The Gospel

lone-traveler · Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:19 pm Post subject:

Indeed,
That's what it says.

Psa 25:10 All the paths of the LORD [are] mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Very Happy

beloved57 · Show Poodle Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 256

lone-traveler · Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:49 pm Post subject:

2Jo 1:3 Grace be with you, mercy, [and] peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

We have found grace in the eyes of God.

That is Good News!

Jhn 1:14 ¶ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Jhn 1:15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
Jhn 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Act 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

2Cr 8:7 Therefore, as ye abound in every [thing, in] faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and [in] all diligence, and [in] your love to us, [see] that ye abound in this grace also.

Wink

beloved57 · Show Poodle Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 256

colter ask

RND · Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:08 pm Post subject:

beloved57 · Show Poodle Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 256

RND · Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:57 pm Post subject:

beloved57 · Show Poodle Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 256

so, it seems like you believe that keeping rules and commandments is the gospel of jesus christ ! Is that right ?

RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 6817 Location: USA

Essentials of the Gospel
The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Rom. 1:16

The word gospel is derived from the Old English godspell (good spell, or morally excellent words having magical power). Gospel represents the translation of the Greek euangelion, a word that originally meant a reward given a messenger for delivering good news, but later became the Good News itself. It is used more than 75 times in the New Testament with the specific connotation of “good news.” This word is the root of our evangelical.

The gospel is often taken to mean the first four books of the New Testament, but this tradition did not develop until the time of the apostolic fathers. In the Biblical context it represents the Good News of the kingdom of God and salvation through Christ. Jesus preached the gospel of God, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15; cf. Matt. 4:17, 10:7, Lk. 4:43) This is similar to gospel preached by John the Baptist, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2) This gospel of the kingdom of heaven (also referred to as the gospel of God and the gospel of the kingdom of God) was to be preached to the world prior to the consummation of the age: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14) The primary importance of the gospel was emphasized by Jesus when He said, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mk. 8:35)

Following His crucifixion, Jesus gave us our great commission: “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Lk. 24:46-47) Paul’s gospel included the basic facts of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Cor. 15:3-4) The gospel of Paul proclaims the redemptive activity of God through the person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is the gospel of salvation (Eph. 1:13), peace (Eph. 6:15), hope (Col. 1:23), life and immortality (2 Tim. 1:10). The gospel is the word of truth (Col. 1:5) that is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. (Rom. 1:16) The gospel, as an instrument of the Holy Spirit, has the power to convict (1 Thess. 1:5) and to convert (Col. 1:5-6). Though the gospel must be taught with simplicity (1 Cor. 1:17), reducing the core if its message to two or three elements would be at the expense of other essentials.
The Gospel

