“What is the Gospel”?

Let us pray together before we get started:

In the recent weeks, we’ve been talking about the basic doctrines of our Christian faith. We’ve talked about:

The attributes of the Holy Spirit.

What scripture says about prayer.

The biblical meaning of faith.

And last week, God’s perfect word, the Bible.

This week we’re going to talk about, what is the gospel?

So, just what is the gospel? I hope you will never here me say this again, because it bothers me when I have a preacher think he needs to teach me a new langue so I can understand the bible. Just give it to me in English for crying out loud, but in this particular case I suppose it is kinda important, so please forgive me. So, “in the Greek” the word “gospel” is translated “good news.” So what is the good news? You know there is a lot of good news throughout the entire bible. The very first sentence in the bible, “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” That’s good news, right? During the exodus Moses led the people of Israel out of captivity in Egypt. That was good news also. Samuel the profit wrote about a little shepherd boy named David killing the Philistine giant Goliath and then going on to become the king of Israel. More good news. An Angel appeared to a young Jewish girl named Mary and told her she was going to be the virgin mother of Jesus, the Jewish messiah. That’s the best news yet. There is more good news in the bible, as they say where I come from, “than you can shake a stick at”. However tonight we’re going to be talking about the good news that saves us from our sins and brings eternal life to all who believe. Believe what? Believe the gospel! So just what is the gospel? Good question. It is our goal tonight that we will all leave here having a crystal clear understanding of what we have to believe in order to have eternal life and live with Jesus in the presence of God forever. What we have to believe today in the church age, the age of grace. In the church today we have a real problem. People don’t know what the gospel is, that we must know, understand, and believe in order to be saved. This is a huge problem and needs to be addressed. We here our pastors and Sunday school teachers talk about the gospel and how we must believe it and share it, all the time. But very seldom do we ever here the gospel explained or broken down were it can be undoubtedly understood. I guess it’s just taken for granted that everyone in church already knows it, so why does it need to be explained. This is a real problem. If we don’t get but one thing right, we need to get right what we have to believe today, in the age of grace, for salvation.

Have you ever had anyone on the street walk up to you and ask you the question, “are you a Christian?” I’m sure everyone in this room would say “yes I am”. And I’m also sure that most of you would go on and tell them “I was saved when I was 15 years old and I’ve been a born again Christian all my life. I hadn’t missed a church service in 40 years that I was physically able to go too”. And that’s great, but, what if they went on to ask you; well, since you’re a Christian, what’s this “gospel thing” I keep hearing about, that a person has to believe, in order to go to heaven when you die? What would you say? What would you tell them? I’m sure I already know the answer to that question. At least I hope I do. But when I think back, before I really started growing in the knowledge of the truth, I’m not sure I could have answered that question correctly because I never heard it explained in a clear precise manor when I was in church, unless I happened to miss that Sunday when our preacher was teaching about it. Also as I look back, I can’t help but wonder was I really saved back then? I thought I was, but I couldn’t tell anybody what the exact, true gospel, that the apostle Paul lays out for us in his letters to the churches in Corinth and Rome, was. So I asked myself, how could I have been saved if I didn’t know what the gospel, I have to believe for salvation, was? That was a good question. And “that was a problem.” And I’m afraid it continues to be a problem in our churches today. I’m sure everyone in this room, if ever confronted with that question, would quote to them 1 Corinthians 15 1-4 right straight out of your bible, or at least tell them about Romans 10:9. But that isn’t the case in the majority of situations today. I know you would quote:

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 NKJV

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

Or you would quote:

Romans 10:9 NKJV

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

These are the two clearest descriptions of the gospel in which we have to believe, in today’s age of grace, that’s in our bible. (You do know there’s more than one gospel recorded in the new testament don’t you?) (Not going there.)

