An explanation of what the gospel of Jesus Christ is.

Outline

We Need a Savior Because of Our Sin
Jesus Died to Give Us Eternal Life
We Are Saved By Grace
Grace is Not a License to Keep Sinning
Falling From Grace
Can You Lose Your Salvation?

Scriptures:

Ephesians 1:7
1 John 1:8-10
1 Corinthians 15:21-22
2 Corinthians 5:21
Hebrews 9:22
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
Ephesians 2:8-10
Romans 6:1-2
Titus 2:11-14
1 Corinthians 15:10
Galatians 5:2-6

Questions about the Gospel:

Are we saved from Jesus’ death on the cross or His resurrection from the dead?
Why is there an emphasis on the “blood of Jesus”?
Are we saved by faith or are we saved by grace?
What part do works play in our salvation?

Ephesians 1:7

7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

We were redeemed through Jesus’ blood
We were redeemed from our sins
It is because of God’s grace

What Does “Gospel” Mean?

Gospel means good news or good message
The gospel is the good news concerning Christ as the way of salvation
The first 4 books of the New Testament are also known as the gospel because they give details of the life of Jesus.

Our salvation is impacted by:

What we understand the gospel to be
Our trust and confidence in the validity of the gospel
Our belief that the gospel applies to us

We Need a Savior Because of Our Sin

1 John 1:8-10

8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess [acknowledge] our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

We all have sinned in the past
All Christians sin
We need to stay aware that we need a savior
Walking in the Light doesn't mean we're sinless

It means we recognize our sin and the need of a Savior

Confess our sins means to acknowledge or declare our sins

To admit that it is sin
Not to tell it to someone else
It means we don't try to say “oh no that's not a sin”

People aren’t truly saved until they first truly realize that they are lost

We need to realize that we need a savior

The first man, Adam, was created perfect, and without sin. He had the prospect of living forever but lost it by choosing to disobey God. Because Adam sinned He became mortal and eventually had to die. He also lost the intimate relationship he had with God. Adam passed these defects of sin down to his children. If we could live a life of no sin we too could live forever.

God eventually made a covenant with the Jewish nation that He would be their God and they would follow His laws (commandments).

As civilizations were beginning to form people began to realize that they needed laws
The Jews weren’t the only society that had laws
One of the goals of God’s law given to the Jews was that other nations would see how wise and fair these laws were and would want to follow the God of the Jews

For more on this see the section on The Purpose of the Law here:

Jews: Sons of God

The law also showed them that they were were not able to follow the obey them on their own
The Jews believed that those who followed the law were considered righteous and would go to Heaven (the World to Come)
The law showed them that they couldn’t be righteous on their own
It showed them that they needed a savior

Out of compassion for mankind, God sent His Son as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Jesus lived a sin free life and was killed as a sacrifice to pay for all of our sins.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22

21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Adam took us from immortality to death
Jesus restored us to having the ability to live eternally with God

So the first thing we need to do is admit that we do sin and we need a savior

Jesus Died to Give Us Eternal Life

2 Corinthians 5:21

21He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Jesus died in our place

Significance of the Blood

Hebrews 9:22

22And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Death is the penalty for sin.

The law allowed for animals to be sacrificed to atone for the sins that were committed.
When an animal was sacrificed its blood was the atonement for sin.
Jesus’ death atoned for our sins.
Jesus’ blood atoned for our sins

We are saved by Jesus’ death and the blood on the cross that atoned for our sins

Jesus was sacrificed for our sins.

Jesus’ death and His blood saved us

Not by the 3 days in the grave
Not by His resurrection

The Importance of the Resurrection of Christ

1 Corinthians 15:1-5

1Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve.

Paul says that the gospel is:

We are saved from the penalty of death

We are saved from death because we receive eternal life

Christ died for our sins
Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected
Jesus death fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about a coming Messiah

Why is it so important that we know that Jesus died and was then resurrected?

Why does Paul repeat “according to the scriptures”?

The Anticipated Messiah

The concept of the Kingdom of God fully developed between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Jews expected that a Messiah would come and conquer the Romans and return Israel to world dominance. All the nations of the world would be ruled by Israel under the direction of God. Their understanding of a Messiah was that he would be a warrior that would lead this overthrow of the Roman government.

Many Jews believed that Jesus was this Messiah. They saw Jesus as being the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy. When He died at the hands of the Romans the thought of Him being the Messiah was seemingly crushed. The Jews weren’t expecting a Messiah who would die in their place.

The resurrection substantiated the fact that this was a supernatural occurrence

Jesus didn't come as a conquering Messiah
He came as a substitutional sacrifice who died to save us

After the fact, the Jews could see how this was foretold in the scriptures, but it wasn’t understood before it happened

The Apostles showed the Jews how the Old Testament prophesied of a Messiah who would suffer and die in their place
The scriptures prophesied that He would be in the grave for 3 days and then rise again

This is why the message that Jesus died and rose from the dead was central to the Apostles’ teaching.

