Bethlehem Church Narsapur AP India

What is the True Gospel?

Bethlehem Church, Narsapur, A. P. India

Rev. B. Israel, Founder, November 17, 2013

Galatians 1:1-10 ESV.

It is a great blessing to be invited to speak here at Bethel Church, the home of Pastor Israel, and the place where so many students, believers and friends have lived and worshipped for so many years. I feel it is the highest personal honor to speak to you today.

In just two short weeks I will again be in the United States, landing in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday evening November 30, where my son Ryan and friends will greet me.

As I say goodbye to you, my many dear friends here, I look forward to seeing my loved ones at home again, to share my joy from India with them.

I was privileged by God to be born in the State of Ohio, USA, in 1945, and grow up in beautiful Ohio, with parents who knew and loved Jesus Christ, and a family of God at First Baptist Church, Lima, Ohio, where God called me to the Christian Ministry in 1961.

I was also greatly blessed to serve several churches as pastor, and given grace to do other Christian works throughout my lifetime. To God be the glory for all these great blessings!!!

Since a young age I loved the Scriptures. God created a hunger in me for the Word of God. This desire for the Word of God gets stronger all the time, as I see its wondrous power to save to the uttermost all who come to God through Christ, even to the ends of the earth.

What is this wondrous power?

What is it that happens when the Word of God is preached in truth, and when God anoints His Word?

We see miracles, signs and wonders. We see prayers answered, villages transformed, families brought from darkness to light, sick bodies healed, churches planted, churches grown, and entire nations blessed with Light and Life eternal. What is this wondrous power of the Word of God?

 

It is The Gospel.

1.       God calls it ‘The Gospel of God’.

a.       Mark 1:14-15 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

b.      Romans 1:1-3 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

c.       1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

2.       The Bible also simply calls it: The Gospel.

a.       Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

b.      1 Corinthians 1:17-18 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

c.       1 Corinthians 15:1-3 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

3.       The Gospel is ‘The Gospel of Your Salvation’.

a.       Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

b.      1 Timothy 1:12 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

c.       Matthew 1:19-21 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived within her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

4.       The Mystery of the Gospel is Christ Himself.

a.       Ephesians 6:18-19 Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth, boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.

b.      Colossians 1:27 To [the saints] God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

c.       1 Timothy 3:16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

d.      John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.

5.       The Gospel is our Gospel, my Gospel. We have received it. It is ours.

a.       1 Thessalonians 1:5 For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction.

b.      2 Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.

6.       The Gospel is an Eternal Gospel.

a.       Revelation 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.

b.      John 6:66-68 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer waked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

c.       Revelation 5:9-10 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. . . . To him who sits on the throng and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.” (13b) 

7.       Is there a ‘Different Gospel’?

a.       Galatians 1:6-7 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting [transpose/exchange] him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different [not of the same nature]  gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort [pervert/turn into the opposite = sunlight to darkness, laughter into grief] the gospel of Christ.

 

Paul, an apostle— not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead — and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed [given to God for destruction with no hope of being redeemed]. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

 

The Gospel has always been under attack. The devil hates the good news that we are loved and saved by God. He tries to force people back under guilt, under the law, under pressure to perform and please God. But we have received mercy and grace. We are loved, forgiven and accepted.

b.      Galatians 3:10-11 For all who rely on works of the Law are under a curse, for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law to do them. Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

c.       Galatians 3:13-14 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” — so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

d.      2 Corinthians 11:3-4 But I am afraid that as the serpent deluded and cheated Eve by his subtlety, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus that the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

8.       We must cling to the True Gospel.

a.       Galatians 1:3-5 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

b.      Luke 24:45-48 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

c.       1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

d.      1 Corinthians 15:2-3 For I delivered to you of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

 

The simplicity of Jesus and His love is greater than all subtlety, lies and deceit. Our hearts are simple and pure in Him.

e.      2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deluded and cheated Eve by his subtlety, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ. [Let us not allow it.]

f.        1 Corinthians 14:20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

9.       We must suffer for the Gospel and contend for the Faith.

a.       2 Timothy 1:8-14 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

b.      Jude 3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

10.   God is faithful, and will keep us to the end, to everlasting life.

Jude 24-25 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.