The first topic of discussion is the gospel. What is it?
(Don't forget to include sources.)
Here's our first attempt at a blog forum on Christianity.
If you have a question you want to discuss, you can post it in a comment section and we'll start a new entry.
Do you have favorite Bible resources online or know of any excellent reading material? Let us know so we can share it!
If you have a question you want to discuss, you can post it in a comment section and we'll start a new entry.
Do you have favorite Bible resources online or know of any excellent reading material? Let us know so we can share it!
Posts
4 comments:
Good fundamental question! In one sense, the Gospel is the written account of Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection. It includes the books of the Bible Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each book depicts Jesus' life from different views.
In another sense, the Gospel is news. Good news. The Gospel tells a story. In Genesis, Adam had a perfect relationship with God in the garden. Adam sinned against God (Gen. Ch. 3) which separated man from God. His sin, known as original sin, was a curse for all of mankind. This sin of Adam has affected every human being ever since (Rom. 5: 12-14 and Rom. 3:23). As sinners, we deserve death (Rom. 6:23). However, the Old Testament promised that their would be a savior to redeem God's people from their sin and death. In the Old Testament, God's people looked forward to the coming of Christ. Now, we remember the life of Christ and his sacrifice. For while we were sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8-9 and 1Pet. 3:18). So you see, there is great hope for sinners. We can now be reconciled with God and have a relationship with Him. This reconciliation comes through faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8-9). All who confess their sin before God and believe in their heart will be saved (Rom 10:9).
So, the Gospel is good news! It is the fulfillment of God's promise to save His people. For without Christ's sacrifice, we would still be separated from God.
Like David said, the word gospel means good news. When a Christian refers to "the Gospel" they are referring to the good news of Christ Jesus (again as David said, Jesus' life, death and resurrection).
Rom 1:16 says the gospel is the power of salvation for everyone who believes. 1 Cor 1:17 says salvation doesn't come from eloquent words but from the power of Christ's death on the cross. 2 Cor 4:5 says the gospel is the proclamation of Jesus Christ as Lord.
In sunday school last week the new study we're starting is on evangelism and they passed out a little booklet for us to reference. On the back cover there's an outline of what the gospel is. It says:
A. Grace
1. Heaven is a free gift
2. It is not earned or deserved
B. Man
1. Is a sinner
2. Cannot save himself
C. God
1. is merciful-therefore doesn't want to punish us
2. Is just-therefore must punish sin
D. Christ
1. Who He is-the infinite God-man
2. What he did- He died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for our sins and to purchase a place in heaven for us which He offers as a gift
E. Faith
1. What it is not-
a. mere head knowledge
b. mere temporal faith
2. What it is-
Trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life
Hey! Good comments! Since the Gospel is news, or a message, then it means we have to use words to convey it to others. (Versus only living a good life.) Unless, of course you're talking to cavemen or something and you're able to draw pictures instead. Anyway, I used the Dare2Share GOSPEL acrostic while in Peru (the Spanish version)and still keep it in my Bible even though it's memorized. I had to look up all the verses ahead of time that correspond to each point. It's a really easy way to remember to get all the points.
G- God created man to be with him. (Rev 4:11, PS 144:15b)
O- Our sins separate us from God.
(Isa 59:2, 1 John 1:8-10)
S- Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. (Isa 64:6, Rom 3:12, Eph 2:8-9)
P- Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Rom 6:23, 5:8, 1 Cor 15:3-6)
E- Everyone who trusts in Him has eternal life. (John 3:16 5:24 14:6, Rom 10:9-13)
L- Life that's eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Rev 21:3-4, John 10:28 17:3)
There are some that say that baptism, turning from sin, righteousness, etc are all requirements of salvation and so should be part of the gospel presentation. We'll talk about this in a later post.
Good stuff. So what is the next question, or is someone else suppose to come up with one?
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