What The Gospel Really Is
What The Gospel Really Is
“Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you which you received and on which you have taken stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures , that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve.”
I Corinthians 5: 1 – 5
According To Tim Keller:
“The gospel is not just the ABC’s of the Christian life, the gospel is the A to Z of the Christian life.”
The gospel is not only for unbelievers but after we become believers in Christ , we need the truths of the Gospel. The true and the unadulterated gospel is the firm foundation of a strong Christian life. If we received a false gospel, the Christianity we profess will also be weak and not genuine. The gospel is not just the most important message in history, but it is the only essential message in all of history.
Jerry Bridges says :
“Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experience the joy of living their lives in the light of the gospel.”
The gospel is not to be treated as like a mere insurance policy. The gospel tells deep hard truths about God , ourselves and the world that are necessary for living without being deceived and living with grace.
There are many false notions about the gospel. It is of prime importance that the gospel we are holding on to is the true gospel. Receiving a false gospel will endanger our soul for eternity.
The true gospel is not a gospel of religion. It is not a set of decrees, moral laws, rituals you have to accomplish to be considered righteous by God. The true gospel is not also a gospel of good works you must perform to get the approval of God. The true gospel is not health, wealth gospel that promises prosperity and good health if you will receive JesusChrist. Yes Jesus is a healing God but our physical well being should not be the primary reason why we come to Christ for salvation. The gospel is not also a gospel of success that promises a life of success and satisfaction to those who will come to Christ. If we come to Christ primarily for these reasons, we will not receive the true gospel.
What the gospel really is ?
The gospel is
(1) About our sins.
The gospel is a message about our sins. It tells us how we have fallen short of God’s standard. How we have become guilty, filthy and helpless in sin and now stand under the wrath of God. We must have a complete realization of our sinfulness. We must see ourselves as hopeless vile sinners apart from the mercy and grace of God. Because of our sinfulness we are hellbound. This is the first and foremost reason why we come to Christ more than our need for physical healing or material provision.
2) The gospel is about Christ the Son of the living God and the promised Messiah. W must believe fully in the incarnation of Christ. That He is the Son of the living God and born of a virgin.
3) The gospel is about the death of Christ. We must firmly believe that Christ died for our sins.
4) The gospel is about Christ’s substitutionary death as it is written in Romans 5:8;
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this while we are still sinners Christ died for us.”
We must personally believe that we deserve to die because of our sins but Christ took our place on the cross to spare us from the judgement of God. We must completely transfer all our trust and confidence on Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross as our only means to receive the forgiveness of God from all our sins. For it is written without shedding of the blood there is no forgiveness of sins. We must forsake all things we are trusting for our atonement whatever it is.
5) The gospel is about Christ’s victory signified by his burial and resurrection. We must firmly believe that Christ has risen again. Christ’s resurrection proves the validity of our faith.
The primary author of the gospel is God Himself. We received the message of the gospel from God. This is the message the Lord holds us accountable to preserve, pass on and consider as precious. The gospel gives believers stability and strong foundation in a shaky and slippery world. Holding on to the gospel inspite of unfavorable circumstances of life may befall him, is a characteristic of a true believer
The gospel is not just for salvation it is also for the transformation of believers. The gospel message has the power to transform lives. There can be no true revival without going back to cherish the great gospel truths. The gospel gives the right mindset and attitude for Christian growth. And the true gospel gives God all the glory.
This hub is an excerpt from the message “ Gospel For Believers.”
Preached by Brother Benjie Baclagon
Vesper Worship Service
August 7, 2011
Grace Bible Church
Manila, Philippines
