Thank You, Father, for an overall good day. It was not totally without its challenges, but what of any quality isn’t? Blessing and praise to You!

Romans 1:1-4 (<<click here to read the passage)

Today we continue our delving into the question, “What is the gospel? (Click on this link Good News…What Is It? if you’ve not already read it.)

As we move from the Old Testament to the New, we can see three distinct ways in which the term gospel is used.

I’m sure that we’ve all referred to the first four books of the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – as the Gospels. Each of them, written by different authors, but all inspired by the Holy Spirit, gives us a different perspective on the Life of Jesus. Gospel in this sense describes a particular form of literature.

While Jesus lived and taught amongst us, the term gospel was linked not particularly with the person of Jesus but with the kingdom of God. In Matthew 3:1-2 John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness…preaching… “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” NLT

How many times have we read Jesus’ words when He said, “the Kingdom of God is like…” (for example, think of mustard seed and yeast). Though some refused to admit it, Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah and the kingdom of God had broken through in time and space.

By the time other major portions of the New Testament had come together, it had become the gospel of Jesus Christ and at the heart of it was the proclamation of who Jesus was and what He had accomplished in His lifetime.

One thing we all seem to struggle with is going beyond the “yeah, those around me know I believe in who Jesus is and what He does in my life” mindset. That is important but just that isn’t telling them the gospel, because the gospel is not about us. The gospel is about Jesus—what He did, His life of perfect obedience, His atoning death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and His outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church.

That is what the gospel means today and that is what we need to strive to communicate to others. When we preach the gospel, we preach about Jesus, and we preach about how we are brought into a saving relationship with him.

But a major part of it is the fact that we are incapable of living out that relationship in and of ourselves. That may sound negative but only when we acknowledge that fact can we truly live out that salvation. We may not admit it out loud, but we are weak. We focus on all kinds of other things but never really put a conscientious effort into focusing on Jesus working in and through us each and every day.

Lord Jesus, help us to understand the good news and then to live it out so that others cannot help but see Your impact in our everyday lives. Amen!

(The portions in blue above are from an online article adapted from Romans: An Expositional Commentary by R.C. Sproul.)

Sept 6th, 2022, Tues, 6:19 pm