But I’ve found, through simple observation, that the majority of people that confess or claim to be Christians do not know what the gospel of our salvation really is. And again, this is a problem. The gospel of our salvation has been perverted, watered down and confused according to Galatians 1:6-8. The apostle Paul writes:

Galatians 1:6–8 NKJV

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

An unclear gospel hurts our message to the lost world. Getting clear this one thing would improve the church’s chance for getting the lost saved 100%.

What people think saves them will be our biggest challenge to presenting the true gospel. These are things that the majority of people think saves them:

Doing our best in keeping all the commandments.

Accepting Jesus as your personal savior.

Asking Jesus to come into your heart.

Being born again.

While all of these things are wonderful and true, they are not the gospel you have to believe, in order to be saved, according to the bible.

3. What constitutes a perverted gospel ? Or a wrong gospel. Or even a false gospel?

There are 3 components that have to be in every gospel message before it can be considered a complete gospel message. Sin, Jesus, and the cross. It’s considered perverted if it:

Ignores sin. Sin makes salvation necessary. 1 Tim 1:15.

1 Timothy 1:15 NKJV

15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

Excludes Jesus. No Jesus or wrong Jesus. 2 Cor 11:4

2 Corinthians 11:4 NKJV

4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!

Excludes the cross. Leaving out the cross (most common) 1 Cor 1:17. 1 Cor 2:2. Gal 6:14.

1 Corinthians 1:17 NKJV

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

1 Corinthians 2:2 NKJV

2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Galatians 6:14 NKJV

14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Adding works also perverts the gospel. The apostle Paul made it crystal clear that salvation comes by grace, through faith and not by works in Eph 2:8-9. This was the issue in the whole book of Galatians. Gal 2:16. Gal 3:2. Rom 4:5. and Rom 11:6. This is actually one of the hardest tasks mature Christians have in getting new believers to understand.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Galatians 2:16 NKJV

16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Galatians 3:2 NKJV

2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—

Romans 4:5 NKJV

5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

Romans 11:6 NKJV

6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

4. What constitutes a gospel that is wrong ? What will most people say if you ask them how they know that they’ve been saved? Most of them will be wrong. These reasons are wrong due to being watered down, having missing elements, or adding works.

Watered down: God loves me, just believe in Jesus, invite Jesus into your life, knowing God’s love, etc.

Missing Jesus or the cross: Confess your sin, turn from your sin, asking for forgiveness, feeling his presence, repent and be saved, etc.

Adding works: Going to church, doing your best, getting baptized, helping others, cleaning up your act. just doing the next right thing, etc.

I know this will surprise you, but tithing other than giving out of pure joy is considered works. This is why Paul writes in 2 Cor 9:7

2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV

7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Tithing is something preachers in the church today unbiblically teach, because most churches extend themselves beyond what they can afford, to upgrade their facilities, in order to attract more people. They will use verses from the old testament like Leviticus 27 or Malachi 3 that were written to the nation of Israel, under the law, that doesn’t apply to the church, the body of Christ, in the age of grace today. I’m going to stop there on tithing, that is definitely another lesson in itself, for another time.

5. Why is there so much confusion in the church today as to what the gospel really is?

Tolerating wrong doctrine, departing from what scripture says. We have too, as we learned last week, to believe the bible. 2 Tim 3:16.

2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

b. Preachers over simplifying the gospel: Preach the bible. John 3:16 is not the gospel !!!

John 3:16 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

What is the gospel ? 1 Cor 15:1-4

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 NKJV

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

6. Now that we have learned what the true gospel is, are there any of you, like I was, trusting in anything other than what we’ve learned tonight for your salvation? If so, don’t feel bad or be ashamed, welcome to the norm. Settle it right now. If you have any doubt whatsoever, now is the time to get rid of that doubt and trust in the finished work of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, being buried, and on the third day, being raised to life everlasting. Once we have the believing part down, God makes it so easy. I beg you, don’t put it off, it’s so easy. Right where you are just sit and quietly pray a little prayer like this...........