1. Christ is Lord (Rom. 10:9). Jesus Christ is truly God, and yet is a Person distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit (Jn. 1:1, 14, 5:18, 8:24; Mat. 28:19).
2. All have sinned against God and fall short of His glory (Rom. 3:23). We are dead in our sins (Eph. 2:1-3).
3. God loves us while we are yet sinners (Jn. 3:16, Rom. 5:8).
4. Christ died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3, 1 Jn. 4:14). He assumed a human nature (Jn. 1:14, Rom. 8:3, Phil. 2:6-11) and lived a sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15, 5:9, 7:26, 1 Pet. 1:18-19, 1 Jn. 3:5). At the cross, He provided:a) Atonement (propitiation, reconciliation), a penal substitution, an offering of sacrifice, a price paid (Rom. 5:8-11). The atonement secured the application of:
b) Redemption, the payment of a ransom (Mk. 10:45, Heb. 9:15), “buying back” from the bondage of sin (1 Cor. 6:20, 7:23, Gal. 1:4).
5. Christ was raised on the third day (Rom. 6:4-7, 1 Cor. 15:4, 20-22), and ascended into heaven after forty days (Acts 1:2-3, 9-11, 2:33, 1 Tim. 3:16), and was enthroned at the right hand of God (Mk. 16:9, Eph. 1:20, Heb. 1:3) where He constantly makes intercession for His people (Rom. 8:34, Heb. 9:24, 1 Jn. 2:1) until He returns as Judge (Mat. 24:30-31, 25:31-32, Jn. 5:22, 27, Acts 10:42, 17:31).
6. Regeneration, a new birth (Jn. 3:3, Tit. 3:5) that makes us new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) through the work of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:5-8).
7. Faith (Rom. 3:25, 4:5, 10:9). Saving faith consists not merely of knowledge and belief (Mat. 13:20-21, Ja. 2:19-20) but of trust (2 Cor. 1:9-10), self-surrender (Lk. 9:23, Gal. 2:20), and obedience (Rom. 6:17, 16:25-26). Faith is not a result of our own endeavor, but is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8). Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation (Jn. 14:6, Acts 4:12).a) We are saved by grace, not by works: Faith alone (Rom. 3:28, 4:5 Gal. 2:16).
b) Confess with the tongue Christ as Lord (Rom. 10:9).
8. Repentance (Mat. 4:17, 10:7; Lk. 4:43, 24:46-47, 13:3, 5).True repentance represents a turning to God, a turning from evil, and an intent to serve God (1 Thess. 1:9). It involves the intellectual recognition of sin (Rom. 3:20), an emotional change of feeling for sin committed against a holy and just God (2 Cor. 7:9-10), and a willful turning away from sin (Acts 26:18, 20, 1 Pet. 3:11).
9. Justification, a forensic (i.e. legal) declaration of acquittal that excludes all possibility of condemnation (Rom. 5:1, 19, 8:33-34), providing salvation from the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9). We are justified by grace through faith (Rom. 3:24-25). Justification is by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness: As our sins were reckoned to Christ, so Christ’s righteousness is reckoned to us (Phil. 3:9).
10. Adoption into the family of God (Jn. 1:12, Gal 4:4-7, Eph. 1:13-14, Heb. 9:15), into a union with Christ (Rom. 6:5, 7:4) where we have peace with God (Rom. 5:1) and eternal life (Jn. 3:15).
11. Sanctification [positional], to be set apart, to be made holy. A status conferred not by moral transformation but by the sacrifice of Christ (Heb. 10:10).
12. Progressive sanctification, an ongoing process that conforms us to the image of Christ (Phil. 2:13, 2 Cor. 3:18, Heb. 12:14, 2 Pet. 3:18).
13. Perseverance through divine preservation. God, through the Spirit, secures the final salvation of all true believers (Jn. 6:37-40, 10:28-29, Rom. 8:39-39, Phil. 1:6, 1 Pet. 1:5).
14. Glorification, redemption of the physical body. (Rom. 8:23, 1 Cor. 15:53, 2 Cor. 3:18, Phil. 3:20-21). We will be like Christ (1 Jn. 3:2) and will dwell with Him (Rev. 21:3-4) for eternity (Mat. 25:46).

beloved57 · Show Poodle Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 256

~edited to remove an unnecessary quote~

With all this, you still have not plainly told me what the gospel is ? What is the good news ?

RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 6817 Location: USA

Sorry 57, I thought the post was entirely plain.

beloved57 · Show Poodle Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 256

Colter · Rabid Pit Bull Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 409

The "good news" taught by Jesus of Nazareth, son of man, son of God, incarnate in the flesh was salvation through faith/grace.

Jesus established a new dispensation of grace and forgiveness of sins from a loving and merciful God. The fellowship of believers in the fatherhood of God and consequent brotherhood of all mankind was most often referred to by Jesus as "The kingdom of heaven".

The "Kingdom of heaven", a spiritual fellowship of believers was spoken of by Jesus as a present tense reality.

The "kingdom is within you", God the Father of Christ is the king and spirit born believers are his subjects.

In the life of Christ something hitherto unknown to the world was revealed, We have a creator-brother through whom we pass in our quest for our creator Father.

In the 3 years of Jesus' teaching we learned that there is neither Jew nor Gentile in the eyes of God, we are all Gods children. There is no racially chosen people of distinction. We learned that we are saved by faith not works, we learned that loving service of our brothers and sisters is the great joy of living.

Jesus elevated and expanded the ten commandants to a living truth, one which pervades every aspect of the believers life; law, morals, ethics all are enhanced beyond a set of rules.

In the kingdom, living a "decided life", one committed to seeking and doing the Fathers will, is paramount.

In the 3+ years of the teachings of Jesus he never once, at anytime, anywhere taught human sacrifice. He never implied or indicated that his death on the cross was in some way a debt payment to ransom man from the clutches of the evil one or to change the heart of a changeless God. The gospel of the atonement is utterly foreign to the gospel of Jesus. He "takes away the sin of the world" not by his innocent blood by his gospel of forgiveness which he lived and taught.

We can speak of him a savior or a deliverer but not as a ransom for the sins of others.

When Jesus spoke of his leaving he said that we would benefit not from some horrible death, but the outpouring of the "spirit of truth". As the result of his life with us in the flesh he now dwells in the hearts of all truth seekers, he is here now with us and certainly delighted that we are taking a closer look at what he actually taught.

His death, crucifixion, and resurrection were not the central theme of his teaching, that is the central theme of Christianity, a religion about Jesus, but not necessarily of Jesus.

