All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
The Gospel
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Permalink Reply by Richard L. Broch, Sr. on
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Greetings Dr. Antony,
The Gospel is the great, glorious news to mankind that is summed up in one verse - John 3:16,"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
Now, to explain what all that means, starts with us (mankind).
When we pass from this life, we would like to live eternally in a blissful state (heaven), rather than eternal anguish (hell).
God says we must pass His standards to get into heaven. The Bible calls it The Law. It starts with the Ten Commandments as a basis of these standards.
Here`s where the grab comes in. NO (repeat- NO) adult human being is, or can be good enough, to measure up to God`s measure of goodness. (Romans 3:23,"For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.").
So, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the sin-debt on the cross, and to be the perfect mediator between mankind and God. The result is that those who believe in Christ as their Lord And Savior, and live their lives according to this belief, are righteous in God`s eyes.
Obviously, that`s putting the Gospel into a nutshell explanation. But here`s an outline from the Bible:
Proverbs 9:10,"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding."
1Corinthians1:30,"But of Him (the Holy Spirit convicting us) are you in Christ, Who has been made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."
And finally, those of us, who have been born again (John3:3) and claimed redemption by the redeeming blood of Christ Jesus, know, that we know, that we know now, we will be spending eternity in heaven. John 3:18,"He that believes on Him (Jesus) is not condemned: but he that does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Grace and Peace.
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Greetings Dr. Antony,
It is obvious that you have received some excellent counsel and answers from my brother and sister, LB and Linda Ruth.
I like LB`s thought of a huge difference between "intellectual assent", and an assent of faith. Faith is key. Ephesians 2:8,"For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: It is the gift of God."
Faith is one of the nine fruit that the Holy Spirit will generate within a Christian, if He is allowed.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:20,"Therefore by their fruits you shall know them."
How important is faith? Let me close with Hebrews 11:6,"But without faith it is imposasible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
Grace and Peace.
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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The Gospel
Jesus’ virgin birth
Perfect life
His death
His resurrection
His glorification
He ascended
>>Most Christians believe that they understand what the Gospel is and that they are now saved. What do you say?
I say what the word says :) If they have repented and believed in Christ they are saved. Salvation is not in a mere confession, but a contrite heart generated by the Holy Spirit.
"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2)
There is no doubt whatsoever that salvation occurs on this earth. May I ask what is the Gospel to you friend?
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Permalink Reply by Michael Vernon McEntire on
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Good concise synopsis of the fundamentals, David. Also, I think that the essential difference between mere knowledge, or assent, on the one hand, and saving faith, on the other hand, is the contrite heart. The devils know that the Word became flesh and lived among us. They know that he was crucified, and raised from the dead. They know he is going to judge them, but their knowledge does them no good because they can't repent. The rebellion will be crushed and the rebels will kneel before Christ the King, but they cannot humble themselves before Christ the Saviour.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Gardener on
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The biggest thing that I look forward to is His coming in full power and glory:
Mat 16:27 For the Son of Man is about to come with His angels in the glory of His Father. And then "He will give reward to each according to his practice." LXX-Psa. 61:13; Pro. 24:12; MT-Psa. 62:12
Act 1:9 And saying these things, as they looked on, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him from their sight.
Act 1:10 And as they were intently looking into the heaven, He having gone, even behold, two men in white clothing stood by them,
Act 1:11 who also said, Men, Galileans, why do you stand looking up to the heaven? This Jesus, the One being taken from you into the heaven, will come in the way you saw Him going into the heaven.
Maranatha!
Blessings
Linda Ruth
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Permalink Reply by ScribeD on
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The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. That's what the Bible says, right? Well, either that's demonstrably true, or it is not. There are some who have done detailed research and provided explanation of the myriad cases of lives transformed.
In my case, I can tell you that God did save me. - and - God is saving me. If I were to give you the facts of how many times and in how many ways that God has delivered me from death, destruction or despair - you would probably not believe me. The truth is that God does transform; in fact, I am of the opinion that nothing else - no one else - can truly transform a sinner.
Yet, these things are insignificant compared to what God has told us he has delivered us from, through the eternal covenant, by the blood of Christ.
Yes, salvation occurs "on this earth" but the fact is that the real salvation is in a realm that is not "on this earth". We cannot fully grasp this fact, because none of us has ever "seen" how perilous our situation is before the judgment of God.
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Greetings Dr. Antony,
More excellent posts from my brothers - David, Michael, and Scribe.
May I also inquire, what do YOU think about these key spiritual matters?
Grace and Peace.
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What Is the Gospel?
by R.C. Sproul
There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the Gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they’re preaching the Gospel to you when they tell you, ‘you can have a purpose to your life’, or that ‘you can have meaning to your life’, or that ‘you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.’ All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don’t get to the heart of the Gospel.
