The Importance of the Gospel

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Romans 1:16-17 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

     It would seem that people have a tendency to develop certain phrases as you converse with them.  My wife has one phrase that she uses a lot and it is, “Imagine that.”  Another friend often says, “It is what it is.”  One that I use a lot is from “Charlie Brown,” which goes, “Good grief.”  One of my mother’s expressions when we had screen doors and such was,”Shut the door.  Were you born in a barn?”  She had a lot of those old time expressions and I think I heard most of them.

    The Apostle Paul had a few expressions also and one of them always included the word, “gospel.”  Of course the word “gospel” only is found in the New Testament and occurs some 104 times.  Paul defines the word in First Corinthians 15:3-4 but it is also found in much of Paul’s ministry.  Preachers today often miss spreading the gospel and proclaim something else like health, wealth and prosperity of a social gospel that has nothing to do with salvation.  I once heard a message, so called, about the Chicago seven.  It has no message of salvation or any hint of being close to the gospel.  We are raising a generation of people who do not know God nor do they hear the gospel and some of them are in pulpits today and have no idea what the gospel is.  The gospel according to the Apostle Paul is the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I just heard my friend in heaven, Paul Gillespie say, “Amen.”  That is the “good news” that we are to proclaim.  In the above passage, Paul proclaims that he is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.  It would seem that many are ashamed of it as they say nothing about it and try to come up with their own method of getting into heaven.  Almost everyone thinks that their departed loved ones are in heaven even though they never heard the gospel or  believed in God in the first place.  That is far from the truth of the Bible that I read.  Millions of people are going to be standing at the Great White Throne judgment and will hear the words, “Depart from me.  I never knew you.”  There is no mistake that everyone will bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Some will be ushered into heaven while others will be ushered into hell.  Woe to those preachers who have proclaimed everything but the gospel and will be responsible for many going into eternity without God.  Good works do not save.  Baptism does not save.  Signing a card does not save.  Believing on the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Chris saves as He died for our sins, each and every sin that we committed, past, peasant and future.  You are an ambassador for Christ if you know Him as your Savior.  Be prepared to stand alone as you proclaim the gospel to the lost around you.  Praise God today for the message of the gospel