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What is the Gospel

Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by OldRegular, Aug 22, 2005.

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  1. OldRegular

    OldRegular Well-Known Member

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    Ray F. Robbins, former professor of New Testament at the New Orleans Baptist Seminary, writes about the gospel as follows [page 208, Revelation, Three Viewpoints.]:

    “The gospel is not the historical fact of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. That is not good news to a lot of people. The gospel, the good news, is the fact that in this experience of death, burial, and resurrection God has done something for us that we cannot do for ourselves. Left to ourselves alone we can never help ourselves. We are in such a condition that we have got to have help and he has brought the help to us in Christ Jesus. In Christ he has done something for us that we cannot do for ourselves. That is good news. Not just the fact that he lived and was crucified and died and was resurrected. But the fact that I am helpless and hopeless and that God in Christ comes to me and does what I can't do, that's good news. Because if I don't have some help I am forever lost. But it is good news that he comes to me to help me.”

    Herschel Hobbs, former pastor of the First Baptist Church in Oklahoma City and chairman of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message Committee] writes concerning the Gospel [page 120, Revelation, Three Viewpoints.]:

    “We think of the gospel of Christ as ‘good news’, which is right. But note that in Romans 1:16-18 Paul speaks of the gospel as twofold. In it is revealed God's righteousness. But he also says ‘the wrath of God is revealed’. And that's the word orge,, God's abiding opposition to evil. In other words the gospel is not only the good news about salvation from sin; it is also in a sense the bad news about the judgment of God upon the unbeliever. We don't preach a whole gospel unless we preach both.”

    Now note the words of Jesus Christ concerning what some call the good news. Perhaps the most familiar verse of Scripture is John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

    A wonderful message. God the Son died that I might have eternal life. Unfortunately most people and many preachers ignore what follows:

    John 3:17-19
    17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
    18. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
    19. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

    The above passage [John 3:16-19] confirms what both Robbins and Hobbs wrote above.

    To state simply that the Gospel is good news trivializes what Jesus Christ did on the Cross. Although the Bible, particularly the New Testament, is the story of the outworking of the Gospel in time, there is only one definition of the Gospel presented in Scripture. The Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, tells us in Romans 1:16-17:

    16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
    17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
    18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
     
    #1 OldRegular, Aug 22, 2005
  2. DeafPosttrib

    DeafPosttrib New Member

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    OldRegular, AMEN! [​IMG]
     
    #2 DeafPosttrib, Aug 22, 2005
  3. Plain Old Bill

    Plain Old Bill New Member

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    Looks like the makin's of a good sermon to me.Amen
     
    #3 Plain Old Bill, Aug 31, 2005
  4. Marcia

    Marcia Active Member

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    Old Regular, that's a good post.

    A lot of Christians wonder why people reject the gospel. It's because they don't like the fact of being judged for sin, or they don't even believe in sin (I was one of the latter).

    I've also noticed a lot of Christians don't know what we're saved from. If you ask them, they might say we're saved from hell or from the devil (which is not true as he will be suffering, too). What we're really saved from is God's wrath on sin.

    (Also, 1 Thess 5.9)
     
    #4 Marcia, Aug 31, 2005
  5. Aaron

    Aaron Member
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    [​IMG] Dead on.
     
    #5 Aaron, Aug 31, 2005
  6. DeafPosttrib

    DeafPosttrib New Member

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    'Wrath' for what?
     
    #6 DeafPosttrib, Sep 1, 2005
  7. OldRegular

    OldRegular Well-Known Member

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    Marcia

    I agree. Because of sin the unsaved are the objects of God's wrath.

    Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

    Ephesians 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
     
    #7 OldRegular, Sep 5, 2005
  8. RightFromWrong

    RightFromWrong Guest

    RIGHT ON 1st post [​IMG]
     
    #8 RightFromWrong, Sep 6, 2005
  9. rjprince

    rjprince Active Member

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    Funny how the "wrath to come" got completely separated from the "wait for his son from heaven" in the discussion.

    Could this be a little pre-trib evidence right here? Sorry, just could not resist it. Won't try to hijack this thread in that direction so I won't respond to discussion of that here.

    And YES. Great point. What is good news for us is not good news for the lost. But I do not think that a definition of "ta euaggelion" as simply good news trivializes the gospel. Oversimplify, maybe. Trivialize. Never. Besides, "good news" "glad tidings" is the basic meaning of the word!

