What Is The "Gospel"

Singer:

Naturally one should consider others, and have courtesy for all members, but to think they can have rules and regulations to bind people with is preposterous.

Certainly it is ok to have routine events etc. Eg church services. But to expect people to come every time, and to judge them if they don't, and to gradually make these sorts of things things doctrine (or seem that way) is for man to start controlling others instead of allowing God to control.

To expect people to be baptised, to show they accept Christ isn't good ... to expect people to partake emblems... to expect people to conform to any of these sorts of various things is just abusing mans authority.
If God moves people to do these things, individually, then thats great.

I wish the preachers/ pastors/ whatever you want to call them all would just be shepherds and help folks SEE God for themselves and care for them as needed.

Trouble is, power is a great feeling, and puffs people up with pride. Very unGodly. Shepherds should be kind and careful, with their only aim to assist people in the journey to knowing Christ, and then to care for them (as and if and when needed) as time goes on.


Thats why churches often don't work. They push it too far. They overdo it. They start off ok, but once the taste of power and authority is in their mouths, they push harder and harder.... until the little flock is brought under their control, rather than Gods control.



[ May 05, 2003, 04:33 AM: Message edited by: Glorious ]

 

Hmmm...guess you don't have Jesus' words in your Bible, "Pick up your Cross daily, and follow Me," and "the one who endures to the end will be saved."

 

Dear Jude,

Of course he does.
He was telling you how he got salvation ... by walking through the open door, and accepting.

He wasn't discussiing what comes after that, that I can read.

Of course you can't just accept Jesus, and then go away and forget about it.
Every lover of God knows that.

Imagine getting married, and after signing on the dotted line, saying to her, "Right, thats settled... have a good life, see ya round honey".

Same with Christ.
Committment.

But then Singer knows that.
Or he wouldn't be witnessing in bars etc

 

Singer

At the wrapped point (in your example) it is a gift, but the love there we have for Christ is yet a seed only. We have the priviledge and pleasure of growing in love and faith as we continue through the rest of our life as a slave to our Father.
Cool eh?

 

"Baptism" was not invented by "denominations".

Christ was not invented by "denominations".

The Bible was not written by "denominations".

Rather - God provides the WHOLE Gospel story in His Word and to accept Christ is to accept and love "The Way AND THE TRUTH and the LIFE".

We can not accept a tiny snippet of truth from scripture and claim to "have Christ" or have "truth" or have "The Gospel". Rather we must have a "love of the truth" 2 Thess 2 to fully and truly "love Christ" for Christ "IS the Truth".

Many people turn their back on the "Truth" after hearing only a fraction of what God presents in scripture.

As Christ said to Peter when Peter accepted SOME truth "BLESSED are you Peter - God has REVEALED that to you" but when Peter STOPPED and said "ENOUGH" as Christ tried to present "MORE TRUTH" Christ said to Peter "Get behind Me Satan".

The christian who "draws the line with God" and declares that "enough is enough" regarding Bible truth is going the same path as Peter in Matt 16.

That chapter is there as a warning to all who would follow.

1 Cor 15 is therefore the "unfolding model" and it shows the Gospel including EVEN the conversion of Paul.

In Christ,

Bob

 

Before we know the gospel (good news), we must know first what the bad news is:

The bad news

1. That we are not righteous before God "Rom.3:10"
2. That we are all sinners before Him "Rom 3:23; Rom.5:12"
2. That we are all under the penalty of spiritual death, and our part is the lake of fire "Rom.6:23;Rev 21:8"
3. That our own good works won't save us "Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:8-9; Isaiah 64:6"
4. That keeping the law won't justify us before God "Gal 2:16; Rom.3:20; Jas. 2:10"
5. That there is no salvation outside of

• Christ "Acts 4:12; Jn. 14:6"
  
  The gospel is the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning His death, burial and resurrection for our redemption and justification.
  "1Cor15:1-3"
  
  1. It is the power of God to us who believed
  and are saved. "1Cor. 1:18; Rom. 1:16;
  1Cor. 15:2-4"
  2. The death of Jesus Christ demonstrated God's
  love toward us "Rom. 5:8, Jn. 3:16"
  3. Jesus' resurrection give us new life, & hope
  of our glorification "Rom:15"

 

The Gospel is in fact "the unfolding of God's solution to the sin problem" as we see in 1Cor 15:1-9 were EVEN the conversion of Paul is "included" and in Romans 2 where EVEN the future judgement is "INCLUDED" and in Rev 14:6-7 where God includes BOTH the JUDGEMENT AND the Creative Acts of God "For in SIX days God CREATED the Heavens, the Earth the Seas and the springs of waters" Exodus 20:8-11 Rev 14:7.

God has "already" added these elements to what HE calls "The Everlasting Gospel".

By letting the Word of God SHOW the expansive, inclusive nature of the term - we see for ourselves how God defines it. No guesses needed.

God does not tell us in Romans 2 or Rev 14 that you can "EITHER accept Christ Crucified OR Christ as Creator, author of life, Savior AND JUDGE" rather it tells us that the GOSPEL "Good News" includes ALL of it.

In Christ,

Bob