Basics Series. Evangelism, part 4: Salvation comes by faith, not faithfulness.

Evangelism, Part 4:
Salvation comes by faith, not faithfulness.

The Doctrine of the Gospel

Point 1: What is “the Gospel”?

In the New Testament, euaggelion 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.

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 Isa 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.
 

Faith or believing is having complete trust and reliance on another to come through for you solely on the basis of their authority, ability, and trustworthiness.

Gal 3:26
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
 

Faith gives all of the merit to the OBJECT of faith.
It keeps none for itself.
 

In salvation, the object of our faith is the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Pisteuo is not a special kind of faith which some claim is only given to the elect. The merit is in the object, not the way someone believes.

Faith does not include repentance in the sense of feeling sorry for your sins and/or renouncing all your sins.

It does not mean to commit to, as in committing your life to Christ, making Christ Lord of your life, counting the cost and agreeing to pay it.

Pisteuo does not encompass obedience, or forsaking oneself for the sake of Christ.

Saving faith does not include submission to the commands of God – except the one to believe!

At salvation, the issue for our volition is NOT commitment or obedience, but simply TRUST.