What was the Gospel in Jesus' day? (Part.3)

What was the Gospel in Jesus' day? (Part.3)

(Click here for Part 2)

So then, what is the gospel for us today?

Galatians 2:7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;

The clearest definition of the gospel for our day is found in Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

(See also: Rom.4:25; 1 Thes.4:14; Rom.14:9; 2 Cor.5:15; Eph.1:13)

Appropriating the Gospel

We often hear these phrases today in the context of becoming saved,

• "you must invite Jesus into your heart." or
• "you must accept Christ as your personal Saviour."

Where in the bible can we find these? Such "invitations" have absolutely no Scriptural basis. If you don't do what the bible instructs, you are wrong! (Look at Cain and Abel!)

Other misconceptions of salvation that are frequently heard today are things like, you must --

• repent, be baptized, join a church (God's family), have a priest or pastor or evangelist pray the sinners prayer with you, walk down an aisle, have witnesses at your sinners confession, or sacrifice time or money or commitment to a religious group.

The gospel for us today is to hear the message of why Jesus Christ had to save us, and then, by understanding what He has done to save us, we respond to the conviction on our heart; that He died for our sins, was buried, and He rose from the dead for our justification [defence, pardon, acquittal] (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 4:25).

For a bit more detail on the above, have a look at the 'Salvation' page of this blog.