What is the Gospel?

By Dr. Harry Ironside (1876 - 1951)

"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" (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).

It might seem almost a work of supererogation to answer a question like this. We hear the word, "Gospel" used so many times. People talk of this and of that as being "as true as the Gospel," and I often wonder what they really mean by it.

First I should like to indicate what it is not.

THE GOSPEL IS...
Not The Bible

In the first place, the Gospel is not the Bible. Often when I inquire, "What do you think the Gospel is?" people reply, "Why, it is the Bible, and the Bible is the Word of God." Undoubtedly the Bible is the Word of God, but there is a great deal in that Book that is not Gospel.

"The wicked shall be turned into Hell with all the nations that forget God." That is in the Bible, and it is terribly true; but it is not Gospel.

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." That is in the Bible, but it is not the Gospel.

Our English word, "gospel" just means the "good spell," and the word "spell," is the old Anglo-Saxon word for, "tidings", the good tidings, the good news. The original word translated. "Gospel," which we have taken over into the English with little alteration is the word, "evangel," and it has the same meaning, the good news. The Gospel is God's good news for sinners. The Bible contains the Gospel, but there is a great deal in the Bible which is not Gospel.

Not The Commandments

The Gospel is not just any message from God telling man how he should behave. "What is the Gospel?" I asked a man this question some time ago, and he answered, "Why I should say it is the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, and I think if a man lives up to them he is all right." Well, I fancy he would be; but did you ever know anybody who lived up to them? The Sermon on the Mount demands a righteousness which no unregenerate man has been able to produce. The law is not the Gospel; it is the very antitheses of the Gospel. In fact, the law was given by God to show men their need of the Gospel .

"The law," says the Apostle Paul, speaking as a Jewish convert, "was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. But after that Christ is come we are no longer under the schoolmaster."

Not Repentance

The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past.

Not Giving Up The World

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.

THERE ARE SEVEN DESIGNATIONS OF THE GOSPEL in the New Testament, but over and above all these, let me draw your attention to the fact that when this blessed message is mentioned, it is invariably accompanied by the definite article. Over and over and over again in the New Testament we read of the Gospel. It is the Gospel not a Gospel. People tell us there are a great many different Gospels; but there is only ONE. When certain teachers came to the Galatians and tried to turn them away from the simplicity that was in Christ Jesus by teaching "another Gospel, "the apostle said that it was a different gospel, but not another; for there is none other than the Gospel. It is downright exclusive; it is God's revelation to sinful man.

Not Comparative Religion

The scholars of this world talk of the Science of Comparative Religions, and it is very popular now-a-days to say, "We cannot any longer go to heathen nations and preach to them as in the days gone by, because we are learning that their religions are just as good as ours, and the thing to do now is to share with them, to study the different religions, take the good out of them all, and in this way lead the world into a sense of brotherhood and unity."

So in our great universities and colleges men study this Science of Comparative Religions, and they compare all these different religious systems one with another. There is a Science of Comparative Religions, but the Gospel is not one of them. All the different religions in the world may well be studied comparatively, for at rock bottom they are all alike; they all set men at trying to earn his own salvation. They may be called by different names, and the things that men are called to do maybe different in each case, but they all set men trying to save their own souls and earn their way into the favor of God. In this they stand in vivid contrast with the Gospel, for the Gospel is that glorious message that tells us what God has done for us in order that guilty sinners maybe saved.

THE SEVEN DESIGNATIONS OF THIS GOSPEL are called...

1. The Gospel Of The Kingdom,

and when I use that term I am not thinking particularly of any dispensational application, but of this blessed truth that it is only through believing the Gospel that men are born into the Kingdom of God; We sing: "A ruler once came to Jesus by night, To ask Him the way of salvation and light; The Master made answer in words true and plain, 'ye must be born again.' " But neither Nicodemus , nor you, nor I, could ever bring this about ourselves. We had nothing to with our first birth, and can have nothing to do with our second birth. It must be the work of God, and it is wrought through the Gospel. That is why the Gospel is called the Gospel of the Kingdom, for, "Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3,7). "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. . . And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you" (1 Peter 1:23-25. Every where that Paul and his companion apostles went they preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and they showed that the only way to get into that Kingdom was by a second birth, and that the only way whereby the second birth could be brought about was through believing the Gospel. It is the Gospel of the Kingdom. It also called

