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I want to share with you my gospel. I say this in hope that you have made or will come to make the same claim. Please don’t assume I’m boasting of any special revelation, but understand I have made the truth of God my own. I am in good company, too. No less a one than the apostle Paul did the same. He explained to the Galatians that he had not received the gospel by any man but by the revelation of Christ himself. As the apostle to the gentiles, his letters revealing the mystery of the Church reflect an insight not found in other writings. Truly he made this truth his own, concluding his letter to the Church of Rome with the benediction beginning, “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel." Do I speak too boldly? Is it too much for us to identify ourselves with the likes of Paul? After all, Paul was tutored by the risen Christ who was given revelation by God after his ascension (see Rev. 1;1). Certainly, if we try comparing ourselves with Paul's life and ministry, his love and zeal, the persecution he endured, we may appear like the tiniest of pigmies. But God cautions us not to compare ourselves with others. None of us lived in the time when the gospel was so new and explosive. Who of us has been taken to the third heaven? Do not each of us vary in talent and gifts as God has determined? We must remember God has established a level playing field. He is no respecter of persons, that is, He doesn't show favoritism. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Like Paul, we believers have been convicted of our Sin and miraculously saved by His grace, given His Spirit and made members of the household of God. It seems hard to get this through our heads, but let's face it. Have we ever a choice but to trust Christ in us and to run the race of faith in the time and place to which we each uniquely are appointed? Paul confessed that there was nothing good in his flesh, i.e., his natural self. "Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?" In his spiritual struggle, Paul was freed by becoming identified with the Spirit of Christ in him. He saw that Sin was an intruder from which he had been separated by God in his inner man. So, rather than focusing on ourselves, why not focus on Christ who is our life? We only have two choices. Let's rest in faith on what God says, not in a continual self trip. Let's copy Paul who said, “For I live, no, not I, but Christ lives in me.” If we lay claim to the fullness of the gospel, we can do that, too. The gospel is so common in our language as to be regarded to need no elaboration. However, most people seem unable to accurately define it. Let's be sure we have a clear understanding of what the gospel is--and what it isn't-- for certainly there are many "gospels" today. Paul warned the Galatians about accepting "another gospel" conditioned upon being circumcised as the Jews insisted. His concern might seem a small matter anymore, being dwarfed by so much preaching that makes a mockery of God's word, making man rather than Christ the center. To elaborate on this is surely unnecessary since the apathy and division of today's so-called "Christianity" is so commonplace and apparent. What is the gospel? Not necessarily what some creed or theologian or preacher says, but what the Bible declares, because too often there is a vast difference. The gospel comes from the Greek word euaggelion that means "a good message" or, as it is often called, "good news." If we consider what it declares, the term "good news" is the epitome of understatement. Paul called it "glorious." Words like phenomenal, fantastic, awesome, and the like all fall short. Think of it: God gave the one person he treasured above all else to suffer in agony on a Cross to take upon himself the penalty due for the sins of the world. John 3:16 says it well: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Notice that it is a gift, not a reward. Putting our hope solely in Christ is the only condition for gaining the unmerited favor of God and being assured of heaven. To insinuate we must somehow contribute anything to our salvation must be an insult to the priceless gift of Christ's suffering on the Cross. See Eph. 2:8, 9. It is a gift offered to the entire world, to
every sinner, no matter how undeserving. Only those who claim to be righteous themselves are excluded. "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel" This repentance is not like that of giving up some habit or trying to be better; instead if is to turn from trusting in ourselves to trusting in God. It's not simply an "add-on" like computer software added to improve performance of an operating system. Instead, it is about a brand new system, the very same Spirit that indwelled Christ's life in exchange for ours. We truly become new creations born of the Spirit of Christ. It is accompanied by the promises of God to bless every believer with His Spirit. "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." The Bible declares we are all under sin, born with a spirit that is dead to God, blind to Him and under self delusion. It also declares that if we earnestly seek God we will find Him and be given a new spirit, indeed, His Spirit. We must see that He not only died for us but we died in Him. On the Cross our sins He forgave and on that same Cross we entered our spiritual grave. He accomplished what we could not do on our own, paying the price for our wrongdoing and freeing us from the old nature at the root of the problem. Hard to fathom? Yes, but God says that's the way He sees it. Our job is to take His view rather than living in unbelief. Don't conclude that we have no sin nature or never sin. We may be more conscious of sin than ever; we may fail repeatedly, but as we honestly confess our need to God, we discover His forgiveness and increasingly rejoice in His love. Take a cue from I John 1:8, 9: "we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins caused by our SIN nature [our inheirited, faithless rebellion], he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." He uses our failures to accomplish His own purposes to conform us to the image of Christ. This is truth not grasped in a moment but only over time as Phil. 2:13 is fulfilled, "For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Sure, you may have questions but He has the answers. The one who call us knows us like a book and swears He can get the job done. Relax. Rejoice! Apparently unappreciated by most folks, the gospel speaks not only of Heaven when you die but of everlasting life here and now. Christ said, "I am come that you may have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). This is my gospel; it is truth I have increasingly enjoyed close to 50 years, after squandering the first 30. I can readily tell the difference. As a confessed sinner, I qualified when I staked my life on Christ. As a confessing Christian, I also qualify to enjoy the same life that Paul expressed when he said, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). This is not necessarily the same gospel understood by so many. America, with its long Christian tradition and thousands of churches, has been often described as "gospel poor." As scripture declares, "Hearing, they do not hear." The reason its message is so often not taken to heart is undoubtedly twofold. First, rather than the gospel delivered by Paul, another is preached. A false gospel is propagated that can take many forms, whether making false promises, appealing to wrong motives or laying down impossible conditions to meet. Moreover, we live in a culture that has inherited the baggage of accumulated additions and subtractions from the true Word of God over some 2,000 years. Moreover, the traditions of men have often obliterated the truth, no less than the commandments of men had done in Israel when Jesus castigated the rulers. Much teaching, whether on the radio, television or in print, fails to present sound doctrine. Want to know the truth? Open your Bible. Second, even when the gospel is preached in truth, the common reaction is to ignore it unless God has brought the hearers to repentance where they really want His life. In that respect, it has been that way since the beginning. May we all pray that our failures and trials cause us to know our helplessness apart from God. The promises are made to those who "hunger and thirst." When we are made weak, then are we made strong.
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