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What Is the Gospel Truth?

There are many thousands of  organizations in the Western World, that profess to be Christian.
But, these organizations and the individuals who compose them, differ dramatically.

Many many large churches have now repudiated the Godly Reformation:

with its affirmations of "the Bible alone" as the source of truth,
with its "faith alone" as the means of justification before God,
with its "grace alone," not human merit,
and
with "Christ alone" as the provider of that salvation.

The Evangelical Churches of the Reformation:

The Evangelical Churches originally meant two things:

(1) that the Bible, not church leaders, nor clergymen, nor human experience, is the sole source of truth; and
(2) that a sinner received right standing before God by having Christ’s righteousness reckoned to his account through faith in the person and work of Christ.

Counterfeit gospels:

Below are some of the popular religious ideas that are "not the Gospel", but are counterfeit gospels:

The Gospel is not "Trust Jesus."
The Gospel is not "You must be born again."
The Gospel is not "You can perform miracles."
The Gospel is not "You must speak in tongues."
The Gospel is not "You must be baptized in the Holy Spirit."
The Gospel is not "You must believe in our very own church apostle for salvation."
The Gospel is not "You must be filled with the Holy Spirit."
The Gospel is not "Make Jesus Lord of your life."
The Gospel is not "Jesus is coming again."
The Gospel is not "Let go and let God."
The Gospel is not "Decide for Christ."
and etc.

Now, the above are "not the Gospel", but a few of the above are commands taken from Scripture,
but "none of them are the Gospel".

The true and only Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul states in 1st Corinthians Chapter 15, Verses 1 to 4:

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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.

The true and only Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Historic Gospel.

The Gospel is news, about actions that God in Christ took, 2,000 years ago to save people, actions that are wholly outside of our experience.  Just as all men are condemned by Adam’s sin, which was wholly outside of us;
so people are saved by Christ’s obedience unto death, which is wholly outside of their experience.

Just as the Gospel is history, not legend; so the Gospel is about something that God did, not something that we must do or can do.  Christ is both the author and the finisher of our salvation.   We do not complete what He began;
Christ said, "It is finished."

The Gospel is in accord with and explained by the Scriptures, but in accord with "all sixty-six books" of them. When Christ explained his resurrection to the disciples, he did so by explaining the Scriptures: I.E.: 

On the Road to Emmaus:

"And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures (Old Testament) the things concerning himself.... Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him: and He vanished from their sight.   And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us? ... And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures." (Luke Chapter 24 Verses 13 to 32).

According to the Scriptures:

By emphasizing the phrase "according to the Scriptures," Paul is emphasizing the fact that the Gospel is part of a system of truth given to us in the Bible.  All of the parts of this system fit together and all the statements in the Bible are logically consistent with one another.

To give examples of this; Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection fulfilled specific prophecies:

The exact town where He would be born was predicted hundreds of years before;
That His birth would be unusual, for His mother would be a virgin, was predicted centuries before;
That his death among the wicked, and his burial among the rich were predicted;
and The Christ Himself predicted his resurrection.

Therefore, that which Paul identifies as "the Gospel" in 1 Corinthians 15, is "according to the Scriptures".

The Written Word of God:

The Apostle Peter also emphasizes the written Word of God. 
He climaxes his account of the testimony concerning the truth of the Christian faith by mentioning Scripture.  
2nd Peter Chapter 1, Verses 16 to 18: 

"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.  For He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount'.

Historically Then:

The Gospel is the Good News, about actions that God did in Christ, 2,000 years ago, to save people.

It is not about the new birth, nor the Second Coming, nor the activities of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and etc.  For the Gospel is about wonderful historical events that happened wholly outside of us. 

In summary then, it is:

The true and only Gospel of Jesus Christ is what the Apostle Paul states in
1st Corinthians Chapter 15, Verses 1 to 4:

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:  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.

That is the Gospel!

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