2. The Gospel Of God,

because God is the source of it, and it is altogether of Himself. No man ever thought of a Gospel like this. The very fact that all the religions of the world set man to try to work for his own salvation indicates the fact that no man would ever have dreamed of such a Gospel as that which is revealed in this Book. It came from the heart of God; it was God who "so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He first loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:9,10). And because it is the Gospel of God, God is very jealous of it. He wants it kept pure. He does not want it mixed with any of man's theories or laws; He does not want it mixed up with religious ordinances or anything of that kind. The Gospel is God's own pure message to sinful man. God grant that you and I may receive it as in very truth the Gospel of God. And then it is called

3. The Gospel Of His Son

Not merely because the Son went everywhere preaching the Gospel, but because He is the theme of it. "When it pleased God," says the apostle, "who called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me that I might preach Him among the nations; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood" (Gal. 1:15,16). "We preach Christ crucified . . . the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:23,24). No man preaches the Gospel who is not exalting the Lord Jesus. It is God's wonderful message about His Son. How often I have gone to meetings where they told me I would hear the Gospel, and instead of that I have heard some bewildered preacher talk to a bewildered audience about everything and anything, but the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel has to do with nothing else but Christ. It is the Gospel of God's Son. And so, linked with this it is called

4. The Gospel Of Christ

The Apostle Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost of the risen Savior, says, "God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." And He speaks of Him as the anointed One, exalted at God's right hand. The Gospel is the Gospel of the Risen Christ. There would be no Gospel for sinners if Christ had not been raised. So the apostle says, "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins" (1 Cor. 15:17). A great New York preacher, great in his impertinence, at least, said some years ago, preaching a so-called Easter sermon, "The body of Jesus still sleeps in a Syrian tomb, but His soul goes marching on.: That is not the Gospel of Christ. We are not preaching the Gospel of a dead Christ, but of a living Christ who sits exalted at the Father's right hand, and is living to save all who put their trust in Him. That is why those of us who really know the Gospel never have any crucifixes around our churches or in our homes. The crucifix represents a dead Christ hanging languid on a cross of shame. But we are not pointing men to a dead Christ; we are preaching a living Christ. He lives exalted at God's right had, and He "saves to the uttermost all who come to God by Him." The Gospel is also called

5. The Gospel Of The Grace Of God,

because it leaves no room whatever for human merit. It just brushes away all man's pretension to any goodness, to any desert excepting judgment. It is the Gospel of grace, and grace is God's free unmerited favor to those who have merited the very opposite. It is as opposite to works as oil is to water." If by grace," says the Spirit of God, "then it is no more works. . . but if it be of works, then is it no more grace" (Rom.11:6). People say, :But you must have both." I have heard it put like this: there was a boatman and two theologians in a boat, and one was arguing that salvation was by faith and the other by works. The boatman listened, and then said, "Let me tell you how it looks to me. Suppose I call this oar Faith and this one Works. If I pull on this one, the boat goes around; if I pull on this other one, it goes around the other way, but if I pull on both oars, I get you across the river." I have heard many preachers use that illustration to prove that we are saved by faith and works. That might do if we were going to Heaven in a rowboat, but we are not. We are carried on the shoulders of the Shepherd, who came seeking lost sheep When He finds them He carries them home on His shoulders. But there are some other names used. It is called

6. The Gospel Of The Glory Of God

I love that name. It is the Gospel of the Glory of God because it comes from the place where our Lord Jesus has entered. The veil has been rent, and now the glory shines out; and whenever this Gospel is proclaimed, it tells of a way into the glory for sinful man, a way to come before the Mercy Seat purged from every stain. It is the Gospel of the Glory of God, because, until Christ had entered into the Glory, it could not be preached in its fullness, but, after the glory received Him, then the message went out to a lost world.

It is also called...

