watch the sheep? You see, the shepherds had to act upon the information given. They were now responsible to act. Their action upon the information brought jubilation then a declaration and duplication as the story they told spread throughout the region!

Paul’s accounts state that not all who heard believed, but all that heard andbelieved, they were the ones that received the gospel, the good tidings. What he received, he did not keep to himself but delivered to others. What did he deliver to others? The very foundational truths of the good tidings, the good news, the gospel. That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures

Notice the phrase, “according to the scriptures”. According to Isaiah 53:8 he was cut off from the land of the living. He died, according to the scripture. Look if you will at 1 John 2:2

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. As the angel proclaimed, this is indeed good tidings for all men. We have one who has died for us, but for even those who do not believe, for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us Romans 5:8 He was buried. Isaiah 53:9 says that he made his grave with the wicked. According to the scriptures, he was buried. That he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Hosea 6:2 shows us a glimpse of things to come.

Too often we look at scripture from a Western mind-set. But the Bible is an Eastern book written to Eastern people who read it with an Eastern mind-set. We read a prophecy and expect to see a fulfillment. The Eastern mind sees a prophecy as a pattern and the continuation of the pattern is the fulfillment. So when Paul says “according to the scripture”, he sees Hosea 6:2 ". . .in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight”

The very basics of the good tidings, the good news, the gospel, are rooted in a prophetic pattern that is now on full display. Paul says the scriptures are true and the resurrected Christ is the proof. The proof is attested by Peter, the twelve, James, and over 500 others who were witnesses to the fact. You have now heard! Now believe! Now, tell others!

We have now learned the Definitionof gospel, and the Content, but how do we Appropriate this good tidings, this gospel?

Paul shows us the first part earlier in his letter to the Romans. He first delivered the good tidings, and then it was heard, but then it must be received, accepted.

Now Paul shows us the way in Romans 10:9 & 10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believein thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

We need to confess openly, with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. This leads us into salvation

We need to believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead. This leads us into righteousness. The good tidings, this good news, this gospel can be found in 1 Peter 1:21-23

Who by him do believe in God, that raised him (Jesus Christ) up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Notice the corruptible seed and the incorruptible seed. We are all born of Adam. This is the corruptible seed. But Jesus was born of the Father. He is the incorruptible seed. Psalm 16:10 says neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. He is the Word of God and in him we live forever! Our belief in Jesus Christ gives us a new birth, a new life, and a new destiny! Our faith in Him causes regeneration in us so the Holy Spirit can seal us; Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also AFTER that ye BELIEVED, ye were SEALED with that HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE.

It is indeed good tidings! It is indeed the good news! It is indeed the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

But something we often overlook, especially when sharing the good news. For the good news doesn’t really become good news, unless we hear and understand the bad news.

The Bad News is that most think they are “good people” and that “my good works will get me to heaven”. That if I lead a good life everything will turn out OK. That a loving God will not send me to hell if I am good enough. That sincerely held belief, that we are good enough, is bad news. The really bad news is that they are right. Yes, that belief will get them to heaven. The problem is, that when they arrive they will be meeting their judge, at the great white throne judgement described in Revelation 20, and not their Father.

Satan has caused many a man to fall because he gets us to doubt Gods word. “Did God really say. . .” And if we are not in His Word and studying it, we don’t know what God really did say nor the ramifications of what he said. “I think” or “in my opinion” can lead us into thoughts, discussions, and great study but we need to be careful that our “thoughts” and “opinions” do not lead us into compromising God’s word. This leads us into phrases and words such as “we are all God’s children”. Even Jesus didn’t believe that as he says of the leaders of the day “Ye are of your father the devil’ in John 8:44 . Paul says in Romans 9:8 that the children of the flesh are not the children of God. Galatians 3:26 says that we are children of God by FAITH in Christ Jesus! Unless we have Faith in Jesus, we are not children of God.

People need to hear the BAD News so that they can accept the Good news! They need to hear that Sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and as we are all descendants of Adam, the Bible says that ALL have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. We need to understand that Romans 3:23 is broken into two distinct problems that only the blood of Jesus Christ can rectify. The problem of transgressions and the problem of consequences.

