What is the Gospel?-1 Corinthians 15:2a
“By this gospel you are saved…” (1 Corinthians 15:2a) NIV“…testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”(Acts 20:24b) ESV
Only the gospel can save us (not ourselves, not others, not the church, not even the best of men). Thus, Paul invested his entire life to testify to the gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20:24). In brief, the gospel is God’s grace, and grace is 1-way Love. But our sins, especially of pride and self-sufficiency, make us act like we and others can earn his grace. May God bless you to understand grace.
1. What is the gospel?2. What is grace? (How is the law related?)3. How does grace work between people?
Most Christian pastors/leaders can’t explain their faith (Christian Post 6/3/2010).• The faith of most Christians, even pastors, won’t stand up to intellectual scrutiny.• Pastor’s inability to present biblical truth comprehensively & biblically & relationally has led to children from Christian families leaving the church (70% graduating HS seniors).
Questions Christians couldn’t answer:• How could you be certain Jesus said “I am the truth” & not “one of many truths”?• Why do you see yourself as a Christian?• Why do you believe the Bible is true? (6/4,000 pastors, leaders, parents came close to an intelligent answer.)• Why do you believe Jesus is the Son of God? (95% gave disappointing answers.)• Why is the Bible true & historically reliable?• (It’s “what I believe.” At a conference, someone held up his Bible & said, “Because I believe it,” & was applauded by the audience.) (Is it true because you believe it, or do you believe it because it’s true?)• Josh McDowell said: “We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our children, we owe it to our neighbors, we owe it to the lost, to tell them not just what we believe but why do we believe it.”
What is the gospel? (Rosalba’s survey of 11 people on the campus of UIC on 6/17/2010)• Something done in church, sermon, not sure;• A book, not sure;• Religion, singing, hymns;• Scripture, the Bible (Catholic);• Books of the NT. Written by the apostles (Catholic);• Music, the way, truth, light (Baptist);• Religious group, religious music
What is the gospel?• “Good news” not “good advice.”• 1 Corinthians 15:3,4 “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance…”• Romans 3:23-25 “…for all have sinned… and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood…”• 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become…”• Acts 20:24 “…the gospel of God’s grace.”
What is grace? (How is the law related?)• Ephesians 2:8,9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith…”• Titus 3:5 “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”• Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return.• Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you.• Grace has everything to do with the lover.• Grace is being loved when you are unlovable.• Grace is irrational.• Grace alone achieves what the Law demands.• Grace is 1-way love, Law is 2-way love.
How does grace work between people?• Every man’s default is to the Law/Justice• We want to control, fix & change others• Counter-intuitive• Comes from outside, not from within• Comes only through “death & resurrection”• Division comes from the Law, no grace• Church and community• Prayer & the Holy Spirit
