Thursday, May 3, 2012

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE 'GOSPEL'?

I am deeply concerned about the 'gospel' being the new religious catch phrase like 'born again' was in decades past. So many people, churches and ministries are talking about the gospel but are they talking about the one true gospel?
Some people make the gospel sound like it is free and comfortable when in reality, even though it is a 'gift' (Romans 6:23), it cost Jesus His life and it calls for us to live a truly committed life for Jesus (Philippians 1:27).  Other people put most of the gospel's focus on us instead where it really belongs, which is giving all of the glory to Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:14).
The word 'gospel' should not be used to make us sound like we are in step with the latest spiritual fads.  The word 'gospel' should be used very carefully as we make sure that when we say 'gospel', we really mean what the Bible teaches us instead of using to draw people's attention to our ministries.
Do you know what the 'gospel' really is?

“Here is what I understand the good news to be: the good news is that the one and only God, who is holy, made us in his image to know him. But we sinned and cut ourselves off from him.  In his great love, God became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, thus fulfilling the law himself and taking on himself the punishment for the sins of all those who would ever turn and trust in him. He rose again from the dead, showing that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice and that God’s wrath against us had been exhausted. He now calls us to repent of our sins and to trust in Christ alone for our forgiveness. If we repent of our sins and trust in Christ, we are born again into a new life, an eternal life with God. Now that is good news.”
from  Mark Dever's The Gospel and Personal Evangelism

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