The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. – Tim Keller
[Disclaimer] In some ways, the reality of the Gospel
can only be experienced, not taught. But a foundation of head knowledge leads
to true heart knowledge. Only by the Regenerating power of the Holy Spirit can
anybody truly understand the Gospel in their heart of hearts. But we are also
called to Preach the Gospel to all nations (Matthew 28, Romans 10), and if we
do not preach the whole Gospel, but only parts of the Gospel, then we aren’t
preaching the Gospel at all (Galatians 1:7). So here is my explanation written
at a McDonalds in Wheaton. As of now, I am 28 years old. It has taken many baby steps, head banging, acts of confession and repentance, and breaking of my spirit to understand the Gospel to this degree. I am also confident that I will continue to
grow in my understanding of the Gospel till the day I die, and I will continue
to rely on the the power of the Gospel daily as though my life depends on it (and it
does) till the day I die.
So what is this Gospel, this “good news” that Apostle Paul
calls the Gospel of the Glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4)? For me, the Gospel
can be broken down into three main points: 1) Who God is, 2) Who we are, and 3)
The Cross.
1) Who God is:
God is God, He who needs no introduction. He is the “I AM.” Elohim. YHWH. (Go google names of God)
God has two overarching attributes: His sovereignty and His mercy. His sovereignty describes everything that makes God indescribable. His character. He is all-mighty, all-powerful, beautiful in His majesty, always in control, and Holy. His is the creator, making everything in this world for the sake of His Glory. All creation testifies to His Glory. He is the judge, overseeing all justice in the world. God is also merciful. He is good. He is the provider of all creation and deeply loves all of creation because He is Love. Most importantly, God is jealous for His own Glory (Isaiah 42:8). We also have fallen short of this Glory, leading us to point 2.
2) Who we are:
For the first time I examined myself with a seriously practical purpose. And there I found what appalled me: a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds. My name was legion. - C.S. Lewis
Christianity is unique because it is the only religion in all of human history to make the claim that humanity is inherently evil. Evil you say? Isn’t that too strong? I understand the connotation with evil as the world sees it, and yeah by their definition most people are “good at heart.” The Biblical definition of Good is anything that promotes human flourishing, and Evil is anything that hinders human flourishing. Let’s look at how the Bible describes us. The Bible calls us all sinners (Romans 3:23). Also if you read the OT carefully, there are many passages and verses that mention the “wicked,” and that is us. But we rarely ever place ourselves in those shoes. We also ought to put ourselves in the place of the Israelites. They were God’s chosen people, yet time and time again they rejected God and pursued after their own idols (I would rather not have to list the numerous verses from Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah here as evidence). We have places ourselves as lord and savior, king and god on the throne in our hearts. We have rejected our Creator God. We have loved ourselves so much, and not just loved God too little, but we have hated God. Romans 5 calls us “helpless,” “sinners,” and “enemies” of God (though most people seem to only remember the “sinners” verse), but it is the status of “enemies” (also referred to in Colossians 1:21) that we need to focus on here. We have rebelled and declared war against the God of the Heavens and the Earth. Not a good plan. So to hate and wage war against God Almighty, decider of what is Good and what is Evil and Provider of all things (Jehovah-Jireh), is the fastest way to hinder human flourishing. Hence we are evil. We are also wicked and sinners.
We have taught ourselves that we are strong, but we are weak creatures. We have dug our own broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13). We have convinced ourselves that we can save ourselves, using our own acts of righteousness to atone for our failures and brokenness. This is known was works-based salvation (better known as Legalism), and is what almost all other religions teach. But the Bible teaches that all our “righteous deeds” better than menstrual rags (Isaiah 64:6 contextual translation), and our pride will lead to our downfall (Proverbs 16:8). We have filled our hearts and our minds with self-glory, our pride, our sin, our wickedness! The result is a spiritually dead person (Ephesians 2:1), a corpse who needs a new body and a new heart. This is the teaching of Total Depravity.
