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| We have previously looked at warnings against false teachers, and these warnings included Paul's strong words in Galatians 1:6, "1 marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel" : He goes on to speak about those who "would pervert the gospel of Christ" : He then declares, "But though we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed" (1:8). Nothing could bring home more forcibly the importance of the question we consider now.
What Is The Gospel?
In the light of Paul's words to the Galatians we need to be really sure that it is the true Gospel that we are believing and preaching. Otherwise we come under the condemnation he has pronounced. It is obviously tremendously important that we are actually leading people to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ who brings them to God, and not misleading them. How can we tell, though? That brings out how vital is the answer we gave to the question we looked at in our last issue, what is our authority? Do we appeal to the Bible alone, to the Bible plus tradition, or is human reason the arbiter?
We rest on the Bible alone, believing it to be God's final word of revelation and the supreme authority for Christian belief and practice. We discount anything that contradicts, adds to, or takes away from Scripture. We submit all our human reasoning to the understanding of Scripture given by the Holy Spirit. What then does the Bible teach us about the Gospel?
1. It is a message from God Himself
The Gospel is described in Matthew 24:14 as "this gospel of the kingdom", the good news about God's rule over men. Romans 1:1 speaks of "the gospel of God", the good news sent by God concerning God. In Acts 20:24 Paul calls it "the gospel of the grace of God", the good news of undeserved favour to sinners. In Romans 1:9 it is "the gospel of his Son", the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells the Galatians that this gospel was not taught him by man, but had been revealed to him by the Lord Jesus Himself (Galatians 1:11,12).
The Gospel is therefore clearly of divine origin. It is not something thought up by human beings. Nor is it only about God. It is the truth that God Himself has revealed concerning Himself. It is the absolute truth to which the only proper response is faith. It is terrible presumption for a person not to believe God. If we won't accept His Gospel we make Him a liar (1 John 1:10, 5:10).
If we do not recognise in this Gospel all the hallmarks of God's holiness, justice, wisdom, love, compassion, and mercy we are blind to spiritual truth. In what is preached, Paul says, the God "who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).
Here is a message of supreme importance, a message that the Lord Himself commanded should be made known to people throughout the whole world. The reason for that is very simple.
2. It is the message of salvation
The Gospel is the good news of what a holy God has done so that sinful people get right with Him. Paul summarises this in Romans 1:16-18. "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. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, `The just shall live by faith'. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness."
We cannot and should not attempt to hide the truth that God's holiness brings His wrath upon all man's unrighteousness. Sadly, this is not always recognised as a necessary element in preaching the Gospel. It is against this bad news for us that the message of good news cotnes with such power' and wonder. God Himself has provided in His Son, the Lord Jesus, a righteousness that delivers from wrath, and this righteousness is there for every believer in the Saviour. In believing in Him as the One through whom we are delivered from wrath, condemnation, sin, death, and hell we experience the power of the grace of God. We know the joy of being an object of God's love, experiencing His pardon, and receiving His gift of eternal life. What a glorious message Christians have to proclaim to others!.
Is it any wonder then that Satan should try to pervert that message? He wants to change it so that people are misled and confirmed in their sin rather than being set free from it. When the Philippian gaoler asked "What must I do to be saved?" the answer was swift and clear, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Acts 16:31). The apostles made it clear to those who wanted them to stop preaching that there is no salvation in any other, "for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). The Lord Jesus Himself said, "No man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14:6).
The person of the Lord Jesus is absolutely central to the Gospel. He stands alone as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). He is the One sent "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). He is the Word who is God with His Father, His eternal Son, born of a virgin to be made flesh (John 1:14). The Lord Jesus Christ is totally unique and He alone was able to do what was necessary for our salvation. Any teaching that takes away from the Lord Jesus and the glory of his person perverts the Gospel. The birth narratives are a vital part of that Gospel.
He came into this world, though, to do a specific work. He came to do His Father's will, to satisfy the divine Law through His perfect obedience, something that no-one else has ever done. He came also to die, to give His life a ransom for many, to die in their place, to die for their sins, to save His people from their sins.
In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Paul says, "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... 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".
It is true that salvation is described in different ways in the Scriptures, but at their heart is the need for sin to be dealt with, and completely dealt with. God's justice must be fully satisfied before any sinner can be saved. Only God's Son could do this. John writes, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins". That work was completed at Calvary. The wrath of God was turned away for ever from the repenting and believing sinner. Nothing more remains to be done to atone for sin. The letter to the Hebrews, speaking of the priestly sacrifices offered again and again and which could never take away sins, declares, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" (10:11,12).
Every other blessing to be experienced depends on sin having been atoned for, its power to condemn broken. This is what our Lord has accomplished for every believer. Nothing more needs to be done to atone or to make satisfaction for our sins. The believer can say, "He bore our sins in His body on the tree. He was made sin for us, who knew no sin. He was made a curse for us" (1 Peter 2:24, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:13). It was there at Calvary that all this was done. There it was finished. There it was accepted. The work was complete and effective, and we know this because God raised His Son from the dead. A free and total pardon to be received by faith alone can now be offered to mankind. Nothing can be added, nor must it be added. To bring anything of our own is to make the work of Christ of no avail for us (Galatians 5:2,4).
John sums it up in this way, "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). In the Revelation we find this declaration of praise. "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father: to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (1:5,6).
Not only is our sin forgiven and taken away to be remembered no more (Hebrews 10:17), we are also declared to be righteous on account of the righteousness of Christ which is now ours through faith in Him (Romans 4:22-5:2). We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and all this is ours through the grace of God alone.
How sad it is, then, that there are those who diminish the reality of sin, and so under-estimate the extent of our true need and water down the significance of our Lord's redeeming work. It is equally sad that there are those who recognise the need, but cannot accept that the Lord has finished the work of atonement and that the Father no longer needs any sacrifice of propitiation. Nor is there satisfaction still to be rendered by us for our sins. Passages such as Hebrews 9:12,24-26, 10:10,12,14,18 appear overlooked or imperfectly understood. Whether on the liberal or Roman side, the work of our Lord Jesus is not seen in its biblical proportions, and it is another gospel that is officially presented. The seriousness of this has already been made plain, but it is underlined by this further fact about the Gospel.
3. It is a message with consequences
The Gospel calls the sinner to repent and to believe its message of full salvation through the Lord Jesus. There is no automatic salvation applied to every human being, as the universalists teach. The Lord has His sheep who recognise His voice and respond in faith, following Him then in obedience (John 10:27,28). It is clear from the teaching of the New Testament that the sinner saved by grace is a new creation, called to a life of holiness and good works (2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Peter 1:15,16, Ephesians 2:10, Titus 2:11-14). We can now draw near to God with a proper confidence (Hebrews 4:16, 10:19-23). We have been saved so that we should bring praise to God and become increasingly like our Saviour, a purpose that will reach its fulfilment in eternity (Ephesians 1:12, 1 John 3:2, Romans 8:28-30).
None of these things is true for those who remain in unbelief or for those who follow another gospel. They remain in their sin. That is how serious this is, that we should know and believe that which God Himself has done and revealed to us through the Gospel. It also makes plain that we can have no fel lowship or unity with those who preach another gospel. We are not in a position to pass judgement on the hearts of others. That is the Lord's prerogative. We are called to hold what they teach against the teaching of Scripture and to act accordingly, either receiving them as brethren in the Lord if they preach and teach the truth, or calling them to repent and believe the truth if we see them still in fatal error.
Originally published in July - August 2005 issue of Protestant Truth. |
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