THE TRUE GOSPEL

In Galatians 1:6-9 NIV, the Apostle Paul said:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!  As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”

“Eternally condemned” … that’s strong language, isn’t it?  But Paul had a very good reason to speak so strongly against those who preach a different gospel from the one he preached… if someone hears, believes and follows a “different gospel,” that person is just as lost as someone who has no beliefs at all.  Jesus, Himself, said this same thing in John 8:24 NIV, when He said, “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins." In other words, if you do not believe Jesus is who He says He is, you are just as lost as a person who does not believe at all.

The purpose of this message is to let you know just who Jesus claimed to be, and how we are saved. These are things for which it is essential to one’s salvation to understand them correctly! If someone changes them or teaches them incorrectly, that person is in danger of eternal condemnation – as are those who follow those false teachings.

Let’s start with the basics… When a carpenter starts to build something, he first lays down a “plumb line” – a line that he refers to over and over again as he builds his project in order to keep the whole project “true.”  As people, we also need a “plumb line” for our lives – somewhere that we can go where we know that we will always find the truth.  That “plumb line” is the Bible.  There is no other book that contains consistent, solid truth, and there is no other ancient book that has so much evidence for its reliability and infallibility.  Written over a period of 1,500 years by some 40 prophets/authors, and covering a time span of over 2,500 years, there is not one contradiction to be found anywhere in the 66 books!  Few of the men who wrote the books of the Bible – especially those writing the Old Testament - knew each other, and yet there is no contradiction between any of them. 

God was so careful to protect His word, that He made use of more than one way to convey His word so that we, today, can avail ourselves of its truths.  For instance, there are some 24,000+ ancient manuscripts or pieces of manuscripts of the New Testament alone.  And yet, if all of those manuscripts were somehow lost or destroyed…and if, at the same time, every copy of the New Testament was somehow lost or destroyed, we could reconstruct the entire New Testament – except for 12 verses – by using the letters of the early church fathers! 

There is much more to be said in defense of the infallibility of the Bible and its position as our “plumb line” for truth, but we won’t go into those here.  There are several superb books on the subject, so if you doubt the reliability of the Bible, I would suggest that you get a copy of one or both of the following books and read them carefully:

Evidence that Demands a Verdict (either edition) by Josh McDowell

God’s Word: Final, Infallible and Forever by Floyd McElveen

Now, let’s look at some of the basic doctrines of Christianity, the ones which are most often perverted by those who preach a different gospel.  The first of these is the nature of God.

According to the leading expert on God’s Nature – Jesus – “God is spirit.” (John 4:24a NIV)  “…and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24b NIV)  God is unique in that He alone has a long list of divine characteristics – none of which are possessed by human beings.  For a full list of all the divine attributes of God, click here.

Because Jesus is God, he has all of the same attributes, with one exception – He was spirit, but He took on a physical body when He came to earth.  He came to earth to be the final sacrifice for our sins—all of them! He came to teach us the truth, and to show us God, that we may be reconciled to Him!  “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”  (John 14:9 NIV)

In John 10:11, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep."  Jesus often referred to Himself as a shepherd.  Perhaps because, even today, the image of a shepherd is one that depicts comfort, security, peace and love.  There is nothing so tender as a shepherd caring for his sheep.  In this instance, He says He is the "good shepherd", who will lay down His life for His sheep.  Never again would man have to offer a blood sacrifice for any sin.  Jesus' sacrifice was the ultimate, the complete and the final sacrifice.

Beginning in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:21), when God killed an animal and made clothing for Adam and Eve, God began to show us that the only thing that will “cover” sin is a blood sacrifice.  Later, when God sent the final plague to Egypt – the slaying of the firstborn of all humans and animals alike – it was the blood of perfect one-year-old lambs, spread over the sides and tops of the doorframes of the Hebrews, which protected the people of Israel from the Angel of Death.  (See Exodus 12.) On that night, God established the Passover feast – the meat of the slaughtered lambs was to be roasted, and a portion given to each person in the household.  They would eat the meat, along with bitter herbs, and unleavened (made without yeast) bread, and drink red wine.  Later, the unleavened bread and red wine would be used by Jesus to symbolize His sinless body (the unleavened bread), and His blood shed in sacrifice (the red wine), and establish the Sacrament, or Communion, or Lord’s Supper that we celebrate today as Christians.

After their exodus from Egypt, and while the Hebrews were wandering in the wilderness, God established a priesthood, made up solely of the descendants of Levi.  Sometimes called the Levitical Priesthood or the Priesthood of Aaron (named for Moses’ brother, Aaron, who was the first high priest), these men would act as “mediators” between God and men.  These men were consecrated as Priests, given very elaborate garments to wear, and given specific instructions as to their roles as mediators (Exodus 28 & 29).  Then God told Moses to build the Tabernacle (Exodus chapters 25-27, 30, 35-40) – a “portable Temple” (built sometime between the 15 th and 13 th centuries B.C.) which the Hebrews carried with them throughout their wanderings, and which was continued to be used for many, many years as the place where the hundreds of animals were sacrificed for the sins of the people.   

