Romans 1:16,17 "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." KJV
In order to understand what we believe and why, we are going to look at four main points of doctrine upon which this entire study is based. The four points are:
1) A Gospel You Can Believe
2) A Life You Can Live
3) A Bible Study You Can Understand
4) A Book You Can Trust
There are three basic topics that will allow us to examine a gospel you can believe:
1) Are all gospels the same?
2) Our gospel vs. all other gospels.
3) How we are saved today?
Differing "Gospels"
Throughout scripture there have been many different gospels, all of which were true.
Gospel of the Kingdom, which takes us back to King David.
Gospel of the Circumcision, which takes us back before David to Abraham.
Gospel of the Uncircumcision, which takes us back before Abraham, when his name was Abram.
Gospel of Reconciliation, which takes us back before Abram, to Adam.
Gospel of the Mystery, which takes us all the way before Adam where the triune Godhead set forth a plan to accomplish the good pleasure of His will.
Here are some popular concepts of what the gospel is.
1) Sinner's Prayer - Luke 18:9-14
2) Ask Jesus into your heart. This is not found in scripture. This is a man made doctrine based upon the popularization of pseudo-psychological, self-help, positive-thinking preaching going on today.
3) Ask God to forgive your sins. Contrast Matthew 6:9-15, and Ephesians 4:30-32.
4) Every head bowed, every eye closed. Some teach that you should do this quietly between yourself and God.
5) Come forward. Some teach you have to make a public profession, citing Matthew 10:33, "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him I will also deny before my Father which is in heaven."
6) Repentance, confession, and baptism. Some teach that you should repent of all of your sins, confess, and then be baptized in water. Acts 2:38, and 3:19
Let us look at some verses to see what God thinks about His word. Luke 1:70, Acts 3:21, and Romans 16:25,26.
Luke 1:70 KJV
[70] As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
Acts 3:21 KJV
[21] Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Romans 16:25-26 KJV
[25] Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, [26] But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
If you read the verses, you can clearly see that there were some things spoken of since the world began and some things were kept secret since the world began. Now I realize you may want to change the word "world" to "age" and destroy Gods word to prove your point. However, let us just allow the words on the page to speak for themselves.
Luke wrote both the book of Luke and the book Acts. In the context of both passages they are talking about the same thing. They are talking about the gospel of the kingdom. That gospel of the kingdom has been preached since the world began.
Have you ever noticed that the opening verse of the Bible states, Genesis 1:1 KJV[1] "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."?
Have you also noticed from that point on, scripture deals with a kingdom which will set up on the earth?
Have you noticed that everything that is promised to the Nation of Israel is based in the literal, physical, earthly establishment of the Davidic Kingdom?
Have you noticed that a period of time in Acts, around chapter 9, that God saved Saul of Taursus, changed his name to Paul and gave him a new doctrine that teaches God is also setting up a kingdom in the heavenlies?
Have you noticed the title "The Most High God" is always followed by "the possessor of heaven and earth"?
Have you also noticed that the kingdom of God consists of the earthly and the heavenly?
Have you ever noticed the establishment of the heavenly kingdom was "kept secret since the world began"?
Perhaps you should ask your pastor these same questions, and then ask him why you do not know these simple truths.
Grace and Peace
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
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