The True Gospel

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15 NIV

The Gospel of Christ Jesus is all about our salvation, it is our salvation. It breaks my heart that many do not know Jesus. What is more heartbreaking is that the Gospel of Jesus has been manipulated and twisted by false teachers and heretics. Many people do not have a biblical understanding of the Gospel.

Gospel comes from the Greek word euangelion (ευαγγελιο). Pronounced (yoo-ang-ghel’-ee-on), its Greek meaning is “good news.” The English translation of this word is Gospel. This is the good news of Christ. Many people do not have a biblical understanding of this word. Many think the four books of the gospels are the Gospel. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each wrote a gospel contained in the New Testament. They are a story, a biography of sorts of the life of Jesus Christ. However, that is not “THE” gospel. The Gospel is not a thing it is a person, the person of Jesus Christ, HE IS THE GOOD NEWS! He is the Gospel. The message of Christ and Christ crucified is the Gospel. His rising from the dead in bodily form and ascending into heaven is the Gospel!

I lost touch with a relative over this issue. When he found out I was preaching the word of God in our church and he told me he would love to discuss the “gospel” with me. I immediately said yes and started talking about the Apostle Paul. My relative became very defensive and stated that is not the Gospel. He also said he never felt worthy to read the gospel in church. I said how can you say that Paul does not encompass the gospel when he spread the word of god to all of east Asia? I also told him he was worthy by the blood of Christ and that we are specifically called upon by Jesus to spread the Gospel. I told him I loved him and would still love to talk to him about it another time. I have not heard back from him, and we were fairly close. You see in his mind the gospel was the books. Folks, books do not save! Only Jesus saves and He is that good news. This message of the Gospel, like many used to evangelize, can alienate those not capable of hearing the true Gospel. We cannot tell who can and cannot hear and grasp the Gospel so we must spread the word to everyone. You know who gets it and who does not.

The Doubters and the Misinformed

There are some who look at scripture and question the Gospel. Clearly, they have no concept of the biblical gospel as they openly question it posing questions that reveal the lack of knowledge. For instance one of the common arguments I hear is rooted in Matthew 4:23 ESV “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” The argument is if Jesus were alive how could he preach the gospel? The books of the gospel were not written for another sixty-some-odd years so what was he preaching? The answer is that the "Gospel of the kingdom" is Himself. He was preaching the good news that He was on earth. That He was Emmanuel, “God with us”. That the kingdom of God was present and among the people. He is that Gospel; he is that good news.

The Lie

The distortion of the Gospel comes in many forms but the most common form is the prosperity gospel or the health and wealth gospel. The teachers of this principle teach a false gospel. We were warned of this in 2 Timothy 4:3 ESV where Paul writes “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” That time is now. Society is corrupted and many will not hear the true gospel. The gospel is not there to make you rich. It is not there to keep you from getting sick, it is not there to get you new cars. The gospel is there to save you from the wrath of God, end of the story. It re-establishes your relationship with God. When you become justified through your faith in Jesus Christ. Your sins are erased when you repent before your all-holy God, and you are redeemed.

The Truth

The Gospel is a beautiful thing. It is the culmination of God’s plan of redemption. Jesus loves you so much, that He willingly laid His life down for all of us. He rose again after three days and ascended into heaven defeating death and Satan. He crushed the head of Satan as promised in Genesis 3:15. So the true Gospel is Jesus Christ. On Christ saves not books. We are called to place our faith in Christ and repent of our sins and He will take over for us.

Trust in Him

If you do not know Him please open your heart to Him. Give your life to Him and place Him at the center of it. Your eternal life is waiting for you in Christ. If you already know Him keep Him at the center of your life. Elevate Him above all things. Love Him as He loves you. If you do not know Christ and would like to establish your relationship with Him please reach out to In Messiah. We can help guide you and find a local church for you or another way to worship and find Christian, fellowship.