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 2008-04-13 - David Watson - What is the Gospel?: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (10)

What Is The Gospel?

The word gospel literally means “good news.” Let’s examine the good news about Jesus Christ.

1. The story of Jesus.
   1. Jesus prepared people for the transition away from the Old Covenant (Matthew 5:17-18), and began revealing the New Covenant which would offer complete forgiveness of sins!
   2. This was the very reason Jesus came to earth (John 1:29, Luke 19:10), and everything else Jesus said and did was in keeping with this Divine mission.
   3. He chose 12 apostles, taught many, and exposed hypocrisy (Matthew 21:37-45, 23:13-14).
   4. Jesus’ enemies couldn’t deny the miracles He performed (John 9:16, 32-33, Matthew 15:31).
   5. Jesus was crucified, completing the perfect sacrifice for sins (Ephesians 1:7, Acts 20:28).
   6. His resurrection sealed His Lordship and our hope (I Corinthians 6:14, 15:1ff, Acts 2:36).

1. The command of obedient faith.
   1. Salvation is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8), but most do not receive it (Matthew 7:13).
   2. What is the deciding factor? Why do some people receive this free gift and not others?
   3. God’s condition for the gift of salvation is obedience (Matthew 7:21-27, 28:18-20, Acts 10:35, II Corinthians 5:10, Philippians 2:12, Hebrews 5:9, James 2:24).
   4. Therefore, what is faith in Ephesians 2:8? It means faith which spurs one into obedient action (James 2:14-26).
2. The steps to salvation.
   1. The first step is faith.
      1. We must believe the truth about Deity (Acts 2:36, John 8:24, Hebrews 11:6).
      2. Faith develops as a result of God’s Word affecting our hearts (Romans 10:17).
   2. The second step is repentance (Matt. 4:17, Luke 24:46-47, Acts 2:38, 17:30, II Peter 3:9).
      1. Repentance is a decision to turn away from sin and toward God (Matthew 12:41, Jonah 3:5-10) which is prompted by godly sorrow (II Corinthians 7:9-10).
      2. True repentance leads to action (Luke 3:8, Acts 26:20).
   3. The third step is confession.
      1. The Ethiopian was prompted to confess his faith (Acts 8:35-38).
      2. Confession is commanded by God (Romans 10:9-10).
   4. The fourth step is baptism.
      1. Baptism saves us (Mark 16:16, I Peter 3:21), is for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16), makes us partakers of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:12), adds us to the church (I Corinthians 12:13, Colossians 1:18), and clothes us with Christ (Galatians 3:27).
      2. Baptism is urgent (Acts 2:41, 8:36, 16:33, 22:16).
   5. The fifth step is growth and service.
      1. Christians must always try to improve (II Peter 3:18, Hebrews 12:28).
      2. Though one is in a saved relationship with God, he has to maintain it (I Cor. 10:12).