WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?
PHILIPPIANS 1:27
01/10/95
Today our sermon is going to be a little unusual. But seeing as most of you know me as an unusual person, for me to be unusual, is of course not unusual. Therefore the today’s sermon really is not all the unusual, seeing that it comes from a person who is usually usual. Did you get all that?
Today we as we continue our series on Philippians we will not be going forward to verse 29, which would be the next verse, but we are going to go one step back, to verse 27. The reason I am doing this is because I feel that there is a very important word in that verse, a word we read, and hear allot of, but a word that most of cannot define properly.
That word is "gospel". Now you may notice that the word gospel appears twice in this one verse. It appears six times in the first chapter of the book of Philippians, and depending on what translation of the Bible you use, it appears over 100 times in the New Testament.
Now we can see from the frequency which the word is used that it is a very important word, or thought in the New Testament. Now most of us here if asked if we believe in the gospel would say yes, of course. We would say we believe it, we want to see it preached, we as we saw last week should want our conduct to be worthy of the gospel, but we need to ask ourselves the very basic question "What is the Gospel?" Can I tell other what exactly it is.
Most of us would say that the gospel is simply that Christ died for our sins, and when we put our trust in Him we have eternal life. And in it’s simplest form that is certainly what the gospel it. But we need to realize and learn that there are more elements to the Gospel then that. And if we are to preach the gospel and live our life worthy of the Gospel, we need to look at all the Scripture as to state concerning the gospel.
The Greek word from which we get the term gospel literally means, as most of us know, "Good News". Within the Scripture however there are three ways in which this word is basically used. One is the literal sense we just mentioned. It means "Good News". We see scripture speak of the Good news of Jesus Christ, and what He as done for us. However it is also used in the sense that it means to "preach the Good News". This is the term put into action. This is the act of telling one about the work Jesus as done for us. The third way in which it is used means "to preach before hand". That is to tell the "Good news" before the good news actually arrived. As we shall see this refers to the Good News that was presented in the Old Testament before Jesus came to earth.
Now that is how the Greek word is used. Now the English word "Gospel" actually comes from two words, "God- Spell". Spell means story. So the God-spell is the story of how God saved sinners. There is a common mistake that people make in their thinking of the gospel. The gospel is not something we must do, but it is something which God as already done.
Now when most of us thing of the gospel we think of the New Testament. However, we need to realize that the gospel, the good news of how God as saved sinner began in the Old Testament. Look at Genesis 3:15,
Here we see God speaking to serpent after Eve and Adam had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thus committing the first sin.
"And I will put en-mity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
Here we have the first promise of the coming messiah. Here is the first mention of how God will save sinners, the first mention of the Good news.
When we look at the history of Israel we can how God continues to work in His people to being about the Gospel. Abraham, who was born thousands of years before Christ, heard to Good news of Christ.
Galatians 3:8 tells us "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed."
Abraham knew that Gospel. He was told of how God would save sinners. So we see that the gospel had it’s roots way before the New Testament.
Own more example from the Old Testament, though we can see many, many had we the time. Isaiah chapter 53, could you just turn there for a minute, (By the way if any of you do not have a Bible of your own there are some on the back table, please feel free to take one that’s what they are there for.)
Just look at that verse for minute. (Turn to verse read verses 1,4,5,6 11,12c). Look at those verses. I would just encourage you to read those over when you get a chance. Meditate on that chapter, Isaiah 53. In that chapter you can see very plainly the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You can see the story of how God saves sinners. We have the good news there even before it happened.
I would like to note as well that every verse of Isaiah 53 is referred to some place in the New Testament. Every part of that chapter see fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
So the gospel in the general sense is; In the Old Testament we see the coming redeemer, in the New Testament we not only have the redeemer who came, but the redeemer who will come again. Just as we see the fulfillment of the Old Testament in the coming of Jesus Christ, we will see the fulfillment of the New Testament when He comes again.
See we can see that the Gospel has it’s roots in the Old Testaments. Now I would like to turn our attentions to the New Testament. With in the New Testament we not only see the fulfillment of the Gospel, but we all so can see the different element of the gospel. Today I am going to point out six of them, although there are more.
The first element of the Gospel which I would like to point out is it’s author. We have touched on this a little already. But the author of the gospel is God in Christ.
1 Thessalonians 2:9 "For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God."
Later on in the same letter Paul states in;
1 Thessalonians 3:2 "and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith,"
Paul tells us that God is the author of the Gospel, that God the Son Jesus Christ is the author. God is the source of this good news of how He will save sinners. He is the author of how He will give eternal life.
I believe it was Karl Marx who once said the religion, or the believe in God, was created by the government as a means of controlling the masses. Nothing could be further from the truth. Man could not think up a God who is incomprehensible.
The gospel of man is one of works, you be good and you receive a reward. The gospel of God is one of Grace. One where God has done it all. One which we cannot earn our reward, but a reward which has been earned for us. The gospel of God is again the good news of what God as already done for us.
