What is the Gospel?

"As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." 

Galatians 1:9

1. Given the passage quoted above, how should we approach the gospel?

2 Peter 2:1-3
"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber." 

2. There are many perversions of the gospel that we hear today, some more subtle than others. Listed below are just a few; what is wrong with these "gospels"? What other false gospels do you hear today?

(a) "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, would you pray to accept Him today with me?"

• Who is this "God"?
  
• There is only a "wonderful plan" if you become a Christian, the plan isn't so wonderful if you reject.
  
• Repentance and faith!! Mark 1:14-15
  

Repentence is a central part of the Gospel message:
Matt 9:13 "For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Lk 24:46-48 "Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things."
Ac 3:19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord..."

(b) "You must have faith to be saved, and you must do penance, pray to Mary, and receive the sacraments."

• faith alone - sola fide
  

Galatians 3:1-6
"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'"


(c) "You must have faith in Christ, repent of your sins, be baptized in water, and receive the laying on of hands in order to receive the Holy Spirit."

• same reason as (b)
  

(d) "Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship. Jesus wants to be your friend, would you let Him?"

• Missing any sense of sin, judgment, redemption, etc.
  
• This kind of presentation of God often follows the belief that if you just "believe in God", He will forgive you.  Picture this: you are committing adultry against your wife, and you get caught in the act.  You come to the point where you desire to mend your relationship with your wife, so you decide to go to her and say "honey, I believe in you".  This is clearly not the tone we would expect from a person who has so tragically offended his wife.  Now, take that analogy and apply it to how often and how deeply we sin against our Creator.  There is an offended party in this situation as well--and it's not us.  We need to come to God begging for forgiveness in an attitude of reverence and submission.  This shows that a person is truely broken over their sin, and that they really understand their need for a Savior.
• Think back to the sermon that we listened to during our first meeting. We are to be about the work of reconciling to parties that are at odds.
• 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
• This view of the Gospel diminishes all that Christ is to a simple friendship (He is also Lord, Master, Redeemer, Judge, etc.)

3. What are the essential elements of the gospel? Give at least one passage to support each element.

taken from 9Marks.org

The essential points of the Gospel can be summarized in these four parts: God, man, Christ, response.

Who is God? God is both our sovereign Creator and our righteous Judge.
• "You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before You" (Neh 9:6).
• "Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity" (Ps 98:9).
• God therefore has the right of ownership over us by virtue of creating us, and He has the right to punish or reward us by virtue of his royal, judicial office. And because God is both our Creator and Judge, we are doubly accountable to Him for our all our behavior – word, thought, and deed.

Who are we? Man was created by God, in God’s image, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. But man sinned against God by disobeying His holy law. Man therefore separated himself from
God’s holy and satisfying presence, and incurred His wrathful displeasure.
• "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Gen 1:27).
• "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). 

• "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Rom 1:18).

What is our hope? Jesus Christ’s death was the substitute payment for the penalty that w deserved for our sin. His death is God’s only provision for the forgiveness of man’s sin and the appeasement of God’s wrath against him.
• "All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him" (Isa 53:6).
• "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36).
• "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

What must we do to be saved? We are called to respond to this good news in repentance an belief – turning away from our sin and self-sufficiency toward God, and trusting in the she blood of Jesus Christ as the substitute penalty that we deserved to pay for our sin.
• "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15).
• "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:46-47).


4. While these next topics may not show up in our gospel proclamation, what special care should be taken when encountering these objections?

- Penal Substitutionary Atonement
"I don't like the idea of substitutionary atonement, I think it's cosmic child abuse."

Is 53:4-6
"Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

2 Co 5:21
"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Heb 9:28
"so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."


- Physical Resurrection
"C'mon, that was just a spiritual resurrection, there's no evidence that people can raise from the dead."

1 Co 15:12-19
"Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable."


- Deity of Christ
"I trust in Christ, but he was just a man; a perfect man, but just a man. How could you say that God was limited to a human body for 33 years?"

Jn 17:4-5
"I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."

Jn 1:1
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Jn 1:14
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Col 1:16
"For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him."

Col 2:9
"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily"


- Exclusivity of Christ
"Thank you for telling me the good news of Jesus Christ! Now, I have an even better chance of going to heaven because I believe in Allah, Buddha, and Jesus!"

