What is the gospel?
"Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.[SUP] [/SUP]For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,"[/1 Corinthians 15:1-4]
Now, the gospel is the 'good news' of the Christ, to all who believe to the saving of their soul. However, the gospel in not 'good news' to those who die in their sins, yea rather, it's the worst news possible, as anyone who stands outside of the gospel of the Christ, stands condemned to an eternal hell. So, we can see that the gospel does not have a universal appeal to it, as many will reject it.
There is a centrality to the gospel as it focuses upon what the Christ did for His ppl. In Matthew 1:21, and angel of the Lord told Joseph, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”[vss 20-21]
The gospel tells man of his own ruin and misery and that their only hope is to place their trust in the Christ. As we all know, we are justified by faith[Romans 5:1], but this faith is not innate in man, but rather a gift of God. We can see verses such as "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ."[Romans 10:17] So, if faith comes from hearing the message, then it is not innate, but rather, it comes from an external Source, that Source being God. Then we can also read "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."[Hebrews 12:2] Again, it is God who pioneers(KJV uses Author) and perfects our faith. To pioneer(author) means they are the one who does it. Then there is also "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."[Romans 12:3] Again, it is God who distributed faith to those in the church of Rome and was not innate in them. So, man just does not conjure up faith, but rather, it is given to them by God.
And who was it that the Christ rose for on the third day? As Paul wrote "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."[Romans 4:25] So, if the Christ rose for everyone, everyone would be justified, and everyone who is justified is saved. But Paul said He rose for our(the believers in proper context) justification, and not for unbelievers.
"Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.[SUP] [/SUP]For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,"[/1 Corinthians 15:1-4]
Now, the gospel is the 'good news' of the Christ, to all who believe to the saving of their soul. However, the gospel in not 'good news' to those who die in their sins, yea rather, it's the worst news possible, as anyone who stands outside of the gospel of the Christ, stands condemned to an eternal hell. So, we can see that the gospel does not have a universal appeal to it, as many will reject it.
There is a centrality to the gospel as it focuses upon what the Christ did for His ppl. In Matthew 1:21, and angel of the Lord told Joseph, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”[vss 20-21]
The gospel tells man of his own ruin and misery and that their only hope is to place their trust in the Christ. As we all know, we are justified by faith[Romans 5:1], but this faith is not innate in man, but rather a gift of God. We can see verses such as "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ."[Romans 10:17] So, if faith comes from hearing the message, then it is not innate, but rather, it comes from an external Source, that Source being God. Then we can also read "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."[Hebrews 12:2] Again, it is God who pioneers(KJV uses Author) and perfects our faith. To pioneer(author) means they are the one who does it. Then there is also "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."[Romans 12:3] Again, it is God who distributed faith to those in the church of Rome and was not innate in them. So, man just does not conjure up faith, but rather, it is given to them by God.
And who was it that the Christ rose for on the third day? As Paul wrote "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."[Romans 4:25] So, if the Christ rose for everyone, everyone would be justified, and everyone who is justified is saved. But Paul said He rose for our(the believers in proper context) justification, and not for unbelievers.
