FUNDAMENTAL GOSPEL AND GREAT SALVATION
At the outset, I praise my Heavenly Father for placing this message in my heart.
Permit me to begin with a question. What is the Gospel? The word gospel derives from the Old English god-spell (rarely godspel), meaning "good news" or "glad tidings". The word Gospel is the shortened form of the word god-spell . It is considered the "good news" because it speaks about Kingdom of Messiah (all His followers are of the Kingdom) , and of redemption through the life and death of Jesus, the central Christian message.
As Christians, if we are asked to define the Gospel Biblically, often our minds (considering the upbringing, I wouldn’t fault anyone) turn to John 3:16 which enshrines the agape love of God the father who gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for the atonement of our sins in order we the sinners are saved from the Holy God’s just wrath against our sins (I Thess 1:10). While on the subject, God hates sin which is lawlessness (1 John 3:4) in His sight. Period. So the price has to be paid. Jesus our Saviour paid the price on the Cross by His indescribable suffering on it. Our Heavenly Father is the Creator of every cell in our bodies, its support system and our eternal spirit and fairness quite naturally demands that we live our lives on His terms (which in ultimate analysis is again aimed at our welfare-His precious Creation) and not ours.
While arriving at the exact definition of the Gospel, it would serve us well to look at what Bible says about the Gospel. Didn’t somebody say that the Golden rule for proper Biblical understanding is “interpret Scripture by using the Scripture”. So how does God-inspired Bible (2 Tim 3:16) itself define the word Gospel? Consider this New Testament Scripture portion culled from I Cor 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. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, THAT HE WAS BURIED, THAT HE WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES,
The emboldened, underlined Scripture portion represents the accurate, Biblical definition of the word Gospel. The entire redemption plan was foretold by the Almighty God through His prophecies recorded in the scriptures lest anyone attribute His Sacrificial death on the Cross and subsequent Glorious redemption to some accident. If Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 describe His atoning work on the Cross then Psalms’ 16:9-11 and 40:1-3 speak about His miraculous resurrection. If anyone (whatever be his/her fallen condition) accepts this truth in his/her heart and confesses the same with his/her mouth, a new life is given to that person (Romans 10:9-10). Without confirmation of this life-transforming experience Baptism ought not to be given by the Church authorities, otherwise it would be reduced to no more than a farcical exercise of making “dry sinner emerge out of the Baptismal waters as the wet hypocrite”.
On the other hand, in genuine cases only the concerned person knows the height and depth of Divine, Blessed joy of salvation (Romans 4:6-8) that enters his/her life, which brings us to the next topic “GREAT SALVATION”.
The Author of the epistle to Hebrews qualifies the word Salvation as great Salvation…
“how shall we escape if we ignore so GREAT A SALVATION?...” – Heb 2:3
In order we glorify our Heavenly Father with ALL our heart, mind and soul let us now focus on what makes Christian Salvation truly Great…
FREE…
Imagine the plight of common folks, if the good Lord had attached a price tag to our Salvation and said (hypothetically speaking that is) “I would guarantee Heaven to only those who give me 10 crore dollars”. This would make only the elite rich such as a Tata a Birla an Ambani or a Bill Gates eligible for salvation. Poor folks such as we would be left in the lurch. But our great and loving Heavenly Father is offering salvation to one and all free of cost. That is why one Biblical Scholar put it creatively when he said “the difference between other religions and Christianity is that while other religions preach salvation based on costly works, only Christianity preaches salvation based on an already accomplished work”. IT (redemption work) IS FINISHED shouted Christ triumphantly on the Cross (John 19:30). We cannot add anything to what the Saviour completed on the Cross nor can we takeaway anything from it. Just believe it in the heart and confess it with our mouth…
OH-SO-CLOSE…
Our mouths would go dry and our hearts would miss many a beat, if the good Lord were to say (hypothetically speaking once again that is) “I would guarantee Heaven only to those who climb Mount Everest or plumb the depths of a Pacific ocean”. Then the only strong and fit like say an Edmund Hillary or Tenzing Norgay would qualify for it. But the Good News with capital G for weak folks like us is “Salvation is as close to us as our own hearts (believe therein that Jesus died for your sins) and our mouths (confess the same with your mouth)”. IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE IT ALREADY, DO IT NOW!!!
ABUNDANT LIFE…
As soon as we receive Jesus as our Saviour, the Redeemer sends Holy Spirit the comforter into our hearts who brings with Him the fruit…
“Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22-23) virtually giving a Christian a foretaste of Heaven right here on Earth. That is why one wise soul put it this way “Christianity is not only about taking a person to Heaven but also about bringing Heaven into that person”. No wonder the Master said “I have come to give life ABUNDANT” (John 10:10).
INDESCRIBABLE PRIVILEGES’…
A sensitive question here please. To the married ladies especially. Does any bride invite herself to a marriage? NO!!! Read Rev 19:9. Who are the “BLESSED ONES” invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb (the Bridegroom Jesus) in which we know the Bride is the Church comprising of all born-again Christians. Certainly the invitees are not the Christians who as THE BRIDE need not be invited to their own marriage. Doubtless the “Blessed ones’” are the Old Testament heroes’ of faith described as the Cloud of witnesses in Heb 12:1. Now some of us may have attended VIP weddings where the Chief Ministers, Governors and sometimes even the Prime Ministers and the Presidents’ may have participated but the moot point is while a wedding can take place without VIPS and VVIPS, CAN ANY MARRIAGE TAKE PLACE WITHOUT THE BRIDE? What a privilege it is to be called the BRIDE OF CHRIST. There is nothing quite like it. No wonder the Saviour says “of all men ever born, none shines more brightly than John the Baptist, yet the least in the Kingdom, would be greater than he” (Luke 7:28).
Besides being the Bride of Christ, if in the OT dispensation, the great Saints built the temple for God then in this era of grace, WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD (1 Cor 3:16). Needless to say, with the privileges’ comes the responsibility of HIGH CALLING…LIVING A LIFE FULLY CONSECRETED TO CHRIST…TRYING TO PLEASE HIM IN EVERYTHING (2 Cor 5:9). Meanwhile, with one accord shall we (all who have believed and confessed publicly the Gospel) along with this unprofitable servant (Yours truly – Luke 17:10) mouth a loud Hallelujah with a thankful heart to the ONLY ONE WHO HAS GIVEN US SO GREAT A SALVATION!!!
(Suresh Manoharan)
