Sermon Tone Analysis

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