Going back to point 1, since God is Just and jealous
for His own Glory, He must punish those who spurned His Glory. Just as the
punishment fits the crime in our Western society, so much be the case with God
who is Just. No one would praise a judge who, after convicting a mass murderer,
sets the murderer free with only a small reprimand. We have infinitely sinned
against a God of infinite worth, so our punishment must also be infinitely
severe. This is God’s wrath.
But God is Love (1 John 4:8), and through His mercy is where point 3 comes into play.
The infinite value of each human soul is not a Christian doctrine. God did not die for man because of some value He perceived in him. The value of each human soul considered simply in itself, out of relation to God, is zero. As St. Paul writes, to have died for valuable men would have been not divine but merely heroic; but God died for sinners. He loved us not because we were lovable, but because He is love. – C.S. Lewis
But God is Love (1 John 4:8), and through His mercy is where point 3 comes into play.
The infinite value of each human soul is not a Christian doctrine. God did not die for man because of some value He perceived in him. The value of each human soul considered simply in itself, out of relation to God, is zero. As St. Paul writes, to have died for valuable men would have been not divine but merely heroic; but God died for sinners. He loved us not because we were lovable, but because He is love. – C.S. Lewis
3) The Cross
Just as we said before, God is Just and thus must fulfill His wrath upon mankind. But because God is also merciful and Loves us, He seeks for a replacement for that wrath. The only replacement that can satisfy the infinitely severe punishment upon the infinitely wicked humanity is the infinite God Himself. This leads us to the most recited verse John 3:16. Propitiation, also known as Atonement. Jesus is both God and man, the Son of Man. He came to earth and lived a perfect and holy life, and it was credited to Him as righteousness. Then this alien righteousness is imputed onto us through the act known as The Cross, legally giving us the same righteousness and standing as Jesus before God. This act is known as Justification, and the gift of righteousness (sometimes referred to as Christ Himself) is called Grace. Only in the religion of Christianity where the death of the leader is the focal point of the faith. In a way, point 3 really is just point 1 manifested in a way we can understand, and it ties in point 2 because we have to realize two very crucial facts: we all nailed Jesus to the Cross by our sin, but Jesus went freely to the Cross. Knowing the cost of Grace should cause us to fall to our knees in repentance.
“Before
we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as
something done by us.” - John StottJust as we said before, God is Just and thus must fulfill His wrath upon mankind. But because God is also merciful and Loves us, He seeks for a replacement for that wrath. The only replacement that can satisfy the infinitely severe punishment upon the infinitely wicked humanity is the infinite God Himself. This leads us to the most recited verse John 3:16. Propitiation, also known as Atonement. Jesus is both God and man, the Son of Man. He came to earth and lived a perfect and holy life, and it was credited to Him as righteousness. Then this alien righteousness is imputed onto us through the act known as The Cross, legally giving us the same righteousness and standing as Jesus before God. This act is known as Justification, and the gift of righteousness (sometimes referred to as Christ Himself) is called Grace. Only in the religion of Christianity where the death of the leader is the focal point of the faith. In a way, point 3 really is just point 1 manifested in a way we can understand, and it ties in point 2 because we have to realize two very crucial facts: we all nailed Jesus to the Cross by our sin, but Jesus went freely to the Cross. Knowing the cost of Grace should cause us to fall to our knees in repentance.
“As we face the cross, then, we can say to ourselves both, “I did it, my sins sent him there,” and “He did it, his love took him there.”- John Stott
New Beings with New Hearts
We see in 1 Corinthians 6:11, those who were wicked are now justified and sanctified through the Holy Spirit. This is the Doctrine of Regeneration, most personified in Ezekiel 36:26 and Ezekiel 37:1-14. Only by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can we even profess our faith (1 Corinthians 12:3), and only the Holy Spirit can testify on our behalf before God (8:16) that we are His children.
