The Gospel

This is somewhat of a continuation of a previous post A Different Gospel

This topic has been on my mind the past couple weeks.  God has impressed it upon me so I wanted to put together a more comprehensive post regarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Perhaps the best summary of the good news is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4:

"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures"

A true saving faith is a faith that works.  This does not mean we can merit salvation by works, but if we truly believe we will act upon our faith; in gratitude to the One who loved me and gave Himself for me (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).  So I have taken some time to study the Word, being reminded of the grace of God as shown in the Person of Jesus Christ (John 1:18).  Below I have laid out many Scriptures showing God's plan of salvation.  How it does not involve my goodness, but rather His grace which covers my sin.  If you are able to read through to the end you will find some controversial passages which I have tried to answer to the best of my ability.  Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

 
Because my sin is great, but His grace greater

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13)

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3)

"For God so loved the word that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18)

"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36)

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." (John 5:24)

"Then they said to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?'  Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." (John 6:28-29)

"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40)

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life." (John 6:47)

"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24)

"Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:34-36)

"I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." (John 10:9)

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

"And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:30-31)

"...and made no distinction between us [Jew] and them [Gentile], purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9)
"And he brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'  So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved...' " (Acts 16:30-31)

"For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith' " (Romans 1:17)

"Where is boasting then?  It is excluded.  By what law?  Of works?  No, but by the law of faith.  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law." (Romans 3:27-28) 

"For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  For what does the Scripture say?  'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'  Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt.  But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works..." (Romans 4:2-6)
 
"And therefore 'it was accounted to him for righteousness.'  Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us.  It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification." (Romans 4:22-25) 

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1)

"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8)

"Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound.  But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5:20-21)

"For the wage of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

"What shall we say then?  That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.  Why?  Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, the works of the law..." (Romans 9:30-32)

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4)

"that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)

"Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.  And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace.  But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work." (Romans 11:5-6)

"knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified" (Galatians 2:16)

"I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain" (Galatians 2:21)

"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:24-26)

"Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing...You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace...For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5:2,4,6)

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast."  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

"...and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Philippians 3:9)

"And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight" (Colossians 1:22-23)

"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses." (Colossians 2:14)

"who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began" (2 Timothy 1:9)

"...not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us..." (Titus 3:5)

"Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)


Because His blood makes me clean

"The next day John [the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!' " (John 1:29)

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name [than Jesus] under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

"To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." (Acts 10:43)

"being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:24-26)

"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:2)

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived.  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you.  But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)


"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new...For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:17,21) 

"In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7) 

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13)

"Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption...but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself...so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many...by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all...for by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified...now where there is remission of thee, there is no longer an offering for sin." (Hebrews 9:12,26,28, 10:10,14,18)

"...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

"...having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." (1 Peter 1:23) 

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God..." (1 Peter 3:18) 

"And He Himself is the propitiation [satisfying payment] for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:1)


Because He elected me apart from my works 

"Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." (Acts 13:48)

"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:29-30)

"What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?" (Romans 9:22-24)

"Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:3-6)

"To the pilgrims...elect according to the foreknowledge of God the father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:1-2)


But What About...

As clear as the Scriptures are in regards to salvation by grace through faith, there are some verses that can give the opposite impression at first glance.  When tackling some of the tougher areas, keep in mind the practical wisdom from Scofield, "Some texts are not free from difficulty, but with prayer and careful study light will surely come when keeping in mind the important rule:  Never use a doubtful or obscure passage to contradict a clear and positive one.  Do not use an 'if' to contradict a 'verily': Hebrews 6:6 to contradict John 5:24."  A few of these passages are shown below.

James 2:14-26
These verses seem to indicate I cannot be saved without works.  But what about all the verses we looked at above?  Do the Scriptures contradict themselves?  The Word of God has no contradiction and there is a reasonable explanation for these verses.  Works are an evidence of our salvation.  If a man says with his mouth that he has a trust in God, but never shows it by his life then it is clear this person has no faith at all.  Belief is an action.  Consider Jesus' parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9,18-23).  Which seed produced fruit (works)?  It was not the seed that fell in the rocks.  It looked good at first, but fizzled because it wasn't grounded in faith.  The seed that sprouted among thorns never could produce fruit since it was too distracted.  A similar concept is shown at the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:24-27).  It is the one who both hears and does that has a stable home on the rock.  If I say, but never follow-up by doing, well, then I guess I don't really believe.  Think back to when you were in school (or maybe you're unlucky enough to be in school now).  If you were told on Friday that you would have a test on Monday, how would you spend your weekend?  If you believed there is an upcoming test you would plan your weekend to involve time to study, to prepare for the exam.  Your belief would result in action.

Taking this further, we can read John 12:24 where Jesus says, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."  Notice the fruit is not obtained until the grain first dies.  So it is with us.  If we die with Christ, laying our sins on His cross we can walk in newness of life.  God will work through us to grow us and produce in us the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).  But it is only after we have come to Him in saving faith, then the works will follow.

Matthew 19:16-17
The young man in this story comes to Jesus, asking what he can do to inherit eternal life.  We would expect Jesus to say, "I am going to die on a cross for your sins, believe this and you will have life."  However, he does not do this, but tells the man to keep the commandments.  Why did He do this?  We know that by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 7:7).  Have you ever lied?  Stolen?  Lusted?  Blasphemed?  We all would have to say that we are guilty.  But notice the young man; he says, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  What pride, what arrogance!  We cannot be saved until we first see ourselves as lost.  Jesus uses the law to point out the young man's sin, but he is blinded by his "goodness".  So Jesus probes further asking the man to, "sell what you have and give to the poor", but at this saying "he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."  Here Jesus reveals the heart of the man.  He may have said he was lawful, but what about his selfishness and greed?  He was not willing to give up his riches, but rather wishes to save himself and lose his life (Mark 8:35-37).  He did not count the cost (Luke 9:57-62).

Romans 2:6-11
The broader theme of Romans 1-3 is the depravity of man.  However, tucked away in the early part of the second chapter is verse seven, "eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality."  So this verse taken on its own does seem to indicate we are given eternal life by doing good.  However, this does not line up with the whole of Scripture.  Paul preached tirelessly on the grace of God and not the goodness of men.  How can we work the works of God?  By believing in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:28-29).

Philippians 2:12
This is a very common verse used to show that works are required for salvation.  However, notice what Paul says in this verse and in the verse to follow.  First, he commands the Philippians to work "out" their salvation.  What does it mean to work out our salvation?  God's plan is that the Christian be filled with good works (Titus 3:8).  Those who are born again have Christ living inside them.  Show the world what it means to be a Christian, work out what is inside and display to the world the One who has saved you.  Then, notice verse 13.  Who is it who provides the will for us to work?  God.  Who is it who provides the ability to do?  God.  So even the works we perform are done through the motivation of the Spirit and the life and breath of God (Philippians 1:6).  We have nothing to boast about before Him in this matter.

Matthew 18:21-35
Jesus concludes this parable similar to Matthew 6:14-15 saying that God will not forgive us if we do not forgive another.  Does this mean if I die with unforgiving heart that I am bound for hell?  Certainly not!  What Jesus speaks of here is parental forgiveness.  Similar to what John speaks of in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins , He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  When the Christian sins he has lost fellowship with his Father.  This is not too much unlike the relationship between an earthly father and his children.  If they disobey him the earthly father is disappointed and the relationship is affected.  The closeness is not there, but a distance between them.  The child is still a child and has not lost that position.  So it is with the children of God.  When we sin and disobey our Father there is a break between us and God.  But if we confess our sins He can restore that relationship.  In a similar way we cannot expect to have fellowship with God if we hold the sin of unforgiveness in our heart.  We may be chastened for this bitterness, but we are still called children of God.

Consider the thief on the cross (Luke 23:40-43).  He rightly deserved to die for the crimes he had done.  But after some hours on the cross he realized Jesus was who He said He was.  He humbled himself and asked Jesus to "remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  In reality this was a prayer of faith - Lord, I am a sinner, save me!  The thief had not performed many good works, he had not even been baptized, but Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."  Jesus acknowledged his repentance, granting him eternal life based on faith, not by works.

1 Tim. 5:8
The context of 1 Timothy 5 is the treatment of true widows.  Paul challenges us to care for the weakest of those in the faith.  However, if we cannot even do this we are shown hypocrites and are not living a life consistent with our faith.  This does not mean we have lost our salvation, but rather we have denied the power of God by not walking the talk.  This is worse than an unbeliever since many an ungodly man will look out for his own family, working hard to provide for them.  The believer is called to higher things than this and at a minimum should have the love to reach out to his flesh and blood with material things.  "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?" (Matthew 5:46-47)

2 Cor 5:10; 1 Peter 1:17
There is a difference between salvation and rewards.  The true believer is exempt from God's judgment of his sin; it is nailed to the cross.  However, he is called to live a holy life, to prove his faith by his works.  He will be judged in eternity according to his life on earth.  Not whether he enters heaven or hell, but what is his standing in glory.

Rev. 20:12-13
It is generally believed that the only participants invited to the judgment are those who are already lost.  This is the final reckoning where man is to come before his Creator.  If he were perfect he could enter heavens glory, but it is clear by his works that he is far from perfect.  He is a sinner in need of a Savior, but it is too late and his name is not found in the Book of Life.



So we find there are indeed verses which may appear difficult at first, but after careful study we can understand their teaching in the light of all Scripture.  God greatly desires the believer to be filled with good works.  These work are an evidence of our salvation, but in no way do they save us or keep us saved.  It is the blood of Christ that redeems us and His grace that saves and secures us.

For further study:  an excellent resource is "Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth" by C. I. Scofield.  He covers topics such as "Salvation and Rewards", "Standing and State", "Law and Grace", etc.  His simple style and plethora of Scriptures make it a must-have for my library.