The Gospel is called the ‘good news’ because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and I’m not. And at the end of my life, I’m going to stand before a just and holy God, and I’ll be judged. And I’ll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness – or lack of it – or the righteousness of another. The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for me what I couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.
The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn’t concerned to protect His own integrity. He’s a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising Him from the dead – so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification. So the Gospel is something objective. It is the message of who Jesus is and what He did. And it also has a subjective dimension. How are the benefits of Jesus subjectively appropriated to us? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith – and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him – and in Him alone. You do that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven of all of your sins, and you have begun your pilgrimage for eternity.
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Permalink Reply by Sharon Theresa Theil on
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The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith – and by faith alone.
David,
What do you mean when you say 'justified'; what do you mean by the term 'works'; 'efforts'; 'deeds'...and...
I know I'm going to get cremed for this but....could you please show where in Sacred Scripture the Lord states that we are saved by faith alone?
Sharon.
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You are going to get creamed??
hahaahaha Well at least try to be Crème brûlée that is some good stuff beloved. hahaha
Not by me my sis, I got nothing but love for you, oh and a doctrinal wooping here and there nah nah I am just kidding hahaha
By Malu Fernandez
I was reading an article by Maureen Callahan a few weeks ago in the New York Post about how Oprah Winfrey's weight problem is similar to the economic recession occurring in the United States today. The article stated the similarities of the problems of the economic recession based on Oprah's comments about her weight problems. ? I am embarrassed,? she said. ?All the money and all the fame and all the attention and the glamorous life and the success doesn?t mean one thing if you can?t control your own being. Oprah, best known for being the self-help new age philosophy, hits the heart of America?s recession problem today with her comment. America is one of the world's richest economies and yet it just can’t help itself from screwing up.
The author believes that a lot of those who were victims of the recession or are suffering from poverty rely too much on the self-help and new age philosophies that Oprah herself preaches on TV. To further quote the article: When you have a cycle of hope and aspiration not based on anything, you're due for a crash,? says Steve Salerno, author of SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless.
I used that article to start my response to you because I believe that those who think their works are meritorious or add to their salvation are due for a Crash.
Romans 3:28: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law.
James 2:24: You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Romans 5:9-10. Much more then, having been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Some believe that our salvation is past and future. So we are saved but we will be saved as well. I am not going to get into such an argument for now and only state that we are either saved or not saved.
Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast
Cor. 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the deeds done in the body, whether good or bad.
Rom. 2:6-7: [God] will repay every man according to his works. To those who seek after glory, honor, and immortality by patiently continuing to do good, [he will repay] eternal life.
Gal: 6:8-9: He that sows to the Spirit shall reap everlasting life from the Spirit. Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap [eternal life], if we do not faint.
The above verses are not teaching that is by works and faith that we are saved, but rather that we will be rewarded by the works we do to bring God glory.
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>>What do you mean when you say 'justified'
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he has something in which to boast; but not before God. For what says the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Comes this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his descendants, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they who are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law works wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the descendants; not to those only who are of the law, but to those also who are of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which are not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall your descendants be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body as now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.
(Rom 4:1-25)Love to you my sister and friend.
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James 2
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
The thing to understand here is the state of the question, for the dispute here is not in regards to the cause of justification, but only what avails a profession of faith without works and what opinion we are to form of it. one should not use these verses to teach that we are justified by works. James was not teaching such thing. I hear you saying prove it with the word my brother or are you saying prove it with the word knucklehead hahaha :) OK - ok James tells us that no faith or a dead faith is whithout works. We must ask the Lord's Spirit to enlighten us as we study the word and keep searching for the author's intent and the context in which the verse is coined.
21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did
Please do not be quick to yell victory if you are among those that believe that works partly justify us, when you read “was not Abraham justified/made righteous by what he did, but we must look at the whole chapter familia before we build our conclusions and make a deliberation as to what our beloved God is telling us through James. We have already said that James does not speak here of the cause of justification, or of the manner how men obtain righteousness, and this is plain for everyone I hope; but that his object was only to show that good works are always connected with faith; and, therefore, since he declares that Abraham was justified by works, he is speaking of the proof he gave of his justification.
Some place Paul’s theology at war against James’, but no such war exists. God’s inspired writing is infallible in its original languages and it does not contradict itself. When Paul says that we are justified by faith, he means no other thing than that by faith we are counted righteous before God. But James has quite another thing in view, even to show that he who professes that he has faith, must prove the reality of his faith by his works.
That we may not then fall into that false reasoning which has deceived many, we must take notice of the two fold meaning, of the word justified. Paul means by it the gratuitous imputation of righteousness before the tribunal of God; and James, the manifestation of righteousness by the conduct, and that before men, as we may gather from the preceding words, "Show to me thy faith," etc. In this sense we fully allow that man is justified by works.
What say you beloved?
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