This is why they emphasized the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus’ resurrection confirmed that it was supernatural, and that He was indeed the Son of God and that He was the promised Messiah

The resurrection was a sign pointing to the actual event of Jesus sacrificial death

Signs pointing to the fact that Jesus was the Messiah

We Are Saved By Grace

Ephesians 2:8-10

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

God has already prepared good works that He expects us to walk in

Grace is a gift from God that He gave to us freely

We can’t do anything to earn salvation
It is God’s grace that saves us
It is grace that keeps us saved
Not following the law
Our faith allows us to access this grace

It is a gift that we don’t deserve

Our good works don’t save us

We have to believe in the gospel in order to be saved

This is what we call “faith”
Faith is believing that the gospel is true and accepting Jesus as your savior
Satan and the demons believe the gospel is true, but they don’t to accept Jesus as their savior

The Christian gospel is unique in that it’s promised reward or goal is not based on your actions or behaviour. Your salvation is solely based on your belief.

Salvation by grace is the central point of the gospel

Salvation is what God did
Grace is why He did it

God’s saving grace is available to everyone

Each person has to respond to this free gift in order to receive it

Grace is Not a License to Keep Sinning

Romans 6:1-2

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

Some would say “well if I sin more then that means I just get more grace”
Grace doesn't give us license to sin
Grace is not a free ticket to sin

Once you accept Christ as your savior you are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts (makes you feel guilty when) you of sin. The Spirit aids you in living in a manner that is pleasing to God.

Titus 2:11-14

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

Once you accept the gospel and accept Jesus as your savior you receive The Holy Spirit which will live inside of you.

The Holy Spirit gives you both:

A desire to do right
The ability to do right

The Holy Spirit allows us to do good works which are pleasing to God

We are not saved from works, but we're saved into good works
We were saved to do good works
These works don't mean just following the Old Testament laws, but also the law of Jesus

It includes loving your neighbor as yourself

Grace doesn't give us permission to sin it gives us the ability to keep from sinning

But we have free will and can behave as we please
Grace doesn’t keep us from sinning
If we’re honest none of us can say that we always have the right thoughts, the right heart, the right motives or the right actions
Although we are always empowered to act morally and in a way pleasing to God, we aren’t always inclined to
We sometimes make a conscious decision not to obey what the Holy Spirit advises us to do
We each have to choose how to respond to the grace we have been given
Grace saves us from the consequences of sin but it doesn't force us to stop sinning

1 Corinthians 15:10

10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Paul says all that he accomplished was done by the grace of God
But then he also says that he worked harder than everyone else
He then says, God’s grace allowed him to do it

Paul was able to accomplish great things because of the grace of God

Because he was empowered with gifts from God
Yet he also states that he worked harder than all the rest of “them”
His decision to work hard played a part in his accomplishment
We have free will and must make a decision to do what the Holy Spirit tells us to do

Example: Steph Curry

God blessed him with talent
In college he would get up at 6 A.M. everyday and hit the gym.
After working out practiced on the basketball court
He disciplines himself to stay between 193-195 lbs because that’s where he plays best
You’ll find most so-called natural athlete superstars work harder than their peers
Yes They have talent, but without putting in the extra effort they might not be the superstars that they are.

Likewise it’s not the grace of God alone that allows us to live a life pleasing to God

Your results depend on your labor

Although God can give someone complete grace in an area

Example:

Cured from alcoholism
Teaching gift = hunger for the truth, a hunger for the Word

We need to work with the grace we were given

Some things may not be appreciated unless you work for them

Some fall away if it was too easy

Example: winning the lottery

We aren’t just learning new behaviours we are being transformed through our spirit by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is gradually transforming us day by day

We can fight against the Spirit or we can walk in agreement with it

Again, though, how much you sin has no bearing on whether or not you are saved.

Falling From Grace

Can we lose grace?

Can we lose our salvation?

Galatians 5:2-6

2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.
3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.
4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

Some people were telling the Galatians that they had to first become Jews to become Christians (by getting circumcised)
Paul tells the Galatians that if they follow the Old Testament law by getting circumcised then they have “fallen from grace”
They would now be under the Jewish laws

According to Paul, falling from grace isn't breaking the law

“Falling from grace” means following the law
Falling from grace is relying on the fact that you follow the law to be saved
We should be relying solely on the grace of God
“Falling from grace” is putting your trust in your own efforts for salvation
Falling from grace is putting your confidence in anything other than the work of Jesus

If you believe anything other than Jesus plays a role in your salvation then you put yourself at risk of losing your salvation

If you believe that it depends on you then you are putting your faith in yourself
Not in Jesus

Can You Lose Your Salvation?

Proper expressions of our faith include:

Repentance
Confessing - acknowledging that you have sinned
Baptism

But these aren’t requirements for salvation.

We need to understand that we don't exchange these things for our salvation

These are how we express our gratitude for our salvation
We don’t lose our salvation and then need to do these things to get it back
Repentance isn't a way to get back into right standing with God
Why are righteous because of Jesus
Jesus made restitution for our sins
Jesus death covered all of the sins before and after we are saved

We don’t need to add works to the work that Jesus did

You won’t lose your salvation based on your works, but you can lose it based on your belief.