"The Apostle Paul, in his efforts to bring the teachings of Jesus to the favorable notice of certain groups in his day, wrote many letters of instruction and admonition. Other teachers of Jesus' gospel did likewise, but none of them realized that some of these writings would subsequently be brought together by those who would set them forth as the embodiment of the teachings of Jesus. And so, while so-called Christianity does contain more of the Master's gospel than any other religion, it does also contain much that Jesus did not teach. Aside from the incorporation of many teachings from the Persian mysteries and much of the Greek philosophy into early Christianity, two great mistakes were made:

1. The effort to connect the gospel teaching directly onto the Jewish theology, as illustrated by the Christian doctrines of the atonement--the teaching that Jesus was the sacrificed Son who would satisfy the Father's stern justice and appease the divine wrath. These teachings originated in a praiseworthy effort to make the gospel of the kingdom more acceptable to disbelieving Jews. Though these efforts failed as far as winning the Jews was concerned, they did not fail to confuse and alienate many honest souls in all subsequent generations.

2. The second great blunder of the Master's early followers, and one which all subsequent generations have persisted in perpetuating, was to organize the Christian teaching so completely about the person of Jesus. This overemphasis of the personality of Jesus in the theology of Christianity has worked to obscure his teachings, and all of this has made it increasingly difficult for Jews, Mohammedans, Hindus, and other Eastern religionists to accept the teachings of Jesus. We would not belittle the place of the person of Jesus in a religion which might bear his name, but we would not permit such consideration to eclipse his inspired life or to supplant his saving message: the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man".

Colter

nana · Bear Cub Joined: 01 May 2006 Posts: 625

Greethings Beloved57,

The Good news in the gospels is that Jesus Christ was indeed the savior of the world.

He was the light that lighted everyman that cometh into the world.

He took away the sin of the world.

He was no respector of persons nor was he ever personal. What he did he did for all both Jew and Gentile alike.

If he did not do what he did for the world we would be incapable of loving our brother.

No where does it say that he died for the Christians.

If I believe that he died for the sin of the world (God so loved the world) I will not perish but have everlasting life.

I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and I will not be ashamed at his return.

I am not a filthy sinner. Thank goodness, for God is separate from sinners.

Yes indeed, it is a glorious gospel: The Good News!!!! Very Happy

In Christ, Judy

beloved57 · Show Poodle Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 256

None of you in my opinion has defined what the good news is, that is what christ actually accomplished and for whom he accomplished it. Here is a article written by a gentleman that I endorse of his presentation of what the gospel is. Now to say I endorse this article is not to say that I would endorse everything what an individual believes, but I will agree with that which appears to be congruent with scripture. Here is the article :

The Gospel is about what Christ Has Done
by Brandan Kraft

The Gospel or “good news” about Christ and salvation is not about what He is doing. The Gospel is about what Christ has done. The Gospel comes as an announcement to God’s people that those who believe this message are already part of of God’s kingdom. Those that believe were justified by Christ over 2000 years ago on the cross.
Jn 19:28, (KJV), After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

Jn 19:30, (KJV), When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Heb 9:12, (KJV), Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

1 Cor 15:3-4, (KJV), For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how 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:

That’s all there is to it! It’s a simple message and comes as “glad tidings” (Rom 10:15) to God’s chosen vessels of mercy (Rom 9:23). Christians look back to the cross of Christ for all of their salvation and nothing else. They do not look to any experience or any other event in their lives.

The Apostle Paul warned against anti-christs that would come and pervert this message with false gospels and was even fighting these awful messages during his ministry. Today, the warning of anti-christ has been realized and there are many false gospels. There are generally two prevailing characteristics amongst these false gospels. First, they all use “Gospel language”. Second, they all point to a real benefit of the cross as the basis of salvation. For example, one of the benefits of Christ’s death is the precious gift of faith which is given to Christ’s people for their assurance. It is how they come to rely and know of Christ’s atonement for them. But many people have made it the basis for salvation. Phrases such as: “you must be born again”, “you have to have faith”, “God loves you and wants to save you”, and “accept Christ as your personal savior” are generally dead giveaways that the person using this language is promoting a false gospel.

We must be on guard against confusing our experiences with the message of Christ. It is true that we must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God, but that is not the Gospel. Being born again is a result of Christ’s accomplished salvation – not the cause of it.

I for one take great joy in knowing that salvation is entirely outside of me and rejoice in the alien righteousness of my Lord Jesus Christ. I am content to know that His righteousness is mine simply by God’s Sovereign Grace. This truly is good news.