God revealed the plans for the Temple to David (1 Chronicles 28:11-19), but told David that he would not be the one to build the temple because God did not want a warrior to build His Temple.  After Solomon (David’s son through Bathsheba) became King, God instructed Solomon to build the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 5 – 8), and from the day that incredibly beautiful building was constructed until 70 A.D., it would be the place where all Jews would come to offer perfect lambs and doves so that the priests could make blood sacrifices to cover the people’s sins.  Scripture tells us that God appointed construction of the tabernacle (and later, the temple) because of His desire to dwell among His people (Exodus 25:8; 1 Kings 6:12,13).  However, in its design and activities, the temple emphasized the separation of sinful man from God and the difficulty in approaching His divine presence under the old covenant.  Only priests could enter the temple sanctuary.  The sanctuary had two rooms: an outer chamber, called the " Holy Place," and an inner room, the "Holy of Holies,” which was separated from it by a massive veil.  Worshippers could enter neither; they came no further than the altar of burnt offering in the courtyard. Only the Levitical priests entered the temple, where they ministered in the holy place on behalf of the people.  The Holy of Holies was the place of God’s special presence. Only the high priest could go behind the massive Temple veil, and he could do that only one time a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, Leviticus 16:2,34; Hebrews 9:7).  What he did there is spelled out in detail in Leviticus 16:2-34.

On the day that Jesus was crucified everything changed.  At the moment of Jesus’ death, God Himself tore the Temple veil in two from top to bottom – an action that was impossible for men to do.  The Temple veil was a massive, intricately woven tapestry about 14 inches thick!  It was so strong that it was said that two teams of oxen pulling in opposite directions could not even put a wrinkle in it!  But God made short work of that massive veil, in a symbolic act that said to the Hebrews – and to all of mankind – that no longer would anyone need a priesthood to mediate between him/her and God Almighty.  From that moment forward, there would be “…one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5b NIV).  Then, God pushed His agenda forward even further by allowing the Temple to be destroyed in 70 A.D.  There was no more need for a Temple, because there was no more need for blood sacrifice.  Jesus had become the FINAL blood sacrifice, ending for all time the need for a Temple or for the slaughter of thousands of lambs and doves.  Three days after Jesus died on the cross, God’s plan of salvation was completed when Jesus rose from the dead, conquering death and hell forever for all who will believe.

All who will believe… That’s another important point in the true gospel… that ALL who will believe will be saved.  Salvation does not require membership in any particular church.  Religion is manmade – man’s feeble attempt to reach up to God.  Christianity is a relationship – completing God’s magnificent act of reaching down to man.  When we are born, we are part of God’s creation.  When we accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation by faith alone, we are adopted into God’s family, a part of the Body of Christ.  “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27 NIV)   When the New Testament refers to “the church,” it is speaking of the Body of Christ, which is made up of every born-again believer who has ever lived or who ever will live.

All who believe… that phrase carries with it yet another important aspect of what it means to be a Christian.  In John 6:28 NIV, the people asked Jesus, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"  His answer in verse 29 is vitally important for all of us to understand.  Jesus said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."  That’s it.  Just believe… trust that Jesus is who He says He is, and trust in His death and resurrection (His work, not yours) to save you from your sins… AND that is it! 

There is not one thing that you or I can do to make God love us any more or any less than He already does.  There is not one thing you or I can do to make ourselves “worthy” enough to go to heaven.  “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 NIV) If we try to achieve heaven through “good works,” we are wasting our time because all of our “good works” are like “filthy rags” to God (Isaiah 64:6).  Rather, the ONLY thing that will save us is faith in Jesus Christ.  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.”(Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)

This concept is, perhaps, the most difficult one for any of us to comprehend because we have a hard time believing that anything as important as eternal life can’t possibly be “free.”  However, it IS free – for us – but it was bought at a terrible price.  Jesus suffered more in the last 24 hours of His life than any of us could ever comprehend… and He did so because of His incomprehensible and unconditional love for each and every one of us.  He did so because not one of us is capable of being “worthy” of attaining heaven, no matter how many good works we do or how closely we follow God’s Commandments.  Perhaps Paul said it best when he said, ”I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing."  (Galatians 2:21 NIV)  If you would like to know more about God’s amazing grace, click here.

Besides God’s grace, one last thing has been perverted – or ignored or ridiculed – by many who do not understand it, and that one thing is the cross.  Some ridicule the Christian focus on the cross, saying, “If Jesus Christ had been killed with a gun, would you wear a gun around your neck or stand one up at the front of your sanctuaries?”  My answer is “YES!” 

As misunderstood as it may have been, the cross was God demonstrating His love for us… in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Jesus did not die by some plot of the Gentile or Jew.  Speaking of His life, Jesus said, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord." (John 10:18 NIV)  He said that He would “give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28b NIV)  And so He did.  He who knew no sin took upon Himself the sin of all mankind and its judgment upon that cross that He might bring us to God. 

It was love, the unerring love of God, which brought the many prophecies of scripture to precise fulfillment.  On a specific day marked on heaven's calendar, and in a specific place marked on earth's map, the Son of God came to dwell among us.  It was love that prompted the Son of God to show compassion to the sick, the distressed and the sin-burdened.  It was love that enabled Jesus Christ to become "poor, that (we) through His poverty might be rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV)  It was love, divine love, that made Him "endure the cross, despising the shame" (Hebrews 12:2 NIV) … that made Him endure the contradictions of sinners against Himself. 

It was love that restrained Him when He was falsely accused of blasphemy and was led to Golgotha to die with common thieves; He raised not a hand against His enemies.  It was love that kept Him from calling legions of angels to come to His defense.  It was love that, after such torture devised by degenerate man had been heaped upon Him, caused Him to lift His voice and pray, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."  (Luke 23:34 NIV)  It was love which made Him, in a moment of agonizing death, give life to a repentant sinner who cried, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Luke 23:42 NIV)

From Genesis to Revelation, from earth's greatest tragedy to heaven's greatest triumph, the dramatic story of mankind's lowest depths and of God's highest heights can be couched in 25 words:  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  (John 3:16 NIV)

 

- by Bonnie Ricks

 

   

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