The Gospel Disclosed

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...”  

(rf. I Corinthians 15:1-4)

In February, during a series of sermons entitled, “The Core of Our Being as Believers”, we at St. John’s looked at the truths found in the above passage. We saw how the Apostle Paul felt the need to clarify exactly what the Gospel message was for the believers in Corinth. Apparently, there was some confusion over what was the essence of the message he was bringing them and sharing with others so that they could come into a personal relationship with Jesus. As he did then, so we will do this month, just to make sure everyone is on the “same page” regarding the truths of the Gospel.

Paul states clearly that this is the Gospel which has been “preached to you, which you also received in which also you stand, by which also you are saved...” In fact, here Paul is agreeing with the teachings of Jesus Himself. There is no other Gospel by which one can or will be saved.

To believe any Gospel other than this one means that you believe “in vain”. Such a belief system you possess will not accomplish true salvation nor will the end be eternal life for the possessor.

The content of this vital Gospel message according to the Apostle Paul is simply this: (a) Jesus “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures”; (b) “He was buried”; and (c) “He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”. If true salvation in Christ is to be ours during this Easter season, we must not only affirm these truths with our minds and hearts, but we must stake our very lives on them as did the disciples of the early Church, surrendering their all to follow Him.  

Is this the same message that we ourselves have affirmed and believe to be true regarding the Gospel of Christ? Before we can ever hope to share the accurate message of salvation with others, we must have appropriated this message ourselves, committing our lives and all to following the Risen Christ. May this short reminder as provided by Paul be a refresher course in our own experience as well as to provide us with the correct information that we should share with others so that they can experience the Risen Christ and His gift of redemption for themselves.

Lent Before Easter

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (rf. Rom. 3:21–24 NKJV)

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (rf. 1 Jn 1:8–10 NKJV)

Lenten is the season to remind Christians of the sinfulness that made it necessary for a sacrifice, namely the sacrifice of God’s own and only Son, Jesus of Nazareth. It brings to the fore a very inconvenient and undesirable truth that we do not deserve nor have we ever deserved the goodness and grace of God, much less His forgiveness of our sins. Yet, it was the overwhelming desire of the Lord to do away with the sin barrier between Him and His people forever. Thus, the atoning sacrifice to remove our sin was accomplished by Jesus on the cross, a fact that we recognize in our yearly celebration of Holy Week and the Easter season.

But one must pass through Lent in order to get to the Easter celebration. We must have a clear recognition of our sinfulness and an appreciation for the precarious situation in which that sin places us. As the Apostle Paul puts it so plainly, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (rf. Rom. 3:23). Elsewhere, he continues to clarify this issue for us, “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (rf. Rom. 6:23). The contrast Paul sets up is very plain. Without forgiveness and cleansing from sin, death and eternal damnation will be our future. That forgiveness and cleansing can only come from one Source, Jesus. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to “seek Him while He may be found” (rf. Is. 55:6) in order to gain these blessings from His hand by trusting our all to Him.

Not only unto salvation are we to seek His mercy, but also throughout our lives. Even when we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus and all of our sins are forgiven as far as He and heaven are concerned, we still are burdened by the products of our own sinful nature. Paul puts it in essence, “the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh” (rf. Gal. 5:17). As long as we are in this human body, alive on the earth, we will suffer from the burden of our sinfulness. However, because of what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf by His sacrifice, we can at any time enter before Him through prayer and gain the release and removal of our sin by His forgiveness which is available to us continuously (rf. I Jn. 1:9). We simply need to be honest about our sins, our need for cleansing, and He will willingly and happily grant our request.

So, as we enter into this Lenten season, may we be more cognizant about our sin and sinfulness, seeking His forgiveness of these iniquities so that we may draw closer to Him and be freely used by Him to share this same grace with those around us, our family, friends, coworkers and others who need to experience this blessing as well.