THE PURITY OF THE GOSPEL PART 2.

THE PURTY OF THE GOSPEL PART 2.

The gospel is the good news of all that Christ has done and who we are in Christ. It is centred on the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and His ascension into our heart.  In teaching the gospel, we must separate it from other things outside Christ. In the part one of this series, we established what the gospel is not. The gospel is not motivational talk though the gospel has motivation. The gospel is not traditions of men. The gospel is not a message of sorrow and condemnation.  You can click here to read the part one if you have not read it.
Now that we have looked at some few things that the gospel is not, let’s look at what really is the gospel.  What are the facts of the gospel?

SOME KEY FACTS TO NOTE ABOUT THE GOSPEL

1. THE GOSPEL IS CENTRED ON THE DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
It is not just any Good news like motivational talk, it is the Good news of what Christ has done and who we are because of what he has done. The death of Jesus was a means to resurrection unto life. It was to pay for the wages of sin which is death, so we can have the gift of God which is life. Romans 6:23.
John 3
15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that      believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
The essence of Christ Coming is so we can have life. The gospel is concerning having life in Christ Jesus. Rejection of Christ is the rejection of life.   The death of Christ is to pay for sin so we can have life eternal.
2. THE GOSPEL IS THE MESSAGE OF GRACE AND FORGIVENESS OF SIN WHICH IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN CHRIST
Paul said  in
Acts 13: 38  Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
This is the clause of the gospel and this is what the spirit bears witness to. Peter also said in Cornelius house in Acts 10
43  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
44  While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

This is the gospel. THAT IN CHRIST MEN ARE DECLARED NOT GUILTY BEFORE GOD. There is forgiveness of sins only in Christ. This is the gospel.  It is a message of Grace because we didn’t pay for it. Salvation in Christ is by Grace. No one can merit it.  Christ paid the full price for ALL THE SINS OF MANKIND. Only believe and be saved. Any message that speaks against the graciousness of God in Christ can never be the gospel. In the gospel we got to know that Jesus paid the full price for our sins, past, present and future. It is one sacrifice for the eternal forgiveness of mankind. Only believe and receive.  The message we have is that God is not imputing your sins on you. God doesn’t and is not dealing with you according to your actions. This is the gospel.  2 Corinthians 5: 19,
Hebrews 8:12.  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.  God is merciful to your unrighteousness .
He doesn’t remember your sins, in other words He doesn’t deal with you according to your sins.  This is the gospel. It is a news that is extremely good.
3. THE GOSPEL  IS THE MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION
2Corithians 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
God has reconciled man back to himself. The sin virus that separated man from God has been paid for. Anyone that believes this becomes a new creature and is given the ministry of reconciling others. He who gave us the ministry also gave us the message. It is the message of  God not imputing sin on men. Not men not committing sin. We must tell the word that GOD  IS NOT COUNTING THEIR SINS ON THEM. This is the gospel. That is why it is TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE NEWS.
Galatians 1: 6  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: There is the Grace of Christ, and another gospel. GRACE IS THE BALANCE OF EVERY MESSAGE. IF it is not the Grace of Christ it is not the gospel.

4. IT IS THE SAME GOSPEL WE PREACH TO UNBELIEVERS TO GET THEM SAVE, WE ALSO TEACH BELIEVERS TO MAKE THEM GROW.
   1Cor 15:1 quoted above.
Acts 20: 32  And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Observe the scripture above carefully, you will notice it is the WORD OF HIS GRACE, the gospel that builds you up and deliver your inheritance to you.  In the gospel, you learn who you are and what you can do in Christ. In learning you experience who you have already become. We do not preach a different message to Christians. The same message we preach to unbelievers is what we teach believers so they can grow.
Galatians 1:
6  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Paul after he had laboured for the Galatians Church warned them against people who preach not THE gospel. They should be accursed, treated as a cursed thing. We must pay attention to what we preach to Christians.
Any message that does not emphasize what Christ has done and who we are because of what He has done is not and can Never be the gospel.
5. THE GOSPEL IS AN ETERNAL NEWS. It is the same gospel preached in the old testament in coded language that is clearly explained in the epistles. It is not a new message. It was in promissory form in  the scriptures  (Genesis to Malachi). 
Romans1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2  (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
3  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
Observe in verse 2 that THE GOSPEL is promised in the scriptures  (Genesis to Malachi). It was the promise that people believed before Christ coming. Same gospel. It was this message of Christ that was preached to Abraham. Gal 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
This gospel is in the eternal purpose of God which is to have all men in Christ.
6. THE GOSPEL IS CENTRED ON HAVING GOD WITH US. Any message that makes God looks far from you can never be the gospel.  As new creations who have believed the  gospel, we have God so closed to us that we are one with him through His spirit.  How close can that be? The gospel emphasis that Christ has ascended into our heart by His spirit. We are now the habitation of God. He lives in us and lives through us. This is the gospel that God became man to call men up to be like Him.   God being with us is not depended on our actions but it is depended on what Christ has done. Notice in Hebrews 13:5. when He said I will NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU, there was no condition attached. 
7. THE GOSPEL IS NOT IN ANYTHING ANY BODY CAN GET OUTSIDE CHRIST. Many times people get angry when we say Jesus did not die to make us rich. He did not also die to make us poor. Yes, God can lift people up from poverty to riches. Anything Jesus died for is what we received riches automatically when  we got saved. If Jesus died to make us rich, we would have become automatically rich at salvation same way we received forgiveness of sins at salvation.  The gospel must be good news to everybody, the poor and rich. If the gospel is come to Jesus and be rich then what will you tell those who are already rich? You can lay hold of the wisdom you have and the power of God in you to be rich but that is not the essence of salvation. The core of the gospel is that Jesus died for our sins so we can receive the life of God which is the spirit of God.
8. THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
NO Man can ever be saved without hearing the GOOD NEWS OF WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE. Threats and hell fire movies cannot get men saved. The goodness of God leads to repentance. Romans 2:4. GOD IS POWERLESS IN SAVING MEN WITHOUT THE GOSPEL. That is why we must preach it. The gospel does not just have power to save, IT IS THE POWER. Once the gospel is preached men get saved. Give yourself to the preaching of this gospel. God doesn’t preach. He gave us the privilege to preach and translate men from death to Life.  An unpreached gospel is powerless. We must preach this gospel.  It is a privilege that God has given us power to determine who gets saved by preaching.

In summary , the gospel is the message of the graciousness of God in Christ. It is centred on the fact that Christ died for our sins so we can have the Spirit of God which was promised in the old testament.  We  are to keep learning this gospel and keep growing thereby. It is the Only diet we are to feed on. You have not so learnt Christ. You can never exhaust this message. Stay blessed.

BY OBIAZIKWOR EMEKE MODESTY

www.emekemodesty.com

I am sure this blessed you. Do well to share to others so they can also be blessed.

               

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