Together for the Gospel
Together for the Gospel
The Biblical Importance of Being United In the Good News:
•“Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27). “My beloved & longed-for brethren, my joy & crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved” (Phil. 4:1). “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3-4).
A Simple Biblical Definition of the Gospel:
•“Brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received & in which you stand, by which also you are saved. For I delivered to you first of all that which I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures & that He was buried & that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (I Cor. 15:1-3).
Jesus Christ & His Cross Must Be Central to the Gospel:
•“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord…For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ & Him crucified” (II Cor. 4:5).
The Essentials of a Jesus Christ, Cross-Centered Gospel:
Why the Cross?
•God is holy & man is sinful – “O LORD, who is like You, glorious in holiness? For all have sinned & fallen short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped & all the world may become guilty before God” (Ex. 15:11; Rom. 3:23; 3:11, 19; etc.).
What is Behind the Cross?
•God’s love – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Rom. 5:8; Jn. 3:16; etc.).
What is In the Cross (that is, what are the essentials we must be likeminded in)?
•Salvation is About God’s Glory (that which brings honor & praise to Him) – “In Christ we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of God who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:11; etc.).
•Salvation Is All of Sovereign Grace (that which is independent, autonomous from ourselves as God’s pours out His unmerited favor on us through Jesus Christ) – “Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy & without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:3-6; cf. Jn. 1:12, 16-17; Rom. 5:20-21; Eph. 1:7; 2:7-9; Titus 3:4-6; etc.).
•The Incarnation & Salvation (Jesus Christ was fully God & fully Man – the God-Man, Christ Jesus) – “God, who at various times & in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory & the express image of His Person & upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:1-3; cf. Jn. 10:30; 17:11; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-19;Heb. 2:10, 14-18; 4:15; etc.).
•Effectual Calling (God making good on His choosing us to be saved in eternity past by making us willing to come to Jesus Christ for salvation at a point in time) – “For whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that we might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Rom. 8:29-30). Jesus said - “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him. No one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father” (Jn. 6:44, 65; etc.).
•Regeneration (God the Holy Spirit changing our inner heart spiritually so we can understand the good news & come to Jesus, crying out for mercy) – Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven” (Jn. 3:3). “Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten (caused us to be born again spiritually) us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. God saved us through the washing of regeneration & the renewing of the Holy Spirit” (I Pet. 1:3; Titus 3:5; cf. Eph. 2:1; Col. 1:13; etc.).
•Repentant Faith (Turning from sin & turning to Jesus Christ in trusting belief that only He can save you from your sins) – “Jesus said – ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first & also the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus & believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to Him must believe that He is & that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Matt. 4:17; Rom. 1:16-17; 10:9, 13; Heb. 11:6; cf. Jn. 3:16, 18; 5:24; 6:35, 40; Heb. 11; etc.).
•Imputation - Justification (God accrediting to us Christ’s righteousness thus declaring us to be holy, that is, judicially innocent of our crimes against His holiness on account of Jesus) – “To him who does not work but believes on God who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted (or imputed) for righteousness. God made Christ who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Being justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that is Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just & the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 4:5; II Corth. 5:21; Rom. 3:24-26; cf. Rom. 4:6-8; 5:9, 16, 18-19; Heb. 2:11, etc.).
•Forgiveness of Sins (God removing all our sins – the innumerable debt we owed through Jesus Christ) – “Grace to you & peace from God the Father & our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins. In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. And you, being dead in your trespasses & the uncircumcision of your flesh, God has made alive together with Christ, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us (our law-breaking ways), which was contrary to us. And God has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14; cf. Matt. 18:22-35; Heb. 1:3, etc.).
•Redemption (being bought back, delivered, emancipated, rescued, released from sin on account of the purchase price of Jesus Christ) – “In Christ we have redemption through His blood. Not with the blood of goats or calves, but with His own blood Christ entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:12; cf. Matt. 20:28; Rom. 3:24-25; Heb. 9:13-15; etc.).
•Reconciliation – the Atonement (Christ making peace for us with God through His Cross; our at-one-ment with God through Jesus) – “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. For it pleased the Father that in Christ all the fullness should dwell & by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Christ…..And you, who once were alienated & enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy & blameless & above reproach in His sight.” (Rom. 5:10; II Corth. 5:19; Col. 1:19-22; etc.).
•Propitiation (the appeasement or satisfaction of God’s wrath as He exhausted it on Jesus while He hung on the cross, being made a curse for us as He was punished for every sin we have ever committed in thought, word or deed) – “Being justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (Rom. 3:24-25; I Jn. 4:10; cf. Heb. 4:17; I Jn. 2:2; etc.).
•Substitutionary-Sacrificial Death (Jesus dying the death we deserved as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world – Jn. 1:29) – “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory & honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. Christ is Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Christ was offered to bear the sins of many. We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. This Man (the God-Man, Christ Jesus), after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” (Heb. 2:9; 9:15, 28; 10:10, 12).
•Lordship of Jesus Christ in Salvation (Jesus Christ is not just Savior, but He is Lord, the Master of our lives who deserves our full allegiance) – “Jesus said – ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself & take up his cross & follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will loose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’ Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom who crucified, both Lord & Christ. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus & believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me & I to the world.” (Matt. 16:24-25; Acts 2:36; Rom. 10:9; Gal. 6:14; cf. Matt. 10:37-39; Mk. 8:34-38; Lk. 9:23-26; 14:25-33; Jn. 12:23-26;
•Resurrection (proof that Christ’s salvation work was done, that sin, death & Satan were defeated & that Jesus was God of very God) – “Him (Jesus Christ), being delivered by the determined purpose & foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, having crucified & put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. Concerning God’s Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh & declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead….Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection & the life…..My Father loves Me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have the power to lay it down & I have the power to take it again.’ Christ has the power of an indestructible life.” (Jn. 11:25; Acts 2:23-24; Rom. 1:3-4; Jn. 11:25; 10:17-18; Heb. 4:14-15; 7:16; cf. Acts 2:25-35; I Corth. 15:4, 12-28, etc.).
Simplicity in Sharing the Gospel – The Romans Road
Man is Sinful – God is Holy
•“For all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
What We Should Earn From Our Sin Is Death
•“The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
We Don’t Get What We Have Earned Because the Good News Is God’s Gift of Love to Us through His Son, Jesus Christ
•“But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having been justified (declared righteous) by Christ’s blood, we shall be saved from (God’s) wrath through Jesus. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Rom. 6:23; 5:8-11).
Can We Earn God’s Gift of Love through Jesus Christ?
•We are “justified (declared righteous) freely by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).
So What Must We Do to Receive God’s Gift of Love through Jesus Christ Or the Gift of His Salvation – the Forgiveness of Sins?
•“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus (both Master & Sin-Deliverer) & believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (the resurrection proves Jesus was God’s Son), you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness & with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Jesus will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew & Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’” (Rom. 10:9-13).
Assurance That We Have Received God’s Gift of Love through Jesus Christ by Grace through Faith
•“What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Christ also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died & furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ” (Rom. 8:31-35)?
