This week we will study about the meaning of the Gospel. What is the Gospel? What does it consist of?
The best way to explain what the Gospel is, is what the Word itself says about it; the most suitable text for this is found in Matthew 7:28, we read:
And it was that, as Jesus finished these words, the people marveled at His doctrine;
The Gospel is a doctrine, and by the uses of that word in the writings of the Old Testament, doctrine is the teaching of (for) wise men. Let us see this in the following references:
My doctrine shall drip down like the rain, My reasoning shall distil like the dew, Like the drizzle upon the grass, And like the drops upon the herb: Deuteronomy 32:2
Then Hilkiah and the king’s men went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasra, keeper of the garments, who dwelt in Jerusalem in the house of doctrine; and they told her the words which they had spoken. 2nd. Chronicles 34:22
To whom shall knowledge be taught, or doctrine be made known? to them that are taken from the milk? to them that are taken from the breasts? Isaiah 28:9
So, we have a fundamental explanation on which we begin our learning task. The Gospel is not dogma, it is not religion, it is not ritual, it is to dwell under the teaching of Jesus; it is to walk under His instruction by adopting every counsel of the Scriptures as the reason for our existence and reason for living. Thus, then, the disciple is not the one who knows the teaching of his master, but the one who is taught to walk with it.
Identify at least one Word of the Lord, establish it as your standard of living, and walk by it in all you do. Blessings.
Recommended readings.
Matthew 4:23: And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.
Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Matthew 11:5: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Matthew 24:14: And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Matthew 26:13: Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in all the world, that which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
The Gospel, although it teaches, is not activated just by nodding to it; faith is necessary. The basic principle of faith is to follow instructions, hence anyone who argues about the truthfulness of the Word, or how to interpret it, is far from being a man/woman of faith.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18
One of the tendencies that greatly affects men/women of faith is the idea of believing —erroneously— that the Gospel is knowledge; based on the biblical text of Jesus’ declaration, of “You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free“, religious philosophy has introduced many in a race to “acquire” knowledge, believing that the more knowledge they acquire (biblical, of course), the closer they are to the Truth.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32
Grave error, the Gospel is action; in fact, the best way to evaluate if a man/woman of faith has a correct definition of the Gospel, is to evaluate the first reaction of the person in his/her contact with the doctrine he/she receives, or the Word he/she reads; if the person tends to want to know more about the subject, his/her definition of the Gospel is inadequate, the Gospel moves us to “do” the Word.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22
Finally, the Gospel is not about sharing information, it is about transmitting the experience of Jesus and faith in His name, it is about leading others on the path of Jesus’ Revelation through His Word.
And he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou shalt do. Acts 9:6
And he dwelt in the house of Simon a tanner, whose house was by the sea: and he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. Acts 10:6
The task of a man/woman of faith is to “testify” to the Virtue of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, about how we finite men/women can be “more than conquerors through Him who loved us, while we were yet sinners” Blessings
Recommended readings.
Romans 5:5: And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us.
Romans 8:37: But in all these things we do more than conquer through him who loved us.
1st. John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: for this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knoweth him not.
1st. John 4:9: Hereby was manifested the love of God toward us, in that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Pastor Pedro Montoya
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Treasure in Earthen Vessels 