THE WORD OF THE GOSPEL
December 9, 2007 AM
Sermon Outline
ACTS 15:6-11
INTRO: Of certain propositions you might hear people say, "And that's law and gospel." Such propositions might be verbalized by someone who is not in the least religious ... and maybe far from religious. Just what do they mean by this expression? Well, having heard it and used it many times, I think it means that the proposition is inviolable, authoritative and true. Long before the word "gospel" had any religious significance it was a word in common use to refer to a message of good news, glad tidings. However, with the coming of Christ into the world this word took a very religious meaning and significance. In our text this morning we hear the apostle Peter referring to the "word of the gospel". Here is another way in which the word of God is known.
- "GOSPEL" IN MATTHEW, MARK AND LUKE
- Mt 4:23 - "the gospel of the kingdom"
- Matthew speaks of the gospel as good news of the kingdom of God
- in Jesus' time this was a much anticipated era ... the Messianic time
- true, the message was not generally understood in the terms of God's definition of the kingdom - and Jesus sought to reveal that truth in various ways
- Mk 1:1 - "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ"
- Mark spent no time on genealogy, preparation, childhood and such
- he launched immediately into the earthly ministry of Jesus
- and in 1:14,15 Jesus begins preaching the "gospel of the kingdom of God" with the added explicit proclamation "the time is fulfilled ... at hand"
- Lk 2:10,11 - "good tidings of great joy"
- Luke's emphasis at the beginning is the birth of a Savior ... Christ, Lord
- remember, Luke is a Gentile writer - the "kingdom" idea may not have been a important to him as was the fact of joy "to all people" in the birth of a Savior
- but the gospel was something to be preached - to be made known
- Mt 4:23 - "the gospel of the kingdom"
- SOME THOUGHTS FROM PAUL'S USE OF "GOSPEL"
- Gal 3:8 - "preached before the gospel unto Abraham"
- here is a very interesting fact - different from typical understanding
- the gospel message? "in thee shall all nations be blessed"
- then, Gal 3:16 - "And to thy seed, which is Christ" - in retrospect, we are able to see how, then, the gospel was preached to Abraham!
- 1Cor 1:17 - "to preach the gospel..."
- the context gives us a good look at what the preached gospel was
- v. 18 - it was the preaching of the cross
- v. 23 - it was the preaching of Christ crucified
- v. 30 - it was the preaching of the "in Christ" relationship
- 1 Cor 15:1-4 - "I declare unto you the gospel..."
- preaching Jesus crucified was not all that the gospel meant to him
- here are three gospel facts: death, burial, resurrection
- from these facts there is a powerful message of salvation made possible
- but note Rom 6:3-5- in baptism we are united with the gospel facts!
- Rom 1:15-17 - "the power of God unto salvation..."
- remember, the gospel is indeed facts which are historical and real
- but it is the word of the gospel, the preaching of the gospel which has the power to bring people to obedience and salvation
- and it isn't just people out of Christ to whom the gospel has this power
- Romans is written to Christians ... and to them Paul desired to preach the gospel ... so, the gospel is for Christians and those out of Christ! (how sad when Christian people no longer rejoice in "gospel preaching")
- Gal 1:6-9 - "unto another gospel"
- notice that he refers to those who "pervert the gospel of Christ"
- at 2:4,5 he refers to the "truth of the gospel" - anything which differs from the truth of the gospel is perversion
- and we are living in an age of gospel perversions - from spurious ideas about Jesus to deviations in doctrine from the gospel truth
- we must be sure to compare what we see, what we hear, what we practice with what is written in the word of the gospel ... accept no substitutes!
- Gal 3:8 - "preached before the gospel unto Abraham"
- THE OBJECTIVE OF THE WORD OF THE GOSPEL?
- Acts 15:7 - "hear the word of the gospel, and believe..."
- the gospel must never become simply historical facts
- it must be proclaimed and believed for its saving effect in our lives
- Mk 16:15,16 - "he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved..."
- having believed and been baptized, there is the revealed "in Christ" life
- the gospel is all there is, all that is needed to bring us safely to heaven
- Acts 15:7 - "hear the word of the gospel, and believe..."
CLOSE: Someone once wisely said the gospel is facts to be believed, commandments to be obeyed and promises to be enjoyed. If you believe the facts this morning, have you obeyed the commandments? In baptism (a form of doctrine to be obeyed (Rom 6:17) you receive the benefit of Jesus' death at Calvary. But have you obeyed the commandment? So, 2 Thes 1:8,8.
Cecil A. Hutson
02 December 2007