A. THE CONTENT OF THE GOSPEL
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel . . . by which also you are saved . . . For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
1. The gospel is good news.
2. The gospel saves people from sin.
3. Christ died for sins that condemned people.
4. Christ arose from the dead to give resurrection life.
B. THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation . . . for in it the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17).
1. The gospel is powerful to transform people.
2. The gospel declares a person right with God.
3. A person must have faith to be saved.
C. THE PERVERSION OF THE GOSPEL
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you . . . to a different gospel, which is not another (gospel), but there are some who . . . pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven preached any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:6-8).
1. There is a false gospel.
2. It’s hard for some to keep a true gospel focus.
3. There is a constant evil pressure to prevent the gospel.
4. There is judgment for those who preach a false gospel.
D. PERVERTING THE GOSPEL
1. A Liberal Gospel. They have more faith in the world around them than in the gospel revealed in Scripture.
a. Man is basically good, and is the center of the universe.
b. Everyone is going to “heaven” because God is too good to send them to hell. They can take a person out of the slums, but God takes the slums out of a person.
c. Salvation by works, doing the best you can.
d. The problem of inner city poor is lack of money, education, jobs, entitlement.
They get it right that man has great potential and can do exploits for God, but they ignore his sin problem.
2. A Prosperity Gospel. They preach God wants you rich(er).
a. They preach God will give happiness. “Happy Meal gospel.”
b. They preach God is the source of wealth. “Vending Machine gospel.”
c. Faith is giving (money) to God so He can make you rich.
They get it right that God is a loving Father who wants to bless His children, but He also sends discipline to grow us, and the world will persecute us.
3. A Band-Aid Gospel. They preach practical solutions to the problems of people.
a. They give good advice, not the good news, i.e., how to solve problems in marriage, raising children, relationships, work, etc.
b. They deal with surface problems, not sin problems.
They get it right that the ministry of meeting needs to reach people, but tend to forget sin is the root problem of humanity.
4. A Psychotherapy Gospel. They change the thinking of a person to lift him to a better life.
a. Fourfold therapy: (1) symptoms, (2) diagnosis, (3) prescription, (4) treatment.
b. The power of positive thinking, i.e., anger management.
c. The self-willed, obstinate child, i.e., drugs, Valium, Ritalin.
They get it right that healing begins with the mind, but tend to forget Christ can transform thinking and give new desires.
5. The Escapist Gospel. They preach “come out from the world,” be different, be separate.
a. This is the Catholic Monastery, Quakers, Plymouth Brethren, Mennonite, Amish.
b. A passion to escape the corruption of sin, the world, and the new.
c. They forget we are in the world, but not of the world.
They get right the destructive influences of sin, but neglect the Great Commission to embrace lost people to win them to Christ.
6. The Interdenominational Gospel. They disassociate the gospel from the local church, and from the obligation to a biblical local church.
a. Groups perform a narrow ministry that may be overlooked by the church, or a ministry they can do better than a church.
b. They tend to believe in the sufficiency of their ministry, and their superiority over local church ministry.
They get right specific methods in ministry, but neglect the total contribution of a local church and their obligation to it.
7. I don’t have time to deal with the political gospel, the moralistic gospel, the entertainment gospel, the winebibber gospel, the cussing gospel, the syncretism gospel, the television gospel, the Hyper-Calvinist gospel, and the watered down Kool-Aid Gospel.
E. WHEN IS THE GOSPEL RIGHT?
1. When we obey the Great Commission. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
2. When people are won to Christ. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:14).
3. When vibrant local churches win people to Christ and establish many local churches. “Go . . . preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). “Make disciples . . . baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19).
4. When we are obedient to all of the Bible, and only the Bible.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
All PBC lessons are available online at trbc.org/pbc. Go to www.Hopenow.tv for the current program schedule.
Dr. Towns’ email is eltowns@liberty.edu.
Dr. Towns’ web address is www.elmertowns.com.
