Don't Assume The Gospel

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..." (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
 

One of the most dangerous things that a person can possibly do is to assume the gospel. This is why the apostle Paul essentially says to a group of Christians in the city of Corinth, "Let me remind you of that which is of first importance: Jesus died for your sins and was raised on the third day." Many of us would be offended if someone attempted to remind us of such basic Christian doctrine. So, why would the apostle Paul say such a thing? I believe it's because Paul knew that the propensity of the human heart is to wander from the gospel. Oftentimes, we see the gospel as the shallow end of the pool, something from which we graduate as we move into deeper theological waters. But, nothing could be further from the truth. Because our hearts are fickle, we need to be reminded of the gospel often. Assuming the gospel is the first step on the path toward abandoning the gospel. So, let's not assume anything. The remainder of this blog post is of first importance.

The word gospel comes from the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, meaning “good news”. So, the gospel is good news. In order to make sense of why we need to hear good news, we have to understand the bad news. Yet, the Bible doesn’t begin with bad news, so we have to go back to the beginning.

 

The Original Good News

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The original creation was one of beauty and harmony. And, God created man in His own image, after his likeness. Male and female He created them. Man was given dominion by God over all other created things. God originally created man without sin. Man was created to enjoy making much of God forever. This is the original good news.

The Bad News
Rooted in the deception of the serpent and the desire to be like God, our first parents, Adam and Eve, sinned against God. As a result of Adam’s sin, the harmony of the original creation was lost and the rest of humanity is born into an inherited sinful state or condition. Simply put, we are all sinners by nature and choice. Although we remain God’s image-bearers, that image is fractured and in need of restoration. The unregenerate man is totally depraved, spiritually dead, enslaved to sin, guilty before God, unable to remedy his lost condition and restore himself to God. Good works don't work. This is the bad news.

The Good News
God, being rich in mercy and grace and love, sent a substitute. Jesus Christ is the gospel, the good news. Jesus is the hero of human history. The second person of the Trinity, Jesus is eternal God. All things were and are created by him, through him, and for him. Not only are all things created by him. All things are sustained by him. He is the incarnate Word of God who, without ceasing to be God, became flesh and dwelt among man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. He is both fully God and fully man, the God-man. He came on a mission to save sinners.

He lived a sinless life, the life we could never live. He died the death that we deserve to die, in accordance with the Scriptures, as our substitute sin-bearer. Our sins were put upon him and he was punished in our place. In this, he revealed God’s love and preserved God’s justice. And, he didn't stay dead. He rose bodily from the dead, conquering sin and death. In doing so, he revealed that the Father was pleased with his sacrifice and thus accepted the payment for sin in full on our behalf. As the risen Son of God, Jesus Christ now sits at the right hand of God the Father, ruling and reigning as our triumphant, exalted King and interceding to God the Father on our behalf as our perfect High Priest and Advocate until he returns.

Salvation
Man can only be saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus alone. By grace, God has done everything necessary in order to reconcile men to himself and to one another. Those who acknowledge the futility of trusting in their own merits and who turn from themselves and their sin and who turn instead to Jesus, trusting in his perfect life, atoning death, and life-giving resurrection, will be saved. In Jesus Christ, we are not only saved from sin and death, but we are restored to our original purpose, as we enjoy making much of God forever.

Is this good news to you?
More than facts to be understood?
Do you know Jesus?
Do you love Jesus?
Do you worship Jesus?

Jamey Vizzini
Lead Pastor/Planter
CrossPointe Winter Springs