Author: petebeck3

Pete Beck III ministered as a pastor and Bible teacher in Burlington for over 34 years. He is married to Martha, with whom he has four children, ten beautiful grandchildren, and four amazing great grandchildren. He ministers in his local church as a Bible teacher and counselor. He has published two books - Seeing God's Smile and Promise of the Father - as well as a wide variety of Bible-related articles which he has compiled into books in PDF form.

The Gospel Causes Division

Gospel in a Minute

Paul and Barnabas traveled to Iconium where they preached the gospel with the following results.

In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. 2  But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. 3  Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. 4  But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. Acts 14:1-4 (NASB)

Principle: The Gospel Causes Division

Jesus warned his followers that the message he gave us to preach exposes people’s hearts and causes division.

Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33  But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. 34  “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. 35  I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36  Your enemies will be right in your own household! Matthew 10:32-36 (NLT)

Those who share the gospel should expect to encounter hostility from those who reject their message.

The announcement of Christ’s lordship invites people to surrender their lives to Jesus. Those who accept God’s provision of mercy and grace will be overjoyed, but those who reject God’s offer reveal that they have hardened hearts and a rebelliousness against his rule. Their deep seated hostility toward God should not intimidate us from boldly sharing the good news.

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God’s Chosen Ones Will Believe the Gospel

Gospel in a Minute

When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. 49  So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region. Acts 13:48-49 (NLT)

Principle: God’s Chosen Ones Will Believe the Gospel

The Bible teaches that God chose his children from before the foundation of the world.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:4-5 (NLT)

This theological truth should have enormous impact on those us who share the gospel.

It means that when we share the good news with people, we can be confident that some will respond. Otherwise, how could we know that anyone would?

We do not know in advance who these chosen ones are. Neither to do they. Only God knows. That being the case, we share the gospel with everyone, knowing that God has been working behind the scenes in ways we cannot necessarily comprehend or perceive, preparing hearts to receive the gospel.

Our responsibility is to share the gospel with everyone we can. The Spirit’s work is to prepare people to receive it and be part of their actively accepting the message of truth.

We find out who the elect are when they respond to the gospel, but God knew all along.

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The Gospel Was Always Intended for the Entire World

Gospel in a Minute

After warning the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia of the danger of rejecting the gospel, Paul cited Isaiah 49:6 to explain his rationale for taking the good news to the Gentile nations.

For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’” Acts 13:47 (NLT)

Principle: The Gospel Was Always Intended for the Entire World

When God first announced the gospel to Abraham, he told him that one of his descendants would be a blessing to the entire earth. (Genesis 22:18) In his letter to the church in Galatia, Paul explained that this promise was fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” Galatians 3:8 (NLT)

As God pointed out in the previously referenced verse from Isaiah, it was “too small a thing” for Jesus to be only sent to redeem the Jews. God loves the entire world, as evidenced in the famous verse John 3:16.

The Jews were God’s vehicle to bring the Messiah King into the world to redeem mankind, not just the Jews. Their rejection of the gospel opened wide the door for the rest of the world to hear the good news. One day, God will open the eyes and hearts of the Jews to believe in their Messiah, too.

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Rejecting the Gospel Is an Act of Self-Condemnation

Gospel in a Minute

As Paul Barnabas continued to preach the gospel in Antioch of Pisidia, the Jewish leaders rejected and slandered them, prompting these words from the apostles.

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. Acts 13:46 (NLT)

Principle: Rejecting the Gospel Is an Act of Self-Condemnation

A frequent objection to the gospel being God’s only means of salvation is the question: “What about those who never have the opportunity to hear it?” It is not my purpose in this brief meditation to try to answer that question. A more important one for anyone reading this is: “What about those who do hear the gospel and reject it?” Paul clearly said that, if we do that, we condemn ourselves.

An interesting thought is that no one goes to hell against his or her will. By opting to know good and evil for themselves in direct defiance of God’s command, Adam and Eve chose to experience the rest of their human existence cut off from God’s presence, sustaining power, and guidance.

The essence of sin is to try to do life independently from God. The gospel is an invitation to reverse course and come back to a proper relationship with the Creator – Sustainer of the universe.

Jesus made this possible by taking upon himself the consequences of our rebellion. If we put our trust and allegiance in him, we are released from the guilt and condemnation of our past. If not, we seal our own doom – an eternity without God. The choice is ours.

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 18  “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. John 3:17-18 (NLT)
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The Gospel Includes a Warning

Gospel in a Minute

Paul concluded his gospel presentation at Antioch of Pisidia with these words.

Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said, 41  ‘Look, you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.’” Acts 13:40-41 (NLT)

Principle: The Gospel Includes a Warning

If our hearers choose to accept God’s generous offer of reconciliation, life awaits them. However, those who reject the message doom themselves to a continuation of their present condition as spiritual orphans in the universe – an eternity away from God’s loving presence.

And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, 8  in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. 9 
 They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. 10  When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 (NLT)

The presentation of the gospel puts people in a place of decision with their eternity hanging in the balance. With so much on the line, the loving thing to do is warn our hearers of the enormous consequences of their decision.

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The Gospel Offers Forgiveness and Reconciliation to God

Gospel in a Minute

Paul delivered the extraordinary good news that through Jesus, the Messiah King who was rejected and crucified, God offers forgiveness and reconciliation.

“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39  Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do. Acts 13:38-39 (NLT)

Principle: The Gospel Offers Forgiveness and Reconciliation to God

Even though the main focus of the gospel is the lordship of Christ, the extraordinary good news is that God does not hold our rebellion against his rule and our rejection of his person against us, if we put our faith and allegiance in the risen Christ.

Instead he freely forgives us and put us back into a right relationship with him, which includes becoming part of his eternal family through the new birth! This means we are able to reconnect with the Source of Life! We are restored to the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe!

Only a fool would pass this up; yet, without the Spirit’s help, that is exactly what we will do. Pray that the Spirit of God will open blinded eyes, deaf ears, and hardened hearts and give his people the compassion and courage to make the gospel known.

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The Gospel Shows How the Old Testament Points to Jesus

Gospel in a Minute

Paul went on to show how the Bible predicted Christ’s resurrection.

And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33  and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus: ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’ 34  For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’ 35  Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’ 36  This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. 37  No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay. Acts 13:32-37 (NLT)

Principle: The Gospel Shows How the Old Testament Points to Jesus

The Old Testament not only points to Jesus, it can only be properly understood in reference to him. Jesus the Messiah is the point of it all, the culmination of God’s interactions and promises made to the Adam and Eve in the garden and to Abraham and his descendants, even to the Gentiles.

Jesus’ resurrection caused verses that seemed mysterious or unclear to come into sudden bold relief, such as the ones quoted by Paul above. Once Paul’s eyes were open to Jesus’ true identity, the entire Bible came to life for him. When we share the gospel, we should point out how Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible.

So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul’s lodging. He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening. Acts 28:23 (NLT)
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The Gospel Is a Spoken Message that Demands a Response

Gospel in a Minute

Paul summarized the message of salvation in a paragraph.

“Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us! 27  The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. 28  They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway. 29  “When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. 30  But God raised him from the dead! 31  And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel. Acts 13:26-31 (NLT)

Principle: The Gospel Is a Spoken Message that Demands a Response

Having framed his gospel presentation within the history of Israel, Paul summed up the salvation message by telling his listeners and us that Jesus is the one promised by God in the Old Testament, who was rejected by the Jewish leaders, put to death, buried, rose again from the dead, and appeared to many.

The gospel is a message that must be spoken. Acts of mercy and love are not sufficient to properly communicate it. Such acts can open people’s hearts, but unless the gospel is spoken, people will not understand what God has done for them and who Jesus is. They will not be able to properly respond.

Following such a gospel summary, all that remains is to explain the meaning – our forgiveness and justification and Jesus’ lordship over all creation. And what would Paul’s listeners do with this amazing news? What is the proper response?

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Gospel in a Minute: Frame the Gospel within the History of Israel

Gospel in a Minute

On his first missionary journey, Paul the Apostle preached the gospel to Jews in Antioch of Pisidia. He assumed they were familiar with the promises God made to King David, that one of his descendants would sit upon the throne of Israel forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-13)

“And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel! 24  Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized. 25  As John was finishing his ministry he asked, ‘Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon—and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’ Acts 13:23-25 (NLT)

Principle: Frame the Gospel within the History of Israel

When we share the gospel with those who are not as familiar with the Bible, we must make the effort to explain how Jesus came in fulfillment of promises made to God’s people long ago. The gospel is not a philosophy that has meaning outside of real history. I have heard a serious lie regarding God’s Word phrased something like this: “It’s not true, but it’s the truth.” The meaning is that the gospel is not historically true, but it “contains” eternal truth. This reduces the gospel to “whatever works for you.” Nothing could be farther from reality. The gospel is historically grounded in fact. One day in the not so distant future, the actual risen Messiah King Jesus, the glorious Son of Man prophesied by Daniel, will return in the clouds with great power to judge all mankind. At that point in time, all the earth will come to realize that the gospel is grounded in historical fact. For now, we must help to convince people that…

the gospel is a narrative of God’s historical promises to Israel and their fulfillment  in real time.

As such, a proper gospel presentation will frame Jesus’ coming, ministry, death on the cross, resurrection, ascension, and future Second Coming in light of those promises and prophecies. It is important for gospel communicators to familiarize themselves with the the Old Testament and how it points to Jesus and the glorious gospel. That is how the early church presented Christ, and so should we!

If you are inclined to learn better how to do this, I suggest Scot McKnight's masterpiece, The King Jesus Gospel. I wrote a summary, which you can access by clicking here.
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Can I Know for Sure if I Am Going to Heaven?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church, a religious system based on keeping church rules and submitting to its hierarchy. It offered no security regarding my eternal destiny, only the hope that I might die in what is called a “state of grace,” meaning that I would have no mortal (grave, death producing) sins on my conscience at the time of death. One could go to confession to get a fresh start or gain “indulgences” through attending Masses on specific days to obtain a sort of guarantee of having an opportunity to get right with God before death.

But those who rely on religion cannot know for sure if they are going to heaven. The best one can do is hope for the best.

How different are the words penned so long ago by John the apostle.

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 (NLT)

When I first truly understood and believed the good news that Jesus died for my sins and took away the guilt and the judgments leveled against me, giving me his very own life, I realized immediately that God had set me free from relating to him through religious rules keeping and church affiliation! Nothing the Catholic Church ever did or taught gave me the kind of joy, life, and freedom I experienced through being born again by faith in Christ. This began my escape from religion, whose tentacles are long and clutching.

Religious systems are always performance based, manipulative, and fear inducing. They offer no assurance.

The Jews tried to relate to God through a religious system, too. They believed that if they kept the Law of Moses, they were good. If they failed to keep it, they would die. Since Christianity is directly descended from Judaism, many Christians fall into such thinking. It’s pretty simple, as long as we are able to stay on the right side of the scale. Unfortunately, no one can do that. God gave the Law to expose our hopeless situation. We are all sinners who deserve to die.

But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 11  So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 12  This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” 13  But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14  Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:10-14 (NLT)

The good news is that Jesus kept the Law for us by living and dying in complete obedience to his heavenly Father. His sacrifice for our sins as God’s Lamb purchased our freedom from death and made us children of God. His resurrection proved his sacrifice on our behalf was accepted.

Now those of us who declare faith and allegiance to Christ can know for sure that our eternal destiny will be life forever with God.

Jesus promised:

I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. John 5:24 (NLT)

Can we know for sure if we are going to heaven? We can, but only if we put our full confidence in what Jesus accomplished on our behalf. If we are still relying on ourselves to get it done, we can have no assurance whatsoever.

Prayer

Jesus, I am weary of trying to earn my way into God’s favor. I realize now that it is hopeless. You designed it that way so that I would come to my senses and realize that trusting in you is the only way. I ask you today to forgive my sins and come into my life. I give you myself. I belong to you from this day forward. Come, Holy Spirit, fill my life and show me more about Jesus’ and the Father’s love for me. Empower me to be a fearless proclaimer of the good news to others. Amen.

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