THE GOSPEL IN TEN WORDS (INTRODUCTION) At the end of World War II millions of soldiers went home to their families. But one man, Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onada, of the Imperial Japanese Army, did not believe the war was over. So for 29 years Lieutenant Onada hid in the jungles of the Philippines and refused to come home. Eventually, the Japanese Government sent Onada‘s former commanding officer into the jungle with orders for him to be relieved of his duty. That was the only time that he agreed to go home. For three decades Lieutenant Onada was engaged in a war that existed only in his mind against an imaginary enemy he both feared and distrusted. This is how some people relate to God. They‘re opposed to God in their minds or they think God is keeping a record of their sins. They have not heard that the war has been won and the Prince of Peace now sits on the throne. Ignorant of this good news and fearful of God, they are striving in the jungles of religion, not sure what God is doing now. They expect him to show up one day, and when he does there will be hell to pay. Why the author wrote this book The author wrote this book for one simple reason: most people haven‘t heard the gospel. Most are unsure of who God is and what He thinks of them. Or perhaps they have heard the good news but they don‘t believe it; it doesn‘t fit in their way of thinking. So they live under a lie. Sadly, even many Christians also don’t know who God is. They say they believe the gospel but the fruit of their lives often reveals a different story. They have no joy. Their mouths aren‘t filled with laughter and their tongues don‘t sing of the great things God has done for them. They are trying to do the right thing and make themselves pleasing to the Lord. They are never sure if they have done enough so they have no peace. They are testifying on Sunday but confessing on Monday. Each time they stumble they promise Jesus they will try harder next time but it‘s no use. They know they are at fault lies and think that they are not working hard enough. They are told they have got to pray more, give more, fast more, bear more fruit. If the above describes you, the problem is not your effort or desire, it‘s your gospel. It‘s contaminated and it‘s making you ill. The gospel is good news. Gospel literally means: good news. It is not gospel if: • It leaves you fearful of an angry and judgmental God. • It leaves you insecure and uncertain, forever wondering, Am I accepted? Am I forgiven? • It demands you to do a lifetime of progressive sanctification and yet offers no guarantee that you will ever make it. Common views about the gospel • The gospel is the word of God—it‘s the scriptures. • It‘s the story of the Savior as told by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. • It‘s the red-letter teachings of Jesus. • It‘s God‘s holy law. • It‘s an invitation to turn from sin and escape hell. None of the above is the gospel. • The scriptures are truth but they are not the gospel. The Bible contains the good news but it also contains much that is not the good news. You should know how to tell the difference. • The accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are called gospels but they are not the gospel. • The red letters of Jesus in the Bible are not the gospel. Everything Jesus said was good but not everything he said was good news. Jesus preached the law to those who lived under the law. We are not under the law but grace (Romans 6:14). We are living under a completely different covenant from the Jews of Jesus‘ day. Words meant for them are not necessarily meant for you. • The law is not the gospel. The law is good and has its proper purpose but it is bad news not good news. The purpose of the law is to reveal sin and condemn the self-righteous. The law diagnoses the problem but does nothing to treat it. It points our need for a Savior. • The exhortation to turn from sin is not the good news. It is an ancient works-oriented message that will leave you sin-focused and introspective. It is not the gospel of grace we find in the New Testament letters. • Finally, the gospel is not an article of faith. It is not something that magically springs to life if you believe in it hard enough. It is neither prophecy nor the fruit of wishful thinking. It is not something that will only become real in the future. • The good news is not the good book, the good law, or the good words of the good Teacher. Neither is it good advice, good instruction, or good wishes. The good news is news—it is the announcement of the glad tidings of a happy God. The gospel is today‘s news, and it is unquestionably good. What really is the gospel? The gospel is the glad and merry news that God is good, he loves you, and he will happily give up everything he has so he can have you. Contrary to popular belief, God is not mad at you. The good news declares that God is happy, he is for you, and he wants to share his life with you forever. The proof of the good news is Jesus’ death and resurrection. On the cross God showed that he loved us while we were sinners and that he would rather die than live without us. And through the resurrection, he proved that nothing—not even death—can separate us from His love for us. Through Jesus, our heavenly Father has joined himself to us, promising never to leave nor forsake us. We stand secure on his unconditional and unbreakable promises to us. The biggest truth in the universe: God loves you and wants to be with you. You will spend eternity enjoying the limitless expressions of his unending love. You live to receive and respond to his divine love. This is the reason for your being. This is the best news you ever heard! The love-gift Grown-up minds find the gospel hard to grasp. It can‘t be that good. There must be a catch. Their minds are full of “buts”. God loves you but … Jesus died for you but … They think God‘s gifts always come with a price tag. Grace must be free or it‘s not grace. Don‘t let anyone charge you for what God has freely given. The gospel that Jesus preached begins like this: ―For God so loved that he gave …‖ The gospel is first and foremost a declaration of love backed up with a gift. It‘s the news about a love gift and the gift is Jesus. Many miss it. Old believers say that the gospel is only for sinners. They claim they have heard it. They claim they are already saved and therefore have no further use for it. But the gospel is for all people, saint and sinner alike! But the angel said to them, ―Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. (Luke 