Saturday, November 14, 2009

What Is the Gospel?

It seems like there’s an increasing ignorance on what the gospel is. Recently, the “White Horse Inn” released the results of a survey done in St. Louis, Missouri, at an event held by Franklin Graham. One of the questions was: “Which of the following do you think is the best summary of the Christian Gospel?” 14% felt that it was “God changing me,” 12% answered that it was “Making a decision for Jesus,” and 36% said that it was “Living for God.” This past summer, Emergent guru, and teaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said that we are the gospel.

But, like I said, is this true? The Apostle Paul writes: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

Now, we also read from Romans: “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’" (Romans 3:9-12) Furthermore, because of our sin, we deserve hell.

We all deserve God’s wrath, and our good works certainly won’t save us. But, this is where the good news, the gospel, comes in.

We clearly have references of the coming good news in the Old Testament.

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:1-2)

God states: “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Now, taken in light of the fact that our sin deserves our eternal damnation in hell, this is no small thing that God will blot out our sins. Now, how was this accomplished? Through Christ and His substitutionary atonement for our sins on the cross at Calvary.

This is pointed out in Isaiah 53.

“But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all…. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:5-6 & 10-12)

In the New Testament, we read.

In the context of talking about Abraham, Paul writes: “But the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:23-25)

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified…. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Romans 8:29-30 & 34)

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1st Corinthians 6:9-11)

So, what we can clearly read by Scripture, is that the Gospel is Christ’s atonement on the behalf of those who believe (the elect), to pay for their sins. Now, I say the elect, in full knowledge that we are to preach the gospel to everyone, and in fact, we won’t know the full number of believers until His return.

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