What Is the Gospel?
Now, what is the Gospel? The Gospel is the good news that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (I Cor 15:3,4). Therefore, based upon this Gospel, which is Christ Himself and all His work, God can be just in delivering a poor sinner who comes to Him in repentance and faith, and God counts all that Christ did as if he, the sinner, had performed it-it is because of Christ’s work and by the power of the Holy Spirit that this deliverance takes place.
Out of free, sovereign grace the sinner is delivered, first, from the condemnation of sin, the penalty of the law, and the wrath of God, in justification. In Isaiah 42:7: Christ was sent “to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Again, Christ speaking in Luke 4:18,19 says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Again in Romans 8:1 we read, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”
Then second, by the power of the true Gospel of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, in salvation there is deliverance from the power of Satan. This gracious truth is brought out in Colossians 1:13 in these words: God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” In Hebrews 2:14 we read that Satan, who had the power of death, has been destroyed for the believer; and that the child of God will never again come under Satan’s power (I John 5:18).
Third, in salvation by the power of the Gospel the sinner is delivered from the power of sin. Listen again to Romans 6:14,18: “Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace...Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Yes, our living God has once for all delivered us from the slave market of sin by the shedding of His own precious blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Yes, redemption is by blood and by power. Christ paid the price by His shed blood, and the Holy Spirit makes deliverance actual to our experience by His power. This is what the Gospel does for us! Therefore we are never again exposed for sale, because we have become children of God, heirs of the Father, joint-heirs with Christ, and our bodies have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is shouting grounds for praise unto our God!
And fourth, the Gospel by its power gives us a new heart and a new nature so we can now serve God and walk in a way we never walked before-in a way of righteousness! He causes us to keep His Word! Oh, glorious thought! All of God’s people have been saved and are safe forever, because of the keeping power of the Holy Spirit who indwells us!
Do you know anything of this gracious Gospel in Christ that sets us free from the power and reign of sin? Or are you deceived by this false gospel of carnal Christianity that comes by free believism and does not deliver from the power nor the reign of sin, and is therefore damning to your soul? Away with such a false gospel! Bring in the true Gospel of the grace of God that comes with its power to break sin in our hearts and lives and causes us to walk in newness of life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment