Basics Series. Evangelism, part 3: He who believes in the Son has eternal life.

Evangelism, Part 3: He who believes in the Son has eternal life.

The Doctrine of the Gospel

Point 1: What is “the Gospel”?

εὐαγγέλιον

euaggelion
eu =“good”,
aggello = “to bear a message, to bring news, to proclaim or announce”.

In the New Testament, the word describes the “good news” of salvation through Christ, to be received by faith alone, on the basis of His substitutionary death bearing our sins, followed by His burial and resurrection.

In 1Co 15:1-8, the apostle Paul summarizes the most basic ingredients of the gospel message, namely the death, burial, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances of Christ.

1. Christ died for our sins as our substitute.

Rom 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us [in our place, as a substitute for us].

Christ paid the penalty for every sin ever committed – every sin in the past, present, and future committed by every human being who ever lived or will live.

1Jo 2:2
and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

2. Christ was buried.

Burial is the act which consummates the breaking of the last tie between man and his earthly life.

His burial indicates the complete separation, the final, decisive break from sin and from human good and evil.
 

He went into the tomb a sin offering sacrificed unto death.
 
He came out completely unrelated to the burden of sin.

3. Christ was raised from the dead on the third day.

The resurrection is God’s celebration of victory.

It declares:

That Jesus is the Son of God, Rom 1:4

The gospel concerns the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was demonstrated to be God incarnate by His bodily resurrection from the dead.

That our redemption has been accomplished.

1Co 15:17
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

That believers are justified: declared perfectly righteous by God, Rom 4:25.

The resurrection of Christ is also the basis for our hope of the good things to come: our resurrection body and our enjoyment of eternal life forever in heaven.

4. Christ appeared in His resurrection body to many witnesses including Peter and Paul and James and the other apostles.

The Gospel of God concerning His Son the Lord Jesus Christ includes the following facts:
 

(a) Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures
(b)He was buried
(c) He has been raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures
(d) He appeared to various witnesses, including Paul.

The Gospel boils down to two facts:
 
1. Christ died for our sins , and
2. Christ was raised on the third day.
 
The other two facts serve to validate these two central truths.\

 The fact that He was buried verifies His physical death, and the fact that He appeared to others verifies His resurrection.
 

 The death and resurrection of Christ are also backed up by the Old Testament scriptures such as Psalms 16 and 22 and Isaiah 53.
 

 And these events are supported by awesome historical evidence including the empty tomb and the many eyewitnesses.
 

The Gospel – the good news – is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in light of who He is and what He accomplished with this work.

2Co 5:21
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The Gospel is all about Christ:
His person and
His work.
 

The Gospel is the GOOD NEWS concerning the person, death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
 

 By simply believing this good news, we have eternal life and are declared perfectly righteous forever by God.

πιστεύω
pisteuo =
“to believe, to be persuaded of, to place confidence in, to trust”

“to believe in to the extent of complete trust and reliance” 

Rom 4:5
But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.