What is the gospel?

[Billiards Ball]

On 12/3/2019 at 7:56 PM, Lee_ said:

What is the gospel?

1) No one is morally perfect

2) Only morally perfect people can live in Heaven without hurting others, keeping utopia perfect

3) Jesus Christ died a horrible death on the cross, than rose from the grave, whoever trusts Jesus today will be morally perfect when He gives them power as He returns, taking them to Heaven

 

TRUST JESUS for ETERNAL life--THAT IS the "gospel"!

[Blood Bought 1953]

We can’t just take anything that sounds good and therefore call it “ the Gospel”

The following is an excellent explanation as to what the Gospel is—— and what it is NOT....enjoy...

What Is The Gospel?
By Dr. Harry Ironside (1876-1951)

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).

It might seem almost a work of supererogation to answer a question like this. We hear the word, "Gospel" used so many times. People talk of this and of that as being "as true as the Gospel," and I often wonder what they really mean by it.

First I should like to indicate what it is not.

THE GOSPEL IS...
Not The Bible

In the first place, the Gospel is not the Bible. Often when I inquire, "What do you think the Gospel is?" people reply, "Why, it is the Bible, and the Bible is the Word of God." Undoubtedly the Bible is the Word of God, but there is a great deal in that Book that is not Gospel.

"The wicked shall be turned into Hell with all the nations that forget God." That is in the Bible, and it is terribly true; but it is not Gospel.

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." That is in the Bible, but it is not the Gospel.

Our English word, "gospel" just means the "good spell," and the word "spell," is the old Anglo-Saxon word for, "tidings", the good tidings, the good news. The original word translated. "Gospel," which we have taken over into the English with little alteration is the word, "evangel," and it has the same meaning, the good news. The Gospel is God's good news for sinners. The Bible contains the Gospel, but there is a great deal in the Bible which is not Gospel.

Not The Commandments

The Gospel is not just any message from God telling man how he should behave. "What is the Gospel?" I asked a man this question some time ago, and he answered, "Why I should say it is the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, and I think if a man lives up to them he is all right." Well, I fancy he would be; but did you ever know anybody who lived up to them? The Sermon on the Mount demands a righteousness which no unregenerate man has been able to produce. The law is not the Gospel; it is the very antitheses of the Gospel. In fact, the law was given by God to show men their need of the Gospel .

"The law," says the Apostle Paul, speaking as a Jewish convert, "was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. But after that Christ is come we are no longer under the schoolmaster."

Not Repentance

The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past.

Not Giving Up The World

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.

THERE ARE SEVEN DESIGNATIONS OF THE GOSPEL in the New Testament, but over and above all these, let me draw your attention to the fact that when this blessed message is mentioned, it is invariably accompanied by the definite article. Over and over and over again in the New Testament we read of the Gospel. It is the Gospel not a Gospel. People tell us there are a great many different Gospels; but there is only ONE. When certain teachers came to the Galatians and tried to turn them away from the simplicity that was in Christ Jesus by teaching "another Gospel, "the apostle said that it was a different gospel, but not another; for there is none other than the Gospel. It is downright exclusive; it is God's revelation to sinful man.

Not Comparative Religion

The scholars of this world talk of the Science of Comparative Religions, and it is very popular now-a-days to say, "We cannot any longer go to heathen nations and preach to them as in the days gone by, because we are learning that their religions are just as good as ours, and the thing to do now is to share with them, to study the different religions, take the good out of them all, and in this way lead the world into a sense of brotherhood and unity."

So in our great universities and colleges men study this Science of Comparative Religions, and they compare all these different religious systems one with another. There is a Science of Comparative Religions, but the Gospel is not one of them. All the different religions in the world may well be studied comparatively, for at rock bottom they are all alike; they all set men at trying to earn his own salvation. They may be called by different names, and the things that men are called to do maybe different in each case, but they all set men trying to save their own souls and earn their way into the favor of God. In this they stand in vivid contrast with the Gospel, for the Gospel is that glorious message that tells us what God has done for us in order that guilty sinners maybe saved. 
 

[Billiards Ball]

Yes, Christ died for our sin and rose (1 Cor 15:1-3). Our correct response?

TRUST JESUS.

[Mike 2]

The bible is split into two parts

1. The Old Testament where we see man trying to come into relationship with God by following rules (the "10 commandments"). Only to find out time and time again that we fail at that and sin (miss the mark). We realize we don't have a hope of getting to God by anything we try to do. Its impossible, we'll mess up. We are without hope, until....

2. The New Testament is marked by the arrival of Jesus. At his birth the angels announce the  Gospel, "good news" to the shepherds....

.....Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

What is the GOOD NEWS?

Mat 1:23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 

 This is the GOOD NEWS, the GOSPEL, we can't get to God so God comes to us.... in the form of Jesus who, as the Christ, will make a way to God for us!! 

 

Merry Christmas

Edited December 12, 2019 by Mike 2

[Servant of the Lord]

On 12/3/2019 at 6:56 PM, Lee_ said:

What is the gospel?

The New Testament (NT) contains four biographies of Jesus (the Gospels).

