Sermon 3

What Is The Gospel?

Romans 1:16-17

In 1710, Queen Anne went to visit a cathedral designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. She described it as "awful, amusing and artificial." Upon hearing her words, the architect sighed with relief. Surprised? Well, in 1710 the word "awful" meant "awe-inspiring"; the word "amusing" meant "amazing" and the word "artificial" meant "artistic". What, to our ears, sounds like a devastating criticism were actually a very high compliment and words of praise. Sometimes we don't really know the meanings of the words we use.

The word "gospel" is one of those words. What is the gospel? To some people that word means "something that is absolutely and unquestionably true." They might say, "It's the gospel truth." The dictionary defines "the gospel" as the teachings of Jesus. But that definition is rather broad and vague. After all, Jesus taught on many subjects.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul uses the word "gospel" thirteen times and four times in the first 16 verses of chapter 1 and referred to it more than that. He said, "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. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:16-17). In fact, we have called the Book of Romans, The Gospel According To Paul.

But what we really need to do at this point, is simply to define the gospel. We say that our great commission is to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). But what is the gospel we preach. In fact, Paul does just that in the two verses that I just quoted from Romans 1.

The Gospel Is About A Person

"the gospel of Christ"

To understand the gospel, you must know who Jesus Christ is and what He did.

Who He Is. (See Matthew 16:13-16). Who do men say that I am? Who do you say that I am? Peter spoke for the whole group when he said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. (See John 20:30-31). John wrote his account of the gospel so that the reader would know that Jesus is the son of God. (See John 5:17-18). When Christ claims to be the Son of God, He is claiming to be equal with God, to be God. Jesus Christ is Lord. He is God who took upon himself the form of a man, Philippians 2:5ff. John 1 says that the Word was God and that the Word was made flesh. I Timothy 3:16 Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh...

What He Did. (See I Corinthians 15:1-5a). These verses explain concisely the three elements of the gospel. It is .... (1) the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ - (2) for our sins - (3) according to the scriptures. The proof that Jesus died was that He was buried. And the proof that He arose from the dead was that He was seen alive on numerous occasions by multitudes of people. Paul explains that Christ's death was "for our sins" and that it was according to the scriptures.

 The Gospel is about a person. It is the gospel of Christ.

The Gospel Has The Power To Save

"it is the power of God unto salvation"

The Greek word for "power" used here is the word "dunamis" from which we get our English word "dynamite." Strong's defines it as "miraculous power; abundant, mighty, wonderful work." And that's what the gospel is! It is the miraculous, abundant, mighty, wonderful power of God unto salvation.

The facts of the gospel have to do with Jesus, His death and resurrection. But here, Paul describes the impact of gospel. It is not just about Jesus did, it is that what Jesus did has the power to save you!

The gospel is about a person - Christ. The gospel has the power to save.

The Gospel Is For Everyone

"to every one"

After all, every one is a sinner. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one." I Kings 8:46 - "There is no man that sinneth not." Ecclesiastes 7:20 - "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."

There is a universal problem. It is the problem of sin. There is a universal solution. It is the gospel. The gospel is for everyone. There is no limitation to the atonement purchased by Christ on Calvary. "He tasted death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9). He is "the propitiation for sins of the whole world" (I John 2:2). God's will is for "all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (I Timothy 2:4). He is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (II Peter 3:9). The last invitation of the Bible comes from the Spirit and the bride and it is for "whosoever will" to come and take the water of life freely.

The gospel does not have favorites. Red and yellow, black, brown and white, all are precious in God's sight. Not everyone can go to college, drive a new car or live in a mansion. But everyone can be saved. The gospel is something that is for everyone.

Well, then, what does this statement "to the Jew first and also to the Greek" mean? Does it mean that God cares more about some than others. That is not what the Bible is saying. "First" here means first in order. In God's plan for preaching the gospel to the whole world, He intended the church to start with the Jews. (See Luke 24:46-47). You have to start somewhere, and God chose to start with the nation of Israel. We have a Jewish Savior. We have a Jewish Bible. We have a Jewish history. God's plan was for the preaching of the gospel to be first to the Jews and then to the Greeks. That was the pattern of Paul's ministry. Even when he traveled into Gentile country preaching the gospel, Paul first went to the Jewish synagogue and afterward to the Gentile people. And in the letter to the Romans, Paul is going to speak first about the Hebrews and then about the rest of humanity.

The gospel is about a person - Christ. The gospel has the power to save. The gospel is for everyone one.

The Gospel is Requires Only Faith

"to every one that believeth"

"from faith to faith"

"the just shall live by faith"

We are saved by faith. Everyone can be saved but only those who trust in Jesus Christ will be saved. "For by grace are you saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8). Listen to Ephesians 1:13 - In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. The gospel of Christ becomes your gospel by faith, by trusting in Christ. Romans 5:1 tells us that we are justified (made to be just or in right standing with God) by faith. Here, Paul quotes from the Old Testament (Habakkuk 2:4) and says, "The just shall live by faith." We are saved by faith.

We are saved by faith alone. That's what Paul means when he writes in verse 17 that "the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith." To put it simply, faith is beginning of salvation, it is the first thing you must do to be saved. And it is the end of salvation; it is the last thing you must do to be saved. Salvation begins and ends with faith. Thus, we are saved by faith alone. Salvation isn't by faith plus baptism, communion, church membership, good works. It is by faith alone.

There you have a definition and explanation of the gospel. It is about a person - Jesus Christ who is God in human flesh, who died for our sins and rose for our justification. It has the power to save. It is available to everyone. It is received by faith alone.

Jesus said, "Repent and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). That is what I invite you to do today. Trust Christ and what He did on the cross for your personal salvation and during our invitation come and by your coming publicly profess your personal faith in Christ.