Adoption. Inheritance. Family of God. Betrothed to the Bridegroom. Bride of Christ. Body of Christ, which is the Temple of God, the house of God, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Co-heirs with Christ, and adopted sons of God. Covenantal relationship and intimacy through the lineage of Abraham. Friend of God. A chosen people, a holy nation, and a royal priesthood. Exiles, refugees, and sojourners of this world and citizens of the next. Promise of Glorification. Call to suffer for Glory and Joy. Call to worship and glorify God forever.
Overflow of the Gospel
Greatest commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mission. The greatest love one can show another is to give the greatest gift, which is Christ Himself. Preach the Gospel. Live out the Gospel so others can see Christ who is most important in your life.
We will never outgrow the Gospel. We will need to
preach the Gospel to ourselves everyday so we can become the very image of
Christ. This process is called Sanctification. According to John Calvin,
Sanctification consists of two parts: Vivification (strengthening and
empowerment of the Holy Spirit to live a righteous and godly life) and
Mortification (subjugation of the body, self-denial, spiritual discipline, continuous
repenting and slaying of indwelling sin). Sanctification is not a one-step
deal. At the moment of conversion we will only have the smallest understanding
of just how wicked and broken we are, and just the smallest understanding of
God’s Holiness. But the Power of the Cross will breach this gap, and increase
our heart knowledge of both. This bridge leads us to Godliness (being so
immersed in the Word and in Prayer and Worship and in Action that the image and
power of Christ is so manifested in your life to the World and to the Body) and
Holiness (to be set apart from the from the world and set apart unto God).
Without the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God. But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinner justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free. It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe. It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone. For, he was sold, to buy us back; captive, to deliver us; condemned, to absolve us; he was made a curse for our blessing, [a] sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair; he died for our life; so that by him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal despised, debt canceled, labor lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal. – John Calvin
“We
can put it this way: the man who has faith is the man who is no longer looking
at himself and no longer looking to himself. He no longer looks at anything he
once was. He does not look at what he is now. He does not even look at what he
hopes to be as the result of his own efforts. He looks entirely to the Lord
Jesus Christ and His finished work, and rests on that alone. He has ceased to
say, "Ah yes, I used to commit terrible sins but I have done this and
that." He stops saying that. If he goes on saying that, he has not got
faith. Faith speaks in an entirely different manner and makes a man say,
"Yes I have sinned grievously, I have lived a life of sin, yet I know that
I am a child of God because I am not resting on any righteousness of my own; my
righteousness is in Jesus Christ and God has put that to my account.” - D. Martyn Lloyd-JonesWithout the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God. But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinner justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free. It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe. It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone. For, he was sold, to buy us back; captive, to deliver us; condemned, to absolve us; he was made a curse for our blessing, [a] sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair; he died for our life; so that by him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal despised, debt canceled, labor lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal. – John Calvin
Only a fraction of the present body of professing Christians are solidly appropriating the justifying work of Christ in their lives. Many have so light an apprehension of God’s holiness and of the extent and guilt for their sin that consciously they see little need for justification, although below the surface of their lives they are deeply guilt-ridden and insecure. Many others have a theoretical commitment to this doctrine, but in their day to day existence they rely on their sanctification for justification drawing their assurance of acceptance with God from their sincerity, their past experience of conversion, their recent religious performance or the relative infrequency of their conscious, willful disobedience. Few know enough to start each day with a thoroughgoing stand on Luther’s platform: you are accepted, looking outward in faith and claiming the wholly alien righteousness of Christ as the only ground for acceptance, relaxing in the quality of trust which will produce increasing sanctification as faith is active in love and gratitude. - Richard Lovelace
The Gospel in the Scriptures
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
Hebrews 9:11-14
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Ephesians 2:1-10
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Colossians 2:13-1511 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Ephesians 2:1-10
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the
uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all
our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood
against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of
them, triumphing over them by the cross.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures
Titus 3:5-71 Corinthians 15:1-4
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures
5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had
done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and
renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus
Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might
become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