Excerpt used for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY: 

Differences in the Gospels

Robert H. Stein

Serious readers of the Gospels notice various differences between them. One difference involves geographical arrangement. In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus visits Jerusalem only once during His entire ministry. For instance, all of the events in Mark 1:1-11:10 take place either in Galilee (1:1-8:21) or on the way to Jerusalem (8:22-11:10). Only from 11:11 forward is Jesus recorded as entering Jerusalem. The Gospel of John takes a different approach. John records Jesus visiting Jerusalem several times throughout His ministry (2:13-4:45; 5:1-47; 7:1-10:40; and 12:12-20:31), including an early temple cleansing (John 2:13-22). The Synoptics say nothing about an early temple cleansing, and John in turn says nothing about the later cleansing that the Synoptics recount (Mt 21:12-13; Mk 11:15-18; Lk 19:45-48). It seems the authors chose different ways of using geography as a tool for arranging their accounts of Jesus' life. Mark, whose Gospel likely predated and influenced Matthew and Luke, chose not to discuss any of Jesus' doings in Jerusalem until the climactic events beginning in 11:11. This literary approach builds a steady tension that finally explodes with Jesus' crucifixion in the sacred city. John, writing years after the Synoptics, took a different approach, sprinkling Jerusalem throughout his account.

Another literary consideration that helps account for differences among the Gospels is how the authors chose to group Jesus' teachings. Matthew is organized around alternating blocks of Stories of Jesus and Teachings of Jesus. Here is the arrangement: chapters 1-4 (S); 5-7 (T); 8-9 (S); 10 (T); 11-12 (S); 13 (T); 14-17 (S); 18 (T); 19-22 (S); 23-25 (T); 26-28 (S). Luke, on the other hand, places the teachings of Jesus in two large sections: 6:20-8:3; and 9:51-18:14. Different approaches such as this explain why the Gospel authors often place sayings of Jesus in different contexts, as for instance when Matthew records the Lord's Prayer early in Jesus' ministry (6:9-13) while Luke places it later (11:1-4). The Gospel writers arranged much of their material on topical and logical grounds rather than chronological. The earliest reference to any Gospel was made by Papias, a church father who in the first decade of the second century stated that Mark wrote accurately but not in chronological order the traditions he learned from Peter. Thus early readers noticed the differences between the Gospels, understood some of the basic causes of the differences, and did not regard them as problematic.

Another reason for differences involves the literary style of individual evangelists. In Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 we have two accounts of Jesus healing a centurion's servant. In Luke the conversation takes place between Jesus and Jewish elders who speak on behalf of the centurion. In Matthew the conversation is directly between Jesus and the centurion. There is no conflict in these accounts when we realize that Matthew has abbreviated the story (103 words compared to 186 words in Luke). Matthew omitted material unessential to the story, and the elders (serving as go-betweens) are the least important element in the story. Thus, just as modern-day journalists report on meetings between heads of state without mentioning the go-betweens, Matthew makes no mention of the elders.

Furthermore, the evangelists understood themselves to be inspired interpreters, not mere stenographers of Jesus' acts and teachings. They felt free to clarify and add explanatory comments to the traditions they were recording. For example, whereas Matthew in 7:11 records Jesus as saying God the Father gives "good things" to those who ask, Luke has Jesus saying God gives "the Holy Spirit." In this case, Luke has done some interpretive extension: of all the good things God gives, the Holy Spirit is the best of them. Other examples of inspired editorial work include:

The Baptism of Jesus

• In Matthew 3:17 the voice from heaven states, "This is My beloved Son."
• In Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22 the voice states, "You are My beloved Son."
• Explanation: In Mark and Luke, God's voice addresses Jesus. Matthew shifts the audience to the bystanders in order to make clear to his readers that God would have them know that Jesus is His Son. The overall meaning is unchanged.

The Beatitudes

• In Matthew 5:3 the first beatitude reads, "The poor in spirit are blessed..."
• Luke 6:20 has, "You who are poor are blessed..."
• Explanation: Matthew gives a "thought for thought" rather than "word for word" translation of the original. He adds "in spirit" to help his readers understand that in this context "poor" refers to spiritual humility. A similar usage of "poor" occurs in Psalm 86:1, where King David (who was financially wealthy) speaks of being "poor and needy."

Hour of the Crucifixion

• In Mark 15:25 Jesus is crucified at "nine in the morning" (the third hour).
• In John 19:14 Jesus is crucified at "about six in the morning."
• Explanation: There are twenty-three time designations in the New Testament referring to a particular hour. Twenty of them refer to the third, sixth, or ninth hour. Only three designate other hours (the seventh, tenth, and eleventh). In an era when timekeeping was imprecise, a mid-morning crucifixion (occurring at, say, 10:30 a.m.) could very reasonably have been referred to as taking place at either the third or sixth hours since it fell between these times.

Peter's Denial of Christ

• Mark tells his readers of Peter's denial in Mk 14:53-54 and 14:66-72. Wedged between this two-part account is the story of Jesus' trial.
• Luke completes the entire account of Peter's denial before telling of Jesus' trial.
• Explanation: Rather than a chronological discrepancy, these are two different ways of telling two separate stories. Mark follows one of his favored stylistic techniques and "sandwiches" Jesus' trial between the two halves of the story of Peter's denial. Luke chooses to treat them separately.

We have avoided such terms as "discrepancy" and "contradiction" when discussing differences among the Gospels. When we seek to understand what the evangelists are doing as interpreters of Jesus' life, we often find that their different approaches help clarify and draw out implications from Jesus' acts and teachings. This often entails sharing the stories of Jesus' life in a topical or logical order, not chronological. In this light, alleged "discrepancies" and "contradictions" are seen as mere "differences."

[Billiards Ball]

Thanks. The good news is "saved from works of the Law by trusting Christ" and not "saved from works of the Law to struggle to do far more difficult works", works that can never morally perfect the worker.

[Prycejosh1987]

On 12/4/2019 at 12:56 AM, Lee_ said:

What is the gospel?

The gospel is the death burial arising and teaching of Jesus Christ.