    Lu 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

    "good tidings" = euaggelion = gospel!
     
    #9 rjprince, Sep 6, 2005
  10. Joseph_Botwinick

    Joseph_Botwinick <img src=/532.jpg>Banned

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    A lot of good things in this thread. [​IMG]

    Joseph Botwinick
     
    #10 Joseph_Botwinick, Sep 6, 2005
  11. El_Guero

    El_Guero New Member

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    OldRegular

    I like it!
     
    #11 El_Guero, Sep 6, 2005
  12. Brother Ian

    Brother Ian Active Member

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    I think it is good news because the Gospel allows people to accept thedeath, burial, and resurrection so they can be saved.

    I think people think the Gospel is offensive because it shows them they need Someone besides themselves to pay the price for their sin. It's a pride issue.
     
    #12 Brother Ian, Sep 8, 2005
  13. rjprince

    rjprince Active Member

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    Just cannot help but note that Jesus told the twelve not to preach the gospel that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" to Samaritans or Gentiles. This was a message for the Jews only. After His death, burial, and resurrection He told them to preach the gospel of salvation to "every creature" and "all nations"

    Matt 10:1-7 ; Mark 16:15; Matt 28:19
     
    #13 rjprince, Sep 12, 2005
  14. OldRegular

    OldRegular Well-Known Member

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    Who was Jesus Christ preaching to in John 4?
     
    #14 OldRegular, Sep 13, 2005
  15. rjprince

    rjprince Active Member

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    Jesus preached to the Samaritans who accepted Him as Messiah and "Saviour of the world". There is nothing in this context to indicate that they had any concept of His coming death, burial and resurrection. These were OT saints, not NT believers in the Gospel of the Cross.

    BTW, Jesus also ministered to a few Gentiles. This does not change the fact that He told the twelve to only go to Israel and specifically told them not to go to the Samaritans or Gentiles.
     
    #15 rjprince, Sep 13, 2005
  16. OldRegular

    OldRegular Well-Known Member

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    There is one Gospel. To say otherwise, paraphrasing the Apostle Paul, is heresy!
     
    #16 OldRegular, Sep 14, 2005
  17. JackRUS

    JackRUS New Member

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    OldRegular.
    Your quote...
    ...is right on the money. I was telling folks at prayer meeting last night that you must get someome lost before you can get them saved. Most people think that they are going to be O.K. before the Lord on Judgement Day just the way they are.
     
    #17 JackRUS, Sep 16, 2005
  18. OldRegular

    OldRegular Well-Known Member

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    JackRUS

    Well Said!
     
    #18 OldRegular, Sep 17, 2005
  19. rjprince

    rjprince Active Member

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    OR,

    Yep, you gotta paraphrase the "one gospel" thing -- because it is not in the Bible like that. In fact it is not in the Bible at all. There are only three places that have the words "one" and "gospel" in the same verse, and they do not say what you suggested (Luke 20:1; Rom 1:16; and Phlp 1:27).

    Paul says if someone preached a gospel of works instead of grace, that is another different (heteros) gospel and that is an accursed message (Gal 1:6-9). Perhaps that was your allusion, or maybe I should say illusion?

    Paul defines the gospel that he preached as the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (1Cor 15:1-4). I challenge you to show me someone who was saved by believing that message in the Gospels.

    The thief on the cross, he believed in Jesus, but not the death, burial, and resurrection. Nicodemus, perhaps? Again, he believed in Jesus, but not the death, burial, and resurrection.

    In fact, it took a personal appearance of the Lord Jesus before the 12 (actually 11 at that time) believed in the resurrection!

    Luke 24:9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.

    Peter did not accept the idea of a crucifixion and none of them readily believed there would be a resurrection. Were they saved? Yes. By grace? Yes. Through faith? Yes. By works? NO. But what was the content of their faith? That Jesus was the Messiah? Yes, but now much more. He was now the risen Lord of Glory the one who redeemed them with His own precious blood. AND THAT WAS NOT A GOSPEL THAT WAS PREACHED PRIOR TO THE CROSS!!!

    And you imply that my statements are heresy? Hardly. They may not fit in with an amil view that makes the church equal to Israel, but heresy? No way.
     
    #19 rjprince, Sep 19, 2005
  20. OldRegular

    OldRegular Well-Known Member

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    #20 OldRegular, Sep 20, 2005
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