7. The Everlasting Gospel

because it will never be superseded by another. No other ever went before it, and no other shall ever come after it. One of the professors of the University of Chicago wrote a book a few years ago in which he tried to point out that some of these days Jesus would be superseded by a greater teacher; then He and the Gospel that He taught would have to give way to a message which would be more suited to the intelligence of the cultivated men of the later centuries. No, no, were it possible for this world to go on a million years, it would never need any other Gospel than this preached by the Apostle Paul and confirmed with signs following; the Gospel which, throughout the centuries has been saving guilty sinners.

THE GOSPEL DECLARED

What then is the content of this Gospel? We are told right here, "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." There is such a thing as merely believing with the intelligence and crediting some doctrine with the mind when the heart has not been reached. But wherever men believe this Gospel in real faith, they are saved through the message. What is it that brings this wonderful result? It is a simple story, and yet how rich, how full. "I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received." I think his heart must have been stirred as he wrote those words, for he went back in memory to nearly thirty years before, and thought of that day when hurrying down the Damascus turnpike, with his heart filled with hatred toward the Lord Jesus Christ and His people, he was thrown to the ground, and a light shone, and he heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" And he cried, "Who art thou Lord?" And the voice said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." And that day Saul learned the Gospel; he learned that He who died on the Cross had been raised from the dead, and that He was living in the Glory. At that moment his soul was saved, and Saul of Tarsus was changed to Paul the Apostle. And now he says, "I am going to tell you what I have received; it is a real thing with me, and I know it will work the same wonderful change in you. If you will believe it. "First of all, "That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures." Then, "that He was buried." Then, "that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."

The Gospel was no new thing in God's mind. It had been predicted throughout the Old Testament times. Every time the coming Savior was mentioned, there was proclamation of the Gospel. It began in Eden when the Lord said, "The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head." It was typified in every sacrifice that was offered. It was portrayed in the wonderful Tabernacle, and later in the Temple. We have it in the proclamation of Isaiah, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him: and with His stripes we are healed." It was preached by Jeremiah when he said, "This is His Name whereby He shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness" (Jer.23:6). It was declared by Zechariah when he exclaimed, "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones: (Zech.13:7) All through those Old Testament dispensations, the Gospel was predicted, and when Jesus came, the Gospel came with Him. When He died, when He was buried, and when He rose again, the Gospel could be fully told out to a poor lost world. Observe, it says, "that Christ died for our sins." No man preaches the Gospel, no matter what nice things he may say about Jesus, if he leaves out His vicarious death on Calvary's cross.

CHRIST'S DEATH - NOT HIS LIFE

I was preaching in a church in Virginia, and a minister prayed, "Lord, grant Thy blessing as the Word is preached tonight. May it be the means of causing people to fall in love with the Christ-life, that they may begin to live the Christ-life." I felt like saying, "Brother, sit down; don't insult God like that;" but then I felt I had to be courteous, and I knew that my turn would come, when I could get up and give them the truth. The Gospel is not asking men to live the Christ-life. If your salvation depends upon your doing that, your are just as good as checked for Hell, for you never can live it in yourself. It is utterly impossible. But the very first message of the Gospel is the story of the vicarious atonement of Christ. He did not come to tell men how to live in order that they might save themselves; He did not come to save men by living His beautiful life. That, apart from His death, would never have saved one poor sinner. He came to die; He "was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death." Christ Jesus gave Himself a ransom for all. When He instituted the Lord's Supper He said, "Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. . . This cup is the new covenant in My Blood" (1 Cor. 11:24,25) There is no Gospel if the vicarious death of Jesus is left out, and there is no other way whereby you can be saved than through the death of the blessed spotless Son of God.

Someone says, "But I do not understand it." That is a terrible confession to make, for "If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (2 Cor. 4:3). If you do not see that there is no other way of salvation for you, save through the death of the Lord Jesus, then that just tells the sad story that you are among the lost. You are not merely in danger of being lost in the Day of Judgment; but you are lost now. But, thank God, "the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost," and seeking the lost He went to the cross. "None of the ransomed ever know How deep were the waters crossed; Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through, Ere He found the sheep that was lost."

THE NECESSITY OF DEATH

HE HAD TO DIE, to go down into the dark waters of death, that you might be saved. Can you think of any ingratitude more base than that of a man or woman who passes by the life offered by the Savior who died on the Cross for them? Jesus died for you, and can it be that you have never even trusted Him, never even come to Him and told Him you were a poor, lost, ruined, guilty sinner; but since He died for you, you would take Him as your Savior? HIS DEATH WAS REAL. He was buried three days in the tomb. He died, He was buried, and that was God's witness that it was not a merely pretended death, but He, the Lord of life, had to go down into death. He was held by the bars of death for those three days and nights, until God's appointed time had come. Then, "Death could not keep its prey, He tore the bars away." And so the third point of the Gospel is this, "He was raised again the third day according to the Scriptures. "That is the Gospel, and nothing can be added to that. Some people say, "Well, but must I repent?" Yes, you may well repent, but that is not the Gospel. "Must I not be baptized?" If you are a Christian, you ought to be baptized, but baptism is not the Gospel. Paul said, "Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel" (1 Cor. !:17) He did baptize people, but he did not consider that was the Gospel, and the Gospel was the great message that he was sent to carry to the world. This is all there is to it. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."

THE GOSPEL ACCEPTED

Look at the result of believing the Gospel. Go back to verse two, "By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain." That is, if you believe the Gospel, you are saved; if you believe that Christ died for your sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again, God says you are saved. Do you believe it? No man ever believed that except by the Holy Ghost. It is the Spirit of God that overcomes the natural unbelief of the human heart and enables a man to put his trust in that message. And this is not mere intellectual credence, but it is that one comes to the place where he is ready to stake his whole eternity on the fact that Christ died, and was buried, and rose again. When Jesus said, "IT IS FINISHED" the work of salvation was completed. A dear saint was dying, and looking up he said, "It is finished; on that I can cast my eternity." Upon a life I did not live, Upon a death I did not die; Another's life, another's death, Is take my whole eternity." Can you say that, and say it in faith?

THE GOSPEL REJECTED

What about the man who does not believe the Gospel? The Lord Jesus said to His disciples, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15,16). He that believeth not shall be devoted to judgment, condemned, lost. So you see, God has shut us up to the Gospel. Have you believed it? Have you put your trust in it; is it the confidence of your soul? Or have you been trusting in something else? If you have been resting in anything short of the Christ who died, who was buried, who rose again, I plead with you, turn from every other fancied refuge, and flee to Christ today. Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.

"O, do not let the word depart, And close thine eyes against the light; Poor sinner, harden not thy heart, Be saved, O tonight."

[Dr. Harry Ironside (1876-1951), a godly Fundamentalist author and teacher for many years, served as pastor of Chicago's Moody Memorial Church from 1930-1948]

Fixing A Crooked Beam

I was up at our family cabin recently and as I looked up at the open beams on the ceiling, an old conversation from twenty years earlier came back to haunt me.

“You know, I don’t think that I ever forgave you for that crooked beam.”

The year was 2000 and I was up at the family cabin sitting at the dining room table eating lunch with my (now departed) father-in-law. We had gone to the cabin to install some trim on some doors and a stained-glass window that I had recently created and installed.

I looked up from my lunch that I had been enjoying to ask what he said to me.

And his statement seemed out of character for this man who was known for his kindness and the gracious way that he treated people. He certainly was not known for holding a grudge or holding back forgiveness.

“What did you say?”; I asked him now that he had my full attention.

 “I said I don’t think that I ever forgave you for that crooked beam.” He said as he pointed up to the open rafters on the North side of the ceiling.

He saw my puzzled look and continued with his razzing; “When you were installing that beam, I had commented that you were about to install the beam on the wrong side of the line. Now, as I look up, I see that the beam is installed crooked. And, I was making a comment that I don’t think that I ever forgave you for that crooked beam.”  

I struggled for words to correct him but I knew that he was right. He had said it but my youthful pride had prevented me from admitting that I was wrong or at least from stopping to look at what he was talking about prior to nailing the beam in place.

After all, I was working construction and helped him to build this cabin. I was the professional. I was doing this for a living five to six days a week.

He, on the other hand, had only learned what he knew about construction from his father who was a carpenter and had come from a long line of Norwegian wood workers, carpenters, and ship builders.

Oh, and anything else he learned as he studied structural engineering.

And all of the construction projects that he had done over the years; including a large two-story addition on their home long before I came into the picture.

My pride had prevented me from learning from someone, who didn’t work occupationally in construction, but who had noticed that I was about to do something wrong.

Now I sat, looking up at the ceiling as I pondered what it would take to correct the situation. I see it each and every time I go to the cabin.

First of all, I would need to take off the whole roof system; which included shingles, ice-and-water shield (which would be glued to the roof), plywood, polystyrene, and one-inch roof boards in order for me to remove and replace the beam in its proper place.

And that would be just to replace the beam.

In order to get my father-in-law’s forgiveness, I would need to exhume the coffin and then raise him from the dead, drive him to the cabin eighty miles away and then, after showing him the beam, ask for his forgiveness.

The truth is I was able to have a conversation with him to understand that he was simply razzing me for not listening to him. He let me know that he didn’t hold it against me. 

But what if I hadn’t been able to hear his “aught” against me and asked for his forgiveness? What if he had taken it to his grave when he died seven years later never sharing with me that he had something between us?

More than a crooked beam, unforgiveness will haunt both sides for the rest of your life. And that is no way to live.

Jesus said;

“Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Does the Bible say to “Ask Jesus into your heart”?

There are sayings and expressions that people use without even thinking about what they are saying. Expressions such as; “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse”, or “I’m starving!”

If we are being honest, no, we are not starving and if we were, eating a horse is not what we are thinking of doing!

For many years, I have heard the expression that people need to “ask Jesus into their hearts”. The same expression is sometimes phrased, "Ask Jesus into your life", or "Invite Jesus into your heart".  

Personally, I can’t find this in the Bible. Instead, I find that the Bible says, "…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)  

Romans 10:8-13 says nothing about 'inviting Jesus into your heart': “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”^{[c] 12} For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

So, where did we get the idea that people need to “ask Jesus into their heart”? I think that the idea comes from several religious tradition, that don’t come from the Bible, handed down through well-meaning teachers. Anglo-American Puritans and evangelicals in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries used the phrase “receive Christ into your heart,” or something like it, with some regularity.

Another one of these religious traditions taught that we have a ‘door to our heart’ that has a latch on the inside but not on the outside.  We are taught that Jesus Christ is knocking on the outside but cannot come in unless we unlatch the lock from the inside of the heart.  The Bible teaches no such thing.   

Where else does this idea come from? It also can be seen in stained glass set beautifully in church buildings. I personally think that some of this comes from people seeing either of the two allegorical paintings of Jesus Christ standing at the door knocking painted by William Holman Hunt or the one painted by Warner Sallman.

What about Revelation 3:20?  ”Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

“Doesn’t that refer to the ‘door of our heart’?” I say, “No”. Take time to read the context of Revelation 3:14-22. The door mentioned is the door of the church of Laodicea; not a reference to the door of the heart or the door of your life or about salvation. It means to dine, that is, take the principal (or evening) meal or fellowship with the Lord.  

Religious songs are another source of this wrong teaching; songs we sing simply because we like them. In other words we have theology totally based on the words of the song even if they are not scriptural.  

One of these songs is called; "Come Into My Heart, Lord Jesus" which says; "Into my heart, into my heart; Come into my heart, Lord Jesus." This song is sung as people are given the opportunity to "Invite Jesus into their hearts".  

Some scriptural references are misinterpreted because of tradition. Some people will quote passages like Ephesians 3:16-19 “ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

But it doesn't say ‘ask Him into your heart’; rather it is says; “that He would dwell in your heart by faith”.

Some will say; “But what about John 14:23; “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

It says, “We” will come and make “our” home with him. I would say this is speaking of the triune nature of God and it is the Holy Spirit who dwells in us when we surrender our lives to Jesus.

Referring to Jesus, Colossians 2:9-10 says “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; ¹⁰ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power”

When we surrender our lives to Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit; who is fully God as a member of the Trinity and a representative of the Father and the Son.

Acts 2: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness”

Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit”

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”

Acts 9:17 “And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus, after He completed His work here on the earth, went to be with the Father.

Romans 8:34 “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

Hebrews 10:11-14 “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

John 14:12-17 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. ¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.¹⁵ “If you love Me, keep My commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

John 16:7-15 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. ¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

The Bible simply says that we are to believe or trust the gospel message that Jesus paid for our sins by His death on the cross, and that He was buried, and that He was resurrected from the dead.  

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...” (Romans 1:16a). 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

We Receive Christ Through Faith
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.

Receiving Christ involves turning our wills and lives to God and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. The Bible calls this "repentance". What that means is to "change the way you think"; in other words, go another direction- with our thoughts, words, actions; with how we live our lives.

God will only give eternal life to:

1.   Those who are sorry for their sins.

2.   Those who are willing to turn away from what the Bible calls sin.

3.   Those who put their complete trust (have faith) in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.

When We Receive Christ, we will experience a “New Birth”

So, how do you do you receive Christ?

1.   Stop trusting in your own efforts to please God and begin to trust in what Jesus Christ has already done.

2.   Ask God to forgive you for your sins.

3.   Ask Jesus to take His rightful place as Lord and Savior of your life.

4.   Turn away from whatever the Bible says is sin. NOTE: This is only possible after you have made Jesus the Lord of your life.

You can do this right now by praying (speaking to God) in your own words like this:

"LORD JESUS. I WANT TO STOP TRUSTING MYSELF AND WHAT I CAN DO AND START TRUSTING IN YOU AND WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE WHEN YOU DIED ON THE CROSS FOR ME. I KNOW THAT I AM A SINNER AND I AM SORRY FOR MY SINS. I ASK YOU TO FORGIVE ME. AND I INVITE YOU TO COME AND BE THE SAVIOR AND THE LORD OF MY LIFE. BY THAT I MEAN STARTING RIGHT NOW, YOU WILL BE #1 IN MY LIFE. I WANT TO TURN AWAY FROM EVERYTHING THAT YOU AND THE BIBLE CALL SIN. I TOTALLY COMMIT MYSELF TO OBEYING YOU; EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE. THANK YOU LORD JESUS"

This new life will continue to grow by:

·        Spending time each day; throughout the day praying and worshipping God.

·        Spending time reading the Bible which is His Word

·        Spending time with other Christians at church, Bible studies, and fellowships.

·        Spending time sharing with others who yet don’t know how they too can get right with God.

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

HOPE'S CHILD

In the darkness of a quiet night,  

Hope found a place on earth.

From eternity to measured time 

arrived through virgin birth.

In a new born child Messiah dwelt

Though no one really knew,

The day would come when called upon

To see this mission through.

His mother watched her child grow strong,

and too soon become a man.

In sorrow knowing deep within

He would complete God's plan.

He healed the sick, and raised the dead,

still few would dare believe,

This man was who He said He was

We just could not conceive.

Then one dark day the time arrived 

His mission was complete.

I watched as He was beaten, 

nails in His hands and feet.

Compassion still shown through His eyes

Like none I'd ever known.

He closed His eyes and hung His head 

To His Father He had flown.

The next two days had stumbled on 

The future held the same.

The third day broke the darkened sky

And once again Hope came.

Oh death where is your victory,

Oh grave where is your sting.

This child born into darkness wins 

and with Him HOPE He brings.

Larry Houghton 12-09-2019
 © 2019 All Rights Reserved
Used With Permission from the Author 

Which Way The Wind Blows (Live)

Feel a Feeling
Say a Saying
But you'll still be lonely
If you think life is only for this moment
Do a Doing
Mourn a mourning
Still won't get you off your sorrow
So go ahead and cry, but you can't pry a look at tomorrow

You don't know which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow
You don't know which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow

Run a Running
Hide a Hiding
Whenever you hear the truth
And when you ask for the proof, you won't listen. Listen

Praise a praising
Build a building
Trying to get peace into your life
And you don't even know wrong from right
Oh, Where is your wisdom

You don't know which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow
You don't know which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow

Die a dying
Resurrecting
By believing and receiving
Forgiveness from Jesus who took the sin from sinning
You don't know which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow
Jesus knows which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow

Believe Him and receive

You don't know which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow
You don't know which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow

Written
by Nellie Ward. Recorded by Second Chapter of Acts

The Problem With Wearing Two Pairs of Shorts

I was at a wedding where I was the pastor who was officiating. While adjusting my clothing just before the before the ceremony, I had noticed that the dress pants that I was wearing were getting tighter; which was strange because they had fit fine the week before.

Rationalizing to myself that I must had put on some extra weight during the past week, I sucked in my belly, cinched up my belt, and continued with my preparations.

About ten minutes later, I decided to use the bathroom one more time before I made my way up to the front for the ceremony.

While unzipping my pants, I noticed that I had on (what appeared to be) an extra pair of shorts. I quickly made my way into one of the stalls and removed my dress pants and confirmed my suspicions. I had on a pair of gym shorts!

I removed them, put on the pair of dress pants, and zipped them up. I noticed that the belt was actually one notch smaller.

I made my way to Cathy and handed her the gym shorts and asked her if she could put them in her purse because I needed to start the ceremony.

But, because her puzzled look demanded an explanation, I took the time to explain. 

You see, whenever I get dressed for an event such as wedding, funeral, or some other situation at which I will be wearing dress pants, suit, shirt, and a tie, I tend to get hot because of all of the running around. Don't ask me why or else I will go a bunny trail.

My solution has been to wear a pair of gym shorts so that my core temperature stays a bit cooler as I prepare. Then, just before leaving the house, I (usually) take off the gym shorts BEFORE I put on a pair of dress pants. When I arrive at my destination, then I put on the suit coat.

I say "usually" because on this particular day (obviously) I didn't. I had actually forgotten to take off the gym shorts before putting on the dress pants.

 

Cathy laughed until tears came out her eyes and I made my way to the awaiting wedding party to start processional.

To be fully honest and forthright, it is bad enough that I did this once; but I did this twice...at two different weddings!!!

The second time made Cathy laugh even more.

The Apostle Paul was addressing this same situation several times in his writings to the young Christian churches. Paul actually had to tell his congregants that they needed to "put OFF" before they "put ON"

One section of scripture where Paul address putting off and putting on is  Ephesians 4:20-24

One wouldn't think that you would need to explain this, but for some reason people (particularly guys) seem to have a hard time letting go of the old and taking the new.

Men, although they like getting new things, tend to keep clothing WAY PAST the expiration date. Be honest with me guys; when you received a new shirt this past Christmas or Father's Day, did you throw out the old stuff?

We wear clothing WAY past its expiration date! Clothing that is stained, stretched, torn, faded, and no matter how many times it is washed, it still smell like an old piece of clothing.

A simple explanation for why we don't remove the old first is because the old fits us and we feel comfortable in it.

Another reason is that we don't want to be in the place of old and new because we are naked and vulnerable.

But Paul is telling us that we need to remove the old in order that the new fits better and is closer to the heart. We MUST remove and put away the old in order to be adorned in what the Lord wants us to wear.

“TAKE THEM OFF!” Paul is saying; “YOU CAN’T WEAR TWO PAIRS OR PANTS AT THE SAME TIME!”

“But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:20-24)

Paul is appealing to the church in Ephesus to leave their old way of life and come to Jesus and make Him the Lord of their lives.

Paul is talking about conduct, attitudes, lusts, behaviors, addictions, etc.

Paul is urging them to be done with their former life as he says; “Put off your old life like you would put off an old pair of pants. And then, clothe yourself in a new way to conduct yourself”.

In other words, put off your old sinful life and put on the righteousness and holiness that comes from a relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ.

As I said earlier, this transition is harder that we first think. It involves being naked and transparent and vulnerable.

But the good news is that there is someone who wants to assist us with the process; in fact He literally paid a price to help you transition from the old to the new. His name is Jesus.

All He is asking is for you to acknowledge that the old stuff is wrong and it needs to go (confession: which means to agree with what God calls sin)

And ask Him to help you to remove the old (invite Him into your life to be your Lord and Savior)

And allow Him to do the work; with you cooperating with the process. 

Tired of the old clothing that doesn’t quite fit? Call out to the Father through Jesus Christ and let Him make great changes to your life.

Paul wrote to another church:

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.