Greenfield Church of Christ

The Gospel

 

Romans 1:16 ESV For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

 

Apostle Paul in this passage tells us that the Gospel is power in which God uses to bring salvation to everyone who accepts. So this forces us to ask two questions.

• What are we saved from or what is our condition?

• And what is the Gospel?

 

Section 1

THE CONDITION OF MAN

 

To find out the condition of man we must go back to the beginning with Adam and Eve.

 

Genesis 3:1-6 ESV Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"  (2)  And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,  (3)  but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"  (4)  But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.  (5)  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  (6)  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

 

Genesis 3:24 ESV  He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

 

When we read this passage and isolate it from the rest of the Bible, the blow-back may seem not that significant.

However, Adam and Eve, going against the laws that God set in the garden had a tremendous effect on mankind. 

 

Romans 5:12 ESV  Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned--

 

Romans 3:23 ESV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

 

Because we were sinners we were in bondage and in slavery to sin. Romans 6:16 ESV  Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

 

Other  conditions of living in sin is found in Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  (2)  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- (3)  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

 

We were dead in our sins, considered sons of disobedience, and were by nature children subject to the wrath of God.

 

No matter how good we may think ourselves to be, or how the world views us, because, in the eyes of God he saw us as disobedience sinners and because we lived a life after our flesh, worldly passions and sin, God could not have anything to do with us. Isaiah 59:1-2 ESV Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; (2) but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

 

This then is the condition of man. It a disparate condition for help.

 

Section 2

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL

 

As we read in Romans 1:16, the Gospel is the means that God uses to save us from our condition. So what is the Gospel?

 

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV  (1)  Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,  (2)  and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.  (3)  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,  (4)  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

 

The gospel that Paul had given to the Corinthians is one in which they have received, stand for, and are being saved by. And that is the death, burial and, resurrection of Christ.

 

2 Thessalonians 1:8 ESV (8) in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

 

Paul here in 2 Thessalonians tell us, that those who don’t obey the gospel are subject to the Vengeance of God. But how do we obey the Gospel? How do we obey the death, burial and resurrection of Christ?

 

Romans 6:3-5 ESV Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  (4)  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.  (5)  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

 

Romans 6:17 ESV But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,

 

We obey the gospel through baptism. We die to our former self, are buried in the death of Christ, and arise to walk a new life. This is the standard of teaching or form of doctrine that has been given for us to obey.