“All have sinned.” Every last one of us. None of us are good enough and none of us can do anything about it. Galatians 2 16 clearly states that “. . . A man is not justified by the WORKS of the law, but by the FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST”. This is the transgression; we ALL have sinned. Just a nugget to guide you when studying the Bible. When you see the word “All” remember this, All means All, and that’s All that All means! All have sinned. It is not by works lest any man should boast Ephesians 2:9.

This leads into the second part we have “come short of the glory of God.” This is the consequence of our transgressions. We will never be able to obtain the Glory that God has intended for us until we accept the gift of God presented to us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The bad news is, unless we accept the good news, we will receive the wages that we have worked for. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death. God doesn’t send any one to hell. We earn it, because all our righteousness is as filthy rags, Isaiah 64:6. We can never be good enough. All of attempts fail no matter what we think. Proverbs 14:12 says there is a way that SEEMS right but the end thereof is death. Isaiah 59:2 says that our iniquities have separated usfrom your God . Our sins have hid his face from us.

But even as there are 2 parts to our problem, transgressions and consequences, so is there 2 parts of the solution; Redemption and Restoration. Until we fully understand the dire predicament we are in, we cannot fully understand the great sacrifice that God made to redeem us. That Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost. That his blood is the only thing that can redeem us. That he is our Kinsman Redeemer! That only he can provide the sacrifice required to save us from our sin. That only he can take the atoning sacrifice into the holy of holies and to present us spotless before the Father. He is the object of our faith. He is the only one worthy to redeem us. That is our Redemption. And when we accept the gift of God, the shed blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all unrighteousness we then become partakers of the second part of Romans 3:23 , the glory of God, which we were at one time, short of! That is the Restoration!

We have looked at the Definition, the Content, and the Appropriation.

Now what do we do with the glad tidings, the good news, the gospel.

This is our Responsibility

God has provided the bridge back to him through the death of his son Jesus Christ on the cross. We are redeemed by His death. His shed blood that covers our sin. Then we are saved by his resurrection, by his life! Romans 5:10 . “. . .when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

1 Peter 3:18

Says, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.

Just as the shepherds who heard the angel bring good news and reacted by seeking out Jesus, We too are responsible in how we react to the good tidings, the good news, the gospel. We have the Responsibility to respond. We have the Ability to Respond. This is our Response - Ability to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All we have to do is believe and take him at his word. He is at our hearts door. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

You see, it is the greatest gift ever presented and all we have to do is believe. Martin Luther broke down the gospel in the simplest verse in the Bible, so simple a child can understand it, so profound that it confounds the scholars, when he said of John3:16;

For - The greatest reason

God - The greatest Lover

So loved - The greatest degree

The World - The greatest number

That He gave - The greatest act

His only begotten son - The greatest gift

That whosoever - The greatest invitation

Believeth - The greatest simplicity

In Him - The greatest Person

Should not perish - The greatest deliverance

But - The greatest difference

Have - The greatest certainty

Everlasting life - The greatest possession

My friends, this is the good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people! The good news that Jesus died for you and me. That he became the propitiation for our sin! That he was buried. But that the grave could not hold him! That he rose again! That because he lives, we too shall live! He ascended to the Father and he IS coming back for those who love him. And all we have to do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved!

Oh my friend, if you haven’t responded before to the good news, I encourage you to take God at his Word and to accept his offer of forgiveness. Then you too can respond to Dr. Cook’s question he put forth many years ago and be able to say that

“the blood of Jesus Christ his son, cleanses me from all sin.”

I ask now everyone bow their heads and close their eyes.

Maybe you have never accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ and would like to Believe and accept his gift of salvation. If so repeat after me;

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I have fallen short of your Glory. I thank you that Jesus Christ came to seek and to save me. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to redeem me. I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus. I believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead. I take you at your word that you have saved me. In Jesus name, amen.

If you have prayed that prayer, speak to one of the deacons, (Deacons would you please stand with me), and share with them the goods news of your salvation.

Let us all stand and join together as we sing of that Victory In Jesus!