You can lose your salvation for instance if you:

Deny Christianity and turn to Islam or Atheism
Or if you deny the gospel and think that your good works can get you into Heaven

Grace is unmerited favor

This means that it is favor that we didn’t earn
We don’t have to do work to get back into right standing with God
Our salvation is based on faith alone
Our salvation is given to us from God through His grace

Conclusion

God created Adam with the intent of having someone with whom he could have a personal relationship. Once that relationship was lost by Adam’s sin, God had a plan to restore His relationship with mankind. The details of that plan were not fully revealed until He sent His Son Jesus to restore that broken relationship.

Jesus’ death on the cross made amends for the sin of Adam, and each of our individual sins. Through accepting Jesus as our saviour we are able to live eternally in Heaven with God.

We can not fully experience God apart from a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. Those who believe the Gospel of Jesus and accept Him as their saviour have access to God through the Holy Spirit which lives within us. The Holy Spirit aids us to live a life pleasing to God. But we must realize that our salvation is not based on whether or not we sin.

Our salvation is based on believing the good news and accepting God’s undeserved gift. We can not earn our salvation. We can never be moral enough or do enough good works to earn our salvation. It is not the case that Jesus did part of the work and now we have to do the rest. We need to put our faith solely in the works of Jesus.

If we believe the correct gospel we can be assured that we are going to Heaven.

It's based on our relationship
Not on our perfection

Presenter: Michael Leadon

References

Kingdom of God

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_God_(Christianity)

Romans 4:9-16 Saved By Grace Alone

https://youtu.be/wXiiHrx6jkg

The Mystery Of The Gospel Pt 1

https://youtu.be/iyJtdbkZ0zA

God's Most Precious Gift

https://youtu.be/rdVBpCgqUNY

Extra Material

Abraham’s Gospel

Genesis 12:1-3

1Now the LORD said to Abram,

“Go forth from your country,

And from your relatives

And from your father’s house,

To the land which I will show you;

2And I will make you a great nation,

And I will bless you,

And make your name great;

And so you shall be a blessing;

3And I will bless those who bless you,

And the one who curses you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Genesis 15:5-6

5And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Galatians 3:6-9

6Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” 9So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

Who is blessed?
All the nations are blessed
But only those in each nation whom have faith

Galatians 3:6-9

Who is blessed?
All the nations are blessed
But only those in each nation whom have faith

Galatians 3:17-18

17What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.

The Resurrection

Romans 1:1-5

1Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,2which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring aboutthe obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,

The resurrection showed that Jesus was the Messiah

God accepted Him
Fulfilled the prophecy

The Eternal Gospel

Revelation 14:6-8

6And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”

8And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

The Mystery

Mark 4:10 - 12

10As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.”

Romans 16:25-26

25Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;

Colossians 1:25-27

25Of this church was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints,27to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Hebrews 3:16 - 4:9

16For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?17And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

Prophecies of a Coming Messiah

For example Isaiah 53 states:

Isaiah 53:4-7

4Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

5But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

6All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

7He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

We Are Made Righteous By Faith

Romans 3:21-26

21But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 1

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

The gospel is that we are made righteous through Christ

Salvation is Available to All

Ephesians 3:1-7

1For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,7of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.

John 3:16-18

16“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. 17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:16 says “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”

Salvation is a free gift that is available to every person who believes in the gospel.

We Are Made Righteous

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice we are declared righteous and can go to Heaven.

Jesus will return and judge all mankind of their sins

Those who accept Him as savior will not be judged
If you don’t believe in Jesus you will be judged for your sins
Believers will be declared righteous

Since Jesus’ death atoned for our sins we will not be judged in the final day of judgment

Or more specifically we will be judged as righteous and therefore worthy to be in Heaven
We aren’t declared righteous because of our good deeds
We are declared righteous because of Jesus’ righteousness
We are declared righteous because of the grace of God
Not because we’ve earned it

Rest

Hebrews 4:1-10

1Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. 2For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

3For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

“AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH,

THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,”

although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.

4For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS”;5and again in this passage, “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.” 6Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,

7He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,

“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,

DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.”

8For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. 9So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

The gospel means you can rest from doing good works
On the 7th day God proclaimed that He didn’t need to do anymore work
Once we are saved we can rest in Jesus because we no longer need to Labor
We no longer need our works to save us

Faith Without Works

James 2:14-26

14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is [dead by its own standards]dead, being by itself.

18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and [f]as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

The works he’s talking about is not following the law
The works he’s talking about is doing the work of God
It is being obedient to God
It is being obedient to the Holy Spirit
If we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit and yet we don’t follow His leading then our faith is “worthless”.

The Value of Grace

The gifts given by God

The Holy Spirit
Spiritual gifts

Teachings, evangelism, prophets,

Spiritual gifts

Heal, speaking in tongues, serving

Grace

Without grace none of the other gifts are possible

The fruit of faith justifies its existence

If we are sinless we can go to Heaven

How to be saved

Live a sin free life
Become sin free through Jesus

Grace produces salvation
Grace produces righteousness

righteousness that was given not earned - in right standing

Grace produces life

It motivates good works
It motivates perseverance
Gives us the desire to not sin

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Saturday, April 21, 2018

Understanding the Gospel