Another element of the Gospel is it’s power. One of my favorite verse in Scripture;
Romans 1:16, which tells us, "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 and also for the Greek."
We see from this verse that the gospel is not simply words, it is not simply a story, but it has within in itself power, the very power of God to bring people top salvation. And there is no greater power then the power of God.
The Greek word for "power" here is the word which we get the English word "dynamite" from. It’s a word that signifies power and might. The gospel as the power to reconcile us to God, to redeem us from our sins, to justify us, to sanctify us, to deliver us for our sins, to give us eternal life. The gospel is the only thing with the this kind of power.
When we thing of dynamite we thing of destruction. I remember a friend of my who once owned a jeep. We would go to the area where they had been building a road, but for some reason they had decided to stop the project. But you could see were they had used dynamite to carve this huge gully through solid rock. You just picture in your mind the destructive force which it took to make the gully. Yet the power of the gospel is greater. And sometimes the power of the gospel has to as to destroy things in our own life, such as our sinful nature;
Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."
Yet it also has the power to create. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
The third element of the Gospel is it’s message which is of course centered in Christ. It thing 1 Cor. 15:1-4 give us a clear picture of what the gospel message is;
"Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you; unless you believed in vain. 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,"
That is the message of the Gospel. That Christ died for us, and the he rose again on the third day according to the Scripture. This is the gospel that we need to believe. This is the message by which we are saved.
To many time people try to add things to this. They say believe and do good works, believe and be baptized, believe and join are group. But Paul adds none of that.
Romans 10:9 "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." That is the simple message of the gospel.
The forth element of the gospel is it’s emphasis which is the grace of God.
Acts 20:24 "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."
The gospel of Christ is the gospel of grace. All emphasis is on the sovereign, unmerited grace of God. If anything is added to it, it become a different gospel. The only true gospel is one of grace. In emphasizing grace we need to realize that the gospel is a closed story, nothing can be added to it. We cannot do anything to make it better. Because, as we noted, God it the author we cannot add to it.
Think of buying a book reading it, and decided you were going to add a chapter, here and cut out a chapter there. Of course we would never think to do that, and if we did the author of the book would not be to happy.
Yet people are very fond of adding things to God’s story, to the gospel. People add all kinds of works. Yet God’s story is one of grace. Salvation is started in God, continues in God, and finished in God. It is grace plus NOTHING.
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace
of Christ, to a different gospel,"
As Paul states, it is either grace plus nothing, or a different gospel.
The fifth element of the gospel which I wish to point out is it’s ambassadors. Paul tells us in; 2 Corinthians 5:20 "Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us:"
We are the ambassadors of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to be living proof of the Gospel. People should see the gospel written in our lives.
There was once a man who came to his pastor and said, "We have some neighbors who believe in a false gospel, do you any literature that I could give to them?
The pastor opened his Bible and turned to 2 Corinthians 3:2, which reads, "You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men." He went on to say, "The best literature in the world is no substitute for your own life.
Let them see Christ in you."
We are walking Gospels. We are living stories of how God can save sinners. We are God’s workmanship, His ambassadors. We are living elements of the gospel.
The sixth and final element that I would like to point out it the appeal of the gospel. The appeal of the gospel it that with out it there is no hope. No hope of redemption, no hope of eternal life, no hope of future joy in the presence of the Lord. Without the gospel of Jesus Christ all is lost, life had no meaning.
Another appeal of the Gospel is that it is a "whosoever believes gospel". A gospel built on faith. A gospel that when faith is removed it is of no use.
John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Hebrews 4:2 "For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it."
There is no profit in the Gospel if not mixed with faith. Faith not only in Jesus, but faith in the work which he did on our behalf, faith in the message of the gospel, that Jesus died for us, and rose on the third day. Faith in the power of the Gospel, that it can redeem us, can justify use, can give us eternal life. Faith in it’s emphases, that it is by the grace of God that we are saved. Faith in the author of this wonderful Gospel, The Lord Jesus Christ himself.
So what have you done with this gospel? Is it something which you say, yes I believe in but perhaps you have never put your faith in it, never trusted in it.
I would like to ask that each one of us would just close their eyes and bow their heads. With every eye closed and every head bowed I would just ask each one of you, have you really accepted gospel. perhaps I have said something here today that you never really considered.
We all need the hope that is in the gospel, the hope of eternal life. If you have never trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and would like the assurance that you will go to heaven would just raise hand. I will not embarrass you in any way, but would just like to speak to you in private, and share with you what you must do to be saved. What you must do to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Just put your hand up, just for a second and then back down again.
Now perhaps you are hear and you do know the Lord as your Saviour. But for some reason or another you don’t feel as though you are ambassador of the Gospel. Perhaps you need to rededicate your life to Christ. In a silent prayer would you do just that. Make a pledge to the Lord that today you will begin to live a live worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ. That today you will begin to be a living gospel, a living story of what God can do for sinners.
LET US JOIN TOGETHER IN PRAYER
