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The Gospel of God
The Good News
The Bad News |
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The word death in the
passage above means separation. One of the
attributes of God's character is Holiness,
perfect righteousness. It cannot suffer the
presence of unrighteousness, tainted
holiness. For us that is bad news. This
separation is what we owe God (wages)
because of our sin. Our only hope of truly
knowing God is that someone pays the debt of
sin we owe Him. That someone would need to
meet or match the standard of God's
holiness. In spite of such an impossible
standard, there is hope.
“...and He Himself is the propitiation for
our sins.” (1 John 2:2)
Our Hope
Jesus Christ (God Himself, come down, putting on human flesh, living a perfect life in thought and deed) died as the satisfactory payment for our sins! “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) God did for us what we cannot do for ourselves... pay a debt that can only be satisfied by God Himself.
John the Baptist (John
1:15-34) declared that the man coming after
him is more than anyone ever dreamed. He is
the God of the Old Testament—only now he is
man as well as God.
“This is he of whom I said, ‘After me
comes a man who ranks before me, because he
was before me.’” The point is
that John is emphasizing Jesus’ rank. He is
absolutely before John. Jesus is from
eternity. He is the uncreated Creator.
"In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was in the beginning
with God. All things came into being through
Him, and apart from Him nothing came into
being that has come into being. In Him was
life, and the life was the Light of men. The
Light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not comprehend it... And the
Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and
we saw His glory, glory as of the only
begotten from the Father, full of grace and
truth."
(John 1:1-5, 14).
It is about Justice Despite what you may have been taught, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about love. It is motivated by love but it is not about love. Love for Christ, self, and the brethren is evidence that we have received the Gospel but it is not what the Gospel is. The Gospel is about justice – not social justice (feeding the hungry etc) - but true moral justice. You were born rebelling against God and His justice demands death. The good news is that Christ’s death and resurrection has satisfied God’s demand for justice. Receiving this gift, this truth, is evidenced in a faith that repents, turns away from all manner of sin, actively pursues the righteousness that is only found in Christ, and subsequently desires to bring others to Christ – for their sake and God’s glory.
What it is NOT The true Gospel message has been replaced by selling Christianity as satisfying a desire to feel morally superior: to feel as if you stand on the right side of a deeply moral argument. It has become a therapeutic faith that is more focused on surviving the world and measured by personal happiness. That is not the Gospel. It is a lie to assume that because you affirm some of the truth’s presented in the Bible that you automatically possess the things of which the Bible speaks. For example you may agree with the definition of faith found in Hebrews 11, but it is wrong to assume that you already possess such a faith, especially if all of your life choices prove otherwise.
To Conclude… I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:16-21)
The Apostle Paul in the above verses, after providing doctrinal truths about the God who saves, prays for the Ephesians to grasp all that doctrinal truth, internalize it, and live in it. It is the application of truth to our hearts and minds that forms the bridge between right thinking about God and right living with God. Any thoughts about God that are according to our own ideas will leave us dead in our sin and under the penalty of death.
In other words, the
moment you put your faith in Christ, who
died for your sins according to the
Scriptures and rose again, as proof of
eternal life, you can share in all of the
promises of God that are YES in Jesus
Christ! Eternal life is a gift, given by
God, to anyone who will put their trust in
Jesus Christ as Savior. This is called
grace, because God is doing for us something
we don’t deserve - paying a debt we cannot
pay and offering a new life to be lived
forever with Him.
“For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith - and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by
works, so that no one can boast.”
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
In all things we remain yours to answer any questions you might have.
We urge you to think on these things. |
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