A Thought from the Word 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 What is the Gospel? 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which 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… The Church is forgetting what the Gospel truly is. We think it’s about fulfilling my “needs” or desires, moralism or a therapy to fix my problems. We preach Jesus as if He is a commodity or we “market” Jesus as if He is there to serve us. While He is there for us in good and bad times and cares for us more than we know, we are, most often, proclaiming a Jesus of a different gospel. In our passage, Paul corrects false doctrine in the church in Corinth. Many denied the resurrection due to pagan influence and false philosophy. Paul opens his discussion on the resurrection in general and Christ’s resurrection with a declaration of the Gospel. Ask a group of people and even professing Christians what the Gospel is and you will get as many answers. That should speak volumes to those who love God, His Word and want people to know and live the truth in love. Our focus is usually on “me” and what it means “to me.” That couldn’t be further from the truth. The Gospel or “good news” is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and naturally, salvation comes by placing your faith into this Jesus who lived, died and physically arose again 3 days later. This is an historic event with a purpose – to reconcile or bring back sinful man to a holy God. It has nothing to do with what I think I need or want. It has everything to do with what God says my true need is, cleansing from and forgiveness for sin. Jesus shed His blood as a sacrifice in my place to satisfy the justice of God and by faith in Him and what He did alone, apart from works like baptism or “good deeds” I can be put back into a right relationship with God and be saved from His wrath and judgment if I reject. The only place we find out what the true Gospel is, is in the Bible. Paul refers to the Scriptures 2 times in these verses, which should tell us something. No marketing plan, canned answers to deep sincere questions in our heart or any man made “technique” will change the human heart. Only the Holy Spirit using the truth of God’s proclaimed word will change the heart of a sinful individual. Only the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes – Romans 1:16. Paul specifically is referring to the Old Testament and prophesies therein. Do you know them? When was the last time you studied an Old Testament book? I don’t mean just reading, which is good, but taking the time to study it in depth. Paul declared the Gospel to those who had believed. Do we believe the true Gospel or one of man’s making, which is no gospel at all? It is only the true Gospel of Jesus Christ that must be declared with the power of the Holy Spirit based on the Word of the Living God only found in the Bible. Do not be deceived, for there are many false gospels in the world, Galatians 1:6-10, but only the good news of the fact of the life, death, burial and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Gospel can save a soul by grace through faith from God’s wrath to come.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 02:20:59 +0000