Preaching The Gospel

What is the gospel of Jesus Christ? In the 16th chapter of the book of Mark, prior to ascending to the Father, Jesus Christ told His disciples this…

Mark 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

We are to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to every creature, but do we really know what the gospel is?  Paul, the Apostle, once said…

Romans 1:16  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.

Paul said that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It is the power of God, and yet the gospel, as it is currently taught in our day, seems almost powerless.  Why is that? Why do so many churches today have to build gymnasiums and have programs of all sorts to draw men into the church?  Why do so many pastors incorporate  business growth strategies as a means of growing their churches? What did Christ say in John 3 and John 12?

John 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up;

John 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Has the gospel of Jesus Christ lost its power? I dare say, No it has not! If the gospel has not lost its power then what is being preached today is either not the gospel or it is a very watered down version. 

One may argue that we are living in the end times and we are experiencing the gleaning of the harvest. That may well be so, but does that account for the lack of power of the modern day gospel? 

I used to believe the reason the gospel didn't have much of an effect on people in the United States is because we have been so saturated with the gospel; everyone has heard it so much that they have become hardened to it. 

The problem is not that our country has  been bombarded with the gospel. The problem is that for many years, churches in our country have been spreading a weakened, watered down form of the gospel. Since the gospel apparently lacks the power to draw men unto salvation, then we have to have special programs and strategies to draw men unto Christ…at least that has been typical of American churches.

The problem in our churches is that we have not been preaching the same gospel that Christ and His disciples preached.

Lord willing, we will be looking in depth at the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some may think why do we need to look in depth at the gospel? We've been saved and we don't need to go back to the foundation, rather we need to build upon the foundation. Yes, we need to grow, but we must never get away from the gospel. How can we go into all the world and preach the gospel if we don't have an accurate understanding of what it is?

We must begin by understanding what the word "gospel" means. This may seem very basic, but we must have a solid understanding of  even the most base terms when it come to telling others of Christ. The word "gospel" is transliterated from the Greek word "euaggelion" (you-ang-ghel-ee-on) which means a good message.

The phrase "the gospel of Jesus Christ" in essence means "the good message of Jesus Christ." What has Jesus Christ done that is such good news? In a nutshell, the good news is this…

1 Timothy :15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

That does sound good, but why do sinners need to be saved? What is sin? What did Jesus Christ come to save sinners from? Again, this seems so basic, but can we explain this to the understanding of men? 

The English word "sin" is transliterated from the Greek word "hamartano" (ham-ar-tan-o) which means to miss the mark and so not to share in the prize; to offend; to trespass.

The idea is that of an archery contest. Whoever hits the bullseye with their arrow wins the prize. To sin means we have shot our arrow and it has missed the bullseye therefore we did not win the prize.  The truth is every single arrow that has ever been shot (by all men) toward the mark has missed every single time.

The Word of God tells us that every single one of us has sinned. 

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Ecclesiastes 7:20  For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

The  problem is not showing men they are sinners. The problem is getting them to understand what sin is. In speaking about America, missionary Paul Washer said, "We live in a culture that drinks in iniquity and sin like water." Men have become so desensitized  to sin, they do not understand how exceeding sinful sin is. For a man to understand sin, he must first be shown God. He must understand the attributes of God. He has to know that God is Holy, that God is Just, that God is Love and that He is Wrath. A man cannot understand sin apart from understanding God's attributes. 

Men today see God as "the man upstairs" or as their "co-pilot,"  or as someone you tip your hat to. There is no fear of God before their eyes (Romans 3:18). Men have been told time and time again by well-meaning, but misguided Christians that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives, but do they understand the attribute of God's love?

Many Christians today, when preaching the gospel, paint a picture that God is a sentimental,  feeble old man begging men to come to Him and accept the His dear Son. Today, many do not accurately portrait God the Father and Jesus Christ as they really are. One cannot understand sin until he knows the attributes of God…until he sees Him as He is (Holy, All knowing, All powerful, Sovereign, Just, Merciful, Kind).

Even we, who have been saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, cannot fully understand our salvation until we better know God. The more we learn of God, the greater we will understand exactly what Christ did for us at Calvary. When that happens it will change your life. 

For the next several posts, I invite you to come along with me on what I like to call "Mission Impossible." I am going to be studying a few of the attributes or characteristics of God. I want to get a more accurate picture of who God is.  

As we study, we will need the help of the Holy Spirit to open our understanding. May our God reveal as much about Himself to us ,through His Word, as it pleases Him to. In studying the attributes of God, I feel as though I am standing on a diving board over looking a huge body of water. As far as the eye can see I am surrounded by water. I look down into the water below and it is crystal clear, so clear I can see for miles below the surface of the water, yet once I dive in, I can never measure its depth. 

Romans 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

As in any study of God, we will never come close to fully understanding God. I do hope that this study will heighten our awareness of who He is  and will help us to better know Him. In doing so, we will be better able to preach the gospel to every creature, as we have been commissioned to do.

In this study we seek to be like Moses who said to God in Exodus 33:18 , "I beseech thee, shew me thy glory."

We are going to look at just a few of His attributes and better acquaint ourselves with them. It would take a million lifetimes to really grasp these truths of God's attributes, and even then we wouldn't even have begun to touch the hem of His garment. 

The reason I am studying about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Attributes of God is because I have 4 children at home and one on the way. As their father, I am responsible before God to use the Word of God to show them their sin and show them that their sin is against a Holy God. I must give them the true gospel and not the watered down version so prevalent in our day. To properly do that, I must show them through Scripture who God is…what His attributes are. Only then will they understand the exceeding sinfulness of their sin. 

After we have looked at the attributes of God, we will take an in-depth look  at the gospel and compare it with what is being preached in most churches today. You may be shocked to see the difference. I was. 

I would like to close with a quote from A.W. Pink who had this to say concerning the attributes of God…

"So few today are accustomed to meditate upon the personal perfections of God. Comparatively few of those who occasionally read the Bible are aware of the awe-inspiring and worship-provoking grandeur of the Divine character. That God is great in wisdom, wondrous in power, yet full of mercy, is assumed by many to be almost common knowledge; but, to entertain anything approaching an adequate conception of His being, His nature, His attributes, as these are revealed in Holy Scripture, is something which very, very few people in these degenerate times have attained unto." ~A.W. Pink

May God be pleased, through the course of this study, to open the eyes of our understanding that we may see Him as He is. May we have a more accurate understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and be ready, willing, and able to share it with whosoever the Lord brings across our path.