Jn 14:6
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"

Ac 4:12
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

September 19, 2008 Lesson Minutes

Simple Philosophy

• John 4:23-24 – Worship is in spirit and truth. Can we worship God without faith or without truth in righteousness.

• "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." --Galatians 5:25 The two most important things in our holy religion are the _life of faith_ and the _walk of faith_. He who shall rightly understand these is not far from being a master in experimental theology, for they are vital points to a Christian. You will never find true faith unattended by true godliness; on the other hand, you will never discover a truly holy life which has not for its root a living faith upon the righteousness of Christ. Woe unto those who seek after the one without the other! There are some who cultivate faith and forget holiness; these may be very high in orthodoxy, but they shall be very deep in condemnation, for they hold the truth in unrighteousness; and there are others who have strained after holiness of life, but have denied the faith, like the Pharisees of old, of whom the Master said, they were "whitewashed sepulchres."

• Col. 1:28 – We evangelize and disciple by proclaiming, warning, and teaching all about Christ.
  
• Eph. 4:11-16 – We are saved and gifted for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.
  
• Matt. 28:18-20 – We are commanded to evangelize and discipline all men. Teaching them the truth of Christ and His commandments.

Goals

• Need to have goals to measure our faithfulness and growth. Decided to evangelize the lost twice by December 1st.
• Fellowship leading to repentance and service
  
• Proclaim Christ to the lost
  

Format

• Not interested at this time in communion or singing as a group
  
• Like the idea of praying at the end
  
• Like the idea of having kids be watched further from us or at different location once every other month. Need to consider location and willingness of baby sitters. Maybe do potluck or other event together.

Study Topics
In preparation for evangelizing, we should cover the topics of the gospel and evangelism in our upcoming lessons.

Notes from Our First Meeting

Here are the notes from the sermon we listened to during our first meeting.  Take a moment to read through and post any comments or thoughts that come to mind.

(Taken from chbcaudio.org) August 31, 2008 Philemon 17 – 25 Forgiveness: A Friend Mark Dever   John Bunyan was put into prison for 12 years simply for preaching the Gospel.  How would you feel about this?  Wouldn’t you think that if Bunyan were doing the right thing God would bless him?  Would your response be bitterness?  Would you rationalize that it would be a small cost to stop preaching the Gospel?  Bunyan’s time in prison resulted in the writing of Pilgrim’s Progress.  God ordained Bunyan’s time in captivity to be productive in order to bless us all. Many of the New Testament epistles were written by Paul while he was imprisoned.  He could have gone free if he agreed to stop preaching; he didn’t, so spent many years in prison and under house arrest. About half of the population of the Roman Empire was enslaved.  Slavery was not based on race.  Most were slaves due to financial debt.  If there were a strained relationship between a master and slave, Roman law provided that slave could go to a friend of his master to seek assistance in reconciling with the master.  Onesimus probably was not a runaway slave, but sought Paul out according to this law.  Onesimus became a Christian through Paul’s ministry.  Three Pictures of Love I.  Love that reconciles. Seven things useful to us in being reconcilers:             1.  Spend yourself for others.  Paul was willing to put his relationship with Philemon on the line.  Verse 17 contains the first imperative verb of the chapter – welcome Onesimus.  There were special factors complicating this request that made it difficult.  Verse 18 gets specific with the second imperative – charge.  Paul says he will pay what Onesimus owes.  Paul is doing what he understood Christ did for him.  We have all centered our lives around ourselves, what the Bible calls sin.  As a result, we deserve death.  Christ took upon Himself the punishment for all who would repent and trust in Him for forgiveness and salvation.  God raised Christ from the dead, overpowering death that all who trust in Him might live.  Paul calls upon Philemon to forgive Onesimus as Philemon was forgiven by God.             2.  Paul boldly reminds Philemon of his indebtedness to himself.  In verse 19, Paul encourages Philemon toward obedience in a delicate but bold way.  Philemon probably came to Christ under Paul’s teaching so he did owe Paul a lot, putting into perspective Onesimus’ debt to Philemon with Philemon’s debt to Paul.  (See the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18.)  We should use our own personal example when working on reconciliation with others.  We must call on people to forgive.  You can’t be involved in reconciliation without making some gutsy calls.             3.  In verse 20, Paul calls on Philemon to forgive because it would benefit Paul.  To “refresh me” is one argument he gives.  Paul identifies himself with Onesimus.  It would bring Paul joy to see reconciliation between the two.              4.  Depend on God and express trust in the one you forgive (verse 21).  Be willing to express confidence in a person’s obedience when asking them to forgive.             5.  Help build relationships because relationships become the context of forgiveness.  In Christianity, we become family with people very unlike ourselves.  In verse 22, Paul reminds Philemon they will have a continuing relationship and reminds the church of this as well.  Family is an important place to learn reconciliation.  Reconciliation is the basic part of understanding the Gospel.               6.  Paul presents himself as an example of forgiveness (verse 23).  We can do the same.  Paul brings reminders of reconciliation to Philemon.  We want to be the kind of Christians that are examples of forgiveness, not feeding divisions, but bringing peace.  Jesus taught in His sermon on the mount, “blessed are the peacemakers.”  Carefully and humbly draw people to your example.             7.  Remind others of Christ’s grace in their own lives.  Point to Christ.  Pray for them.  II.  Love that forgives.             1.  Be easy to entreat; allow your affections to be easy to be led (verse 17).  Give the benefit of doubt to those you love and trust.  Remember, you are an offender yourself.             2.  Humble yourself.  Accept other people’s attempts at reconciliation.  Be willing to let others make restitution to you.  Remember that someone else made restitution for you.  Don’t require it, but be willing to receive it.  Have you ever been forgiven anything?  If we have been forgiven by God, we should are compelled to forgive others.  We are called to humble, accepting, loving forgiveness.  This will be completed when Christ returns!             3.  Consider the wider implications of your call to forgiveness – the way forgiveness in one case will relieve pressures in other relationships.  Bless all those affected by your forgiveness.             4.  Maintain close relationships (verse 22).  Paul is working toward a close relationship with not just Philemon but others in the church.  Cultivate close relationships with other Christians.             5.  Remember the Gospel; it obliges us to forgive and provides us opportunities to show how God has dealt with us in grace.  In Matthew 18:21-22 Peter asks the Lord, “How often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  As many as seven times?”  Jesus replies, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”  Jesus says there should be no limit to the amount of forgiveness we should give.  What a wicked servant we see in Matthew 18:30.  He had been treated with such grace.  We are called to have complete humility.  We can’t hold onto both grudges and the cross!  Christian, consider how you have been forgiven by God.  The grace of Jesus Christ is our reason to forgive.  Remember your own indebtedness to God when you need to forgive another.             6.  Pray for God’s help.  God can do anything.  Forgiveness draws attention to the Gospel.  When you are wronged it is an opportunity to bring attention to the Gospel.  Families and workplaces are great places to show forgiveness and reflect the Gospel.  Unforgiveness is a disease in the body of Christ.  God brings freedom through the Gospel.    III.  Love that endures. We don’t know what happened to Philemon.  History suggests he became a pastor and was martyred.  What about Onesimus?  History also points to him being martyred.  Paul was beheaded for his faith.  Luke went on to write half of the New Testament.  Mark’s relationship with Paul was revived by forgiveness.  He wrote a Gospel, evangelized, and was martyred.  Epaphras was a faithful companion to Paul, leading the church in Colossae and was martyred.  Aristarchus was also a pastor and was martyred.  By God’s grace, their love endured.  Demas, however, stands in a sharp contrast with the others.  He deserted Paul because of his love of the world.  No other trace of him in history.  His love gave up.  How can we tell if we love the world like Demas?  If we begin to see things differently than God goes; if offenses against God lessen and offenses by others become greater.  Our love doesn’t endure.  There were two thieves on the cross.  One thief was saved that we might be encouraged, but only one that we might not presume.  Forgiveness and reconciliation are at the heart of the Gospel.  Bunyan spent his last days working for reconciliation.  Love the brotherhood of believers.

Group Kick-off

As we have our meetings during the month, Matt and I will use the blog as a means to post what we discussed or our notes related to the lesson. This will help keep us in touch when we are not all able to make it to a meeting. Stay tuned for more...