2:10) Salvation is just one of the many benefits of the gospel, but there is more! Jesus is not only the Savior, he is God with us. He is not up there but down here. He is not against us but for us. If he has already given us his Son, what will he withhold from us? He will never leave or abandon us. What relief! What peace! This is green pastures beside still waters. This is home. This is our rest. The gospel is the revelation of God‘s love through Jesus Christ. Whatever your need, your answer is found in Christ alone. He is the Love who loves us and the Grace who helps us in our time of need. o If you are a sinner in need of redemption, see Jesus. o If you are a saint struggling with sin, see Jesus. o If you are oppressed by poverty, you need a revelation of Jesus, who became poor for our sakes so that we might be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9), not a sermon outlining seven steps to prosperity. o If you are facing a storm (whether illness, an addicted son, an unfaithful spouse, depression) and don‘t know the way forward, you need a revelation of the One who silenced the tempest with a word. o If you are looking for a solution to one of the world‘s many problems, Jesus, the author of life has it. Jesus is the first and last word on any and every subject. You can know the Bible from cover to cover and not know the gospel. One can know the gospel only when he reads the written Word through the lens of the Living Word. Then he can see Jesus on every single page of the Bible. It‘s all about him! Spurgeon said this in 1891: “I sometimes wonder that you do not get tired of my preaching, because I do nothing but hammer away on this one nail. I have driven it in up to the head, and I have gone round to the other side to clinch it; but still I keep at it. With me it is, year after year, ―None but Jesus! None but Jesus!‖ Oh, you great saints, if you have outgrown the need of a sinner‘s trust in the Lord Jesus, you have out- grown your sins, but you have also outgrown your grace, and your saintship has ruined you.” The gospel is good news for both saved and unsaved. Only your unbelief can prevent you from benefitting from the gospel and stop you from walking in the love and grace of God. I am not talking about atheism. Unbelief is also found in the church. Christians ask God to do what he‘s already done. They bring sacrifices and offerings Jesus has not asked for. That’s not the way you receive a gift. The gospel is true whether you believe it or not, but it won‘t do you any good unless you believe it. The sole condition for receiving God‘s gift of grace is you have to want it. The sinner must drop his guns and the saint must put down his offerings. Both must come with empty hands and faith-filled hearts to the table of his blessings. Unbelief is the only thing that makes worthless the exceeding riches of God‘s grace. Unbelief prays―God, please do this, and that, and the other thing. Unbelief gives―Lord, look at what I‘ve done/built/brought for you. Unbelief toils and accomplishes nothing. Unbelief tries. On the other hand: Faith looks to the finished work of the cross and says, ―Lord, you have done it all. Faith receives—―Look at what you have done for us. Faith understands that everything comes to us by grace for free. Faith trusts. The short and sweet gospel History‘s greatest preachers have always proclaimed a simple gospel with few words and much power. • Paul brought the kingdom of heaven to the pagan city of Corinth with only a five-word gospel—―Jesus Christ and him crucified‖—backed up with the power of the Holy Spirit. • Peter used only twelve words to declare to his fellow Jews the good news: ―God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.‖ Three thousand believed and were saved the same day. • John had only seven words to proclaim the end of the old covenant and the beginning of the new: ―Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.‖ • And Jesus needed just nine words to reveal himself: ―I am the way, the truth, and the life.‖ There are many different ways of saying the same thing. As long as you are revealing the love of God as personified by Jesus—who he is, what he has done and why—then you are preaching the gospel. The gospel is simple enough for a child to understand. You don‘t need to know Greek or go to seminary or Bible school to get it One of my favorite gospels is this twenty-word line by John Calvin: ―The Son of God became the Son of Man that the sons of men might become the sons of God. Short and sweet! Anna Bartlett Warner have this shorter gospel: ―Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Other examples: Steve from Sydney supplied this short gospel: ―Receive Christ and you will be as clean as he is, as free as he is, and as close as he is to the Father God.‖ Phil from Alabama gave us his ten-word gospel: ―Jesus loves you and God is not mad at you.‖ Miriam from Nebraska gave us this stunning nine-word affirmation: ―In God‘s family forever by his work and power.‖ The power of God is only revealed in the gospel, and we have been called to preach nothing less. The ten words The blessings of the gospel are many but in this book we are going to look at just ten. These ten blessings should not be interpreted as levels or steps or anything like that. Instead, think of them as pearls on a necklace or pictures at an exhibition. They are loops on the theme of Jesus. They are ten revelations of grace that describe the life of every believer, no exceptions. In union with Christ you are loved, forgiven, saved, accepted, holy, righteous, dead to sin, new, and royal. So it‘s The Gospel in Ten Words—not nine, not eleven, but ten. You‘ve heard the ten words of God‘s law; now receive the ten words of his grace. CONCLUSION The gospel is the good news about Jesus. His is the only name by which we can receive forgiveness and acceptance and holiness and all the other manifestations of grace. The gospel changes us. It delivers us from who we were and empowers us to be who we were always meant to be. It does this not by giving us instructions or telling us what to do but by revealing the true nature of God. Let the Holy Spirit gently lead you out of whatever jungle of deception or false belief you may be in and begin to enjoy the wide open grounds of God‘s amazing grace. Whether you are a young sinner or an old saint, as you encounter the grace of God you will come face to face with Jesus himself. Jesus is the Good News!
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 22:18:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015