Category: The Gospel

The Gospel and the Second Coming of Christ

 

 

 

 

In another article, entitled The Gospel according to John the Baptist, I showed how the Spirit of God used John the Baptist to identify Jesus the Messiah’s three central roles in God’s great salvation, which are three vital aspects of the Gospel.

  • He died as the Lamb of God for our sins.
  • He rose as the Lord of lords for our justification, and
  • He ascended into heaven as the glorious Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, the Lord of the ongoing harvest of people into God’s kingdom, as the church fulfills the Great Commission.

In this article, I will show how the revelation of Christ in the last book of the Bible identifies Jesus with the glorious Son of Man prophesied by Daniel and confirms that knowing and acknowledging that Christ is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings is the proper response to the gospel message.

The Lamb of God Ministry

Through his first coming, Jesus the Messiah fulfilled the role of the Lamb of God. He came to die for our sins in order to open the way for us to come back into relationship with Father God.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 (NLT)

The forgiveness of sins was not God’s end game, however, because Jesus had a much greater goal to accomplish – the restoration of all creation under his Lordship. Nevertheless, a central component of the gospel message is that when we place our trust in Christ and his death on the cross, we will receive forgiveness for our sins.

He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.” Acts 10:43 (NLT)

The Resurrected Lord of Lords

Jesus’ resurrection three days after his crucifixion proved that his sacrifice for our sins was accepted by Father God. It also proved and served to announce Jesus’ role as the glorious Lord of all, the risen Jewish Messianic King.

The Good News is about his Son, Jesus. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4  and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 1:3-4 (NLT)

Those who believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess that he is Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:9-10) Jesus now reigns over his church and the entire universe, sitting at God’s right hand, waiting for his enemies to be completely subjected to him in due time.

“God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. 33  Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34  For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand 35  until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”’ 36  “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” Acts 2:32-36 (NLT)

The Baptizer in the Holy Spirit

When Jesus ascended into heaven to take his place at God’s right hand, he poured out the Spirit as he promised he would, launching the church into her mission to preach the gospel and make disciples prior to Christ’s return.

Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” … 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:4-8 (NASB)

During the present church age, Jesus functions as the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. The baptism in the Spirit is given to equip and empower Christ’s followers to be bold and fearless witnesses (literally, martyrs) and fishers of men. We are in the harvest period of church history. The church has been tasked to fulfill the Great Commission by preaching the gospel and making disciples who will go and do the same. Receiving the baptism in the Spirit is an important and necessary part of being faithful to Christ and fulfilling the Great Commission.

The Second Coming: Jesus, the Glorious Son of Man

Even though Jesus’ death as God’s Lamb is crucial to our salvation, acknowledging his lordship is the criteria Paul gives for obtaining  it. (Romans 10:9-10) When we confess that Jesus is Lord, we acknowledge and voluntarily come under his rule and obtain all the benefits of his Lamb of God ministry, too. For the last two thousand years or so, we have been in the Great Commission phase of God’s plan, which the Bible calls the “last days.” As this epoch draws to a close, we anticipate the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophesy that he gave the night of his betrayal and the miscarriage of justice called his trial.

But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” 64  Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:63-64 (NLT)

Jesus’ words referenced Daniel’s prophesy about a glorious heavenly being who will sit in judgment of the all the earth. (Daniel 7:13-14) At this future point in history, which is surely coming, there will no longer be any doubt at all for anyone as to Jesus’ true identity. No longer will naysayers claim that he was merely a prophet or a fine teacher. No more will anyone be able to say that he was a mythical person. None will declare that his resurrection was a fable concocted by his misguided followers. At that time, everyone will see him in his terrifying glory.

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”Revelation 1:7-8 (ESV)

Before his return, God has given us the opportunity to clearly hear the gospel call to bow the knee to Jesus, the Lord of Lords. What we do in response to this call is on us. One day it will be too late. On that glorious day when Jesus returns as promised, every knee will bow and every tongue confess who he is. There will be no option.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 (NLT)

Although Jesus is merciful to those who seek mercy and ask for forgiveness, do not think for a moment that he is too weak to enforce God’s justice at the proper time. Though he is patient, God the Father does not wink at sin or coddle rebellion against his Son’s rule. There is coming a day of judgment. Those who do not tap into the river of God’s mercy by declaring allegiance to the risen Messiah King, the Lamb who was slain, will rue their mistake at the Second Coming.

We who hear, believe, and respond properly to the gospel before Christ’s Second Coming have the privilege of willingly bowing the knee to him before it is no longer an option.

At the Second Coming all, even the openly rebellious, will be forced to acknowledge his glorious sovereignty.

Prayer

Perhaps your heart has been touched by what you just read and you are ready to become part of the throng who chooses to willingly acknowledge Jesus lordship before the great and terrible Day of the Lord. If so, you may wish to pray something like the following. Let it be from your heart. God will hear you and answer your petition. He never rejects anyone who comes to him.

Father God, thank you for graciously sending your Son to die for me. I accept the forgiveness of sins he provided for me by shedding his blood on the cross. I believe that Jesