Preaching the Gospel

From the first days of the Christian Church, disciples of Jesus have sought to obey His instruction to, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). They do this with the knowledge that the gospel is, "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16).

The English word "gospel" translates the Greek word "euangelion" and contains the basic meaning of "good news." In the Bible, the gospel is the good news that salvation is available to all who will in faith call on Jesus for salvation.

The basics of the gospel were broken down and summarised in 1Cor. 15 by the apostle Paul:

• Christ died for our sins according to Scripture

• He was buried and He rose again according to Scriptures

• He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

 

Christians who are teaching and preaching to the world a gospel that does not at the outset present the hearer with Biblical truth about sin and its consequences, are not presenting the gospel of the Bible, it is not the gospel that Jesus expects His disciples to preach. The true gospel does not shun nor fear to tell the Biblical truth about sin, and so present human beings with the truth of their standing before God, thereby doing them a great favour by granting them the opportunity to call on Jesus for salvation.Refusal to preach the truth about sin is a great evil because it actually witholds the possibility of salvation from lost, sinful souls; many religious people are presenting such a false gospel today, they need to be aware that their actions are so abhorrent to God that His Word declares them to be accursed (Gal. 1:8).

 

Please notice that the very first point of the gospel is that Christ died for our sins! The plain fact, which the Bible mentions many times, is that every person's greatest problem is sin - not sickness, not war, not family troubles, not mental illness, not unhappiness, not exams. Why sin? Because sin separates us from God, and because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23); it is clear from the Bible that no one who has committed any sin can escape the condemnation of death, or have a relationship with God. The Bible points out that, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23), thereby declaring that every human being is at enmity with God and deserves to die. This uncomfortable truth is central to proclamation of the gospel and is at the heart of the message God wants the disciples of Jesus to take to the world. Some of the last recorded words of Jesus state that, "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations" (Lk. 24:47). The good news of the gospel is not simply that God loves you and wants to bless you, but rather that God loved you enough to send His Son to die on the cross for your sins, and that God's gift is eternal life to all who will believe on His Son and receive Him as their Saviour. God has provided an escape from the condemnation of sin through the death of His sinless Son on the cross.

 

The apostle Paul wrote, "the goodness of God leads you to repentance" (Rom. 2:4): It is a wonderful act of God's love toward mankind to reveal through the preaching of the gospel that we are sinners in His sight, and that with this knowledge we may be led to call on the name of His Son Jesus for salvation. For this purpose the Holy Spirit is sent from God to convict the world of sin, righteousness and of judgment (Jn. 16:8). When the Holy Spirit is working in a sinner's life, He does not give happy and peaceful, warm feelings, no, He makes us uncomfortable, He makes us to understand that we are sinners, condemned, without hope and facing the terrors of judgment and hell!

 

Now, we can begin to understand the love and grace of God towards the people of this world.

 

Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses His own soul?" (Mk. 8:36), these words are very important, and highlight why preaching about sin is so important. Yes, a man may have health, wealth, a happy family, a good job, success in exams, live in a peaceful country, etc., but, if his soul is lost, it is all worthless.

 

All have sinned, therefore all are lost; there is only one way of escape - believe and receive Jesus as Saviour, and so save your soul for eternity.