What Is The Gospel?
Two young men were evangelizing in Chicago. They knocked on one door which was answered by a woman. She very obviously was not expecting visitors. One of the men said, “If you put on some (more modest) clothes, we might tell about the gospel”. Notice that they came to her house. She did not seek them out. What is the Gospel?
Some churches identify themselves as Gospel churches. Every week the attendees get a generous dose of:
God rot you miserable cursed sinners! If you don't tithe God will take it out of your hide. You women need to wear something different than you did today. (Aren't you glad men don't have to be holy? Whew!) Cancer and disease will follow you all the days of your life. God will burn your house down if you miss church. All of you people that were late this morning will sizzle in the pit of hell...
Is that the Gospel? The word gospel means “good news”. Now, it is true that the bad news is really bad but the Gospel means the almost too good to be true good news. Is that what we share with people? Hell is real and it is endless. We have to warn people about danger but some people always grin when they talk about hell. It is like they are happy about it. Jesus weeps when He sees the reality of those without His salvation. Do we have His spirit? If so, then we will have His attitude about truth.
What is the Gospel?
Long ago I was a member of a church that had a testimony time on Sunday nights. One night a deacon of the church stood and said that he had just gotten saved.
What? We were all in shock.
He said that when he prayed the sinner's prayer, years ago, he forget to say “...in Jesus' name”.
Silent panic swept through the entire church. No one lost their smile but everyone was thinking, “Did I say the right words? That was 30 years ago.” Everyone was shaken by it. I was a little disturbed also.
A few months later another worker in the church stood up on a Sunday night and announced that he had just gotten saved. Apparently, he had gotten shaken loose by the deacon's story. It worked on him and he decided he really was not saved earlier, either. Now, he said the right words and all was good.
A few months later, the original deacon that started all this stood up again on a Sunday night and announced that he had just gotten born again, again! He had forgotten to say “Amen” at the end of his sinner's prayer a few months earlier. Panic once again swept through the entire congregation. Everyone is doubting the salvation of everyone else as well as their own spiritual condition.
Why did not someone step in and end this insanity? Because this was the foundation that the little church was built upon, to get people to pray the right way and thus become right with God.
Someone told me that a famous Christian teacher said once that if we can get people to talk to God, even if it is less than sincere, it is a good thing. They may not get born again at that moment but if they talk to God, they cannot be the same again. They start a process in motion that may result in them genuinely coming to God some day.
I believe that a “sinner's prayer” can actually help certain people. Someone says, “Certain people? Whatta you talking about? That is the gospel. We gotta get everybody to repeat after me.” No, that is not the gospel. The Gospel is not about what you do. It is about what Jesus did.
3 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: (1Cor 15)
Christ died for our sins
Jesus died as our substitute. He fully took the wrath of God in our place. He suffered the complete wrath of God so that we would not have to.
He was buried
That means He was totally stone-cold dead. He did not faint only to be revived later. He poured out all His blood. Even if a doctor were secretly present in the tomb, he could not have done anything for a corpse.
He rose again the third day
This means that God was fully satisfied with His sacrifice. No sin, past, present, or future, is left undealt with. God pronounces Jesus' work in dying for us as completely sufficient.
How do we connect with this great salvation?
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:15)
This means to trust that, because Jesus died for us, His resurrection from the dead will apply to us as well.
He accomplished so much more than this. He did beyond what is our ability to comprehend. Our part is to forsake all other means of salvation and to cling to Him as our only and more-than-sufficient Savior.
Are you trusting in what you do or in what Christ did for you?
Apr 13, 2024