So in case some of you don't know, this week is a significant week as far as Christian holidays go. Palm Sunday, Good Friday, all leading up to Easter where we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. This week I've also been thinking a lot about the Gospel. So I decided to write these next two blogs as a two-part look at what the Gospel is (Part I) and how to share it (Part II). This is the Gospel as I was taught it.
GOSPEL is a pretty churchy word. According to our good friend Merriam-Webster, it's a Middle-English word meaning "good news," and the meaning of it now is "a message concerning Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation," or "something accepted and promoted as infallible truth, guiding principle or doctrine." I thought that second part was pretty interesting. I don't know which connotation came first, but I think it's neat because to a believer in Christ, the good news is the Truth, infallible and our guiding principle.
This "good news" tells the story of God's creation of mankind, and us (quite pathetically) choosing sin over obedience. From the very beginning, sin has been punishable by eternal separation from God, but there's always been a way out: the perfect sacrifice--the shedding of sinless blood. All of us are sinful, so none of us are able to make that sacrifice. So God did it Himself, in the form of a man: His Son, Jesus Christ. "For everyone has sinned; we fall short God's glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty of our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin" (Romans 3:23-25).
God loved us so much--He always did, in spite of our sinful rejection of Him--that He paid the price for us. "People are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners"....."He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God" (4:5, 25). It wasn't because of anything we did to earn it, but because God LOVED us (He would have done it for you if you were the only person on the whole planet to die for). It cost Jesus a great deal of pain (crucifixion isn't exactly quick and painless) and unity with God the Father for a time, because He took our sin upon Himself. But of course He didn't stay dead. He rose again in triumph over sin and death, and is currently sitting at the right hand of God.
So what does this mean?
First, it means the PRICE HAS BEEN PAID. Jesus took the punishment each and every one of us deserves for our sinful acts. We couldn't have paid it on our own. This is called "grace:" the free and unmerited favor of God, the undeserved divine assistance granted to us. The slate has been wiped clean, the debt erased.
Secondly, this leaves us with the relatively easy part: confession of our sin and acceptance of the gift of salvation. Christ made the sacrifice, but it doesn't do you any good if you're still stubbornly clutching to your sin. You've done wrong, rejected God your own idea of what you want for your life. Confess your sinful nature to God and leave it behind, and then accept Christ's gift, "For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved," but remember, you're not saved because of anything you did, " since it is through God's kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God's grace would not be what it really is--free and undeserved" (Rom 10:9-10; 11:6)...a lot of the Scripture quoted here will come from Romans, because it sums this up very well.
Thirdly, this means that through faith, we have the opportunity to enjoy a relationship with God. Through Christ's sacrifice and this gift of undeserved salvation, the curtain that divided us from the Holy of Holies has been torn. "For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory" (Rom. 8:29-30). This is incredible, that we who were sinful can become like sons and daughters of God. But being made like Jesus, we must LIVE like Jesus! That means leaving behind the sinful life we were rescued from and being made new. "We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know that we will also live with Him" (Rom. 6:6-7). So we've died to sin, and the Holy Spirit which indwells us will give us the power to live like Christ. "But now you are fee from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (6:22-23)
If you're not a believer, you can accept this gift of salvation right now. Just pray and tell God you're sorry for your sins, you believe that Jesus died for you to pay the price you deserved and rose again in victory over death, and that you want a new life in Him. If you are a believer, having accepted this gift already, you must share this good news of salvation with others--which I will discuss in the next post. If you have any questions, you can ask me, or find your local pastor.
"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won't He also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one--for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself. Who then will condemn us? No one--for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble, or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us."
Romans 8:31-37
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