IT'S THE GOSPEL OF WHAT?

When one reads Galatians 1:6-9, he realizes that the Apostle Paul is very clear that there is but one true Gospel. Paul says those who preach a false gospel, another gospel, should be cursed by God. The problem is, not everyone agrees on the definition of the true Gospel. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote:

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

According to this passage, Jesus fulfilled all of the Scripture that spoke of His coming to die as our Passover Lamb (Lk. 24:25-27; Jn. 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7). Most evangelicals believe the Gospel has to do with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, and while that is true, there is much more to the true Gospel. The Gospel has many facets which can be seen in the way God's Word describes it. It is called:

The Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 24:14).
The Gospel of Christ (Mk. 1:14).
The Gospel of Grace (Acts 20:24).
The Gospel of God (Rom. 15:16).
The Gospel of the Son (Rom. 1:9).
The Gospel of Peace (Rom. 10:15).
The Gospel of the Circumcision (Gal. 2:7).
The Gospel of Salvation (Eph. 1:13).

Jesus Christ, when the time for this age ends, will completely fulfill the Scriptures that address His Second Coming. The Good News (the Gospel) is: Jesus will return as King (of the Kingdom), the Anointed One (Messiah/Christ), the Free Gift (Grace), God (God manifest in the flesh), the Son (of God), the Prince (of Peace), the Good News (to the Jews), and as the Savior (Author of our Salvation).

There is a group of sincere Christians who worry about the Gospel being corrupted by churches which add works to how one "qualifies" for salvation. As a result, they argue that baptism, church attendance, giving, "soul-winning," the sacraments, etc. are what a believer does out of gratitude once he is saved. And while I totally agree with them that adding works of any kind corrupts the true Gospel, I think they are missing a very important point. Genuine born again believers do not simply do those things out of gratitude; they do them because they have accepted the true Gospel which declares Jesus to be much more than our Passover Lamb: He is the King of the Kingdom and He is God in the flesh.

The Jesus we accept as our personal Savior, must be accepted for who He is: He is Lord!