What is the Gospel? Part 1

This is a three-part blog. Today, the message, tomorrow the meaning and the next day the mission of the Gospel.

The gospel of the grace of God in Christ is the best news that can ever be heard or told but there is a lot of confusion among Christians regarding what it is and does. Many know but can’t exactly put their finger on it. Many think of the Christian life in parts: 1st Gospel (where we come to faith in Christ); 2nd Growth (where we are set apart and make progress in Christ), and 3rd Glory (where we’ll be with Christ forever in heaven). A nice 3-point outline, but following Jesus is not that cut and dried. It's more like a golden chain with different links, interconnected, happening at the same time; like facets of the same diamond. For a long time I thought of the gospel only in terms of what I believed to be saved & what I need to share with others in hopes that they might be saved; and in the process neglected to see its place in my life on an ongoing basis. The gospel is for all of life in Christ, it’s not just the entry point. C.J. Mahaney says, “The gospel isn’t one class among many that you’ll attend during your life as a Christian – the gospel is the whole building that all the classes take place in! Rightly approached, all the topics you’ll study & focus on as a believer will be offered to you ‘within the walls’ of the glorious gospel.” In the context of knowing Jesus the Gospel should saturate everything. There are also many opponents of the gospel. Paul calls them enemies of the cross Phil. 3:18, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. The gospel is so important believers are consistently warned to avoid false teachers. Gal. 1:6-9. Let's just say that getting the gospel right is critical to our life in Christ - applying truth daily and refuting error.

A.W. Tozer said what you think of when you think of God is the most important thing about you. Steve Lawson said what you think of Jesus is the most important thing about you. I would add too that your understanding and grasp of the gospel affects how you relate to God, yourself and others. Get the gospel right and you can live and share it right. Get it wrong and things get tweaked. 1 Corinthians 1:1-11 is a good place to start a study of the gospel.

1 Corinthians was written to people like us struggling internally and externally to free themselves from their own bent towards sin as well as the pollution of a culture bent on immorality. We will see the answer lies primarily in the gospel of the grace of God in Christ. By the time Paul founded the church of Corinth around 50 AD Corinth had been a Roman colony for over a 100 years. It had been a Greek city but was destroyed by Mummius in 146 BC after conflict with Rome. It lay in ruins for 100 years. Julius Caesar made it a Roman colony; the seat of the Roman governor of the province of Achea. It quickly grew larger than Athens. A city rich in culture, its citizens worshipped many gods. Located in the heart of a primary trade route in the ancient world, it had a reputation for immorality, promiscuity and corruption. To Corinthianize something was to ruin it morally. The church struggled with external influences & also began to splinter internally over various issues – basically they were not getting along. As Tim Keller says “All our problems come from a failure to apply the gospel”. Enter Paul with a focus on the centrality of the gospel; its message, meaning and mission.

1. The message of the gospel. What it says, what it communicates (Its explanation). I remind you. The Gospel? Good news! You can be saved from your sin and its ultimate penalty! Preached (proclaimed as fact); Received (accepted as truth); In which you stand (recognized as the basis for acceptance with God); By which you are being saved (initiated at some point in time, but continued as a process of being made right with God, growing and being renewed); Hold fast the word (enduring life as professing believer). Unless of course someone believed in vain. Believing in vain is believing something not in accord with scripture. Possibly only for the benefits offered, or the community acceptance that comes with it; or just not trusting Christ's work but yours, misunderstanding what Christ did and why.

What Are the essential points of the good news God graciously gives in the Bible?
God is Holy. He created and owns everything, including you. Gen. 1:1. God is perfectly holy. Matt. 5:48. God requires your perfect obedience to His law. James 2:10.

Man is Sinful. Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. You have broken God's law. Rom. 3:10; 23. You will pay the eternal penalty for your sin. Rom. 6:23. You cannot save yourself by your good works. Titus 3:5. We are enemies of God and destined to destruction unless someone intervenes for us.

Jesus is Savior. By which you are being saved. Christ came to earth as both God and sinless man. Col. 2:9 in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. Christ demonstrated His love by dying on the cross to pay sin's penalty. Rom. 5:8; 2 Cor. 5:21 Christ rose from the grave and is alive today. 1 Cor.15:4.

Response is needed. You must repent of all that dishonors God. Is. 55:7; Luke 9:23. You must believe in Christ as Lord and Savior, and be willing to follow after Him. Rom. 10:9.

Tomorrow we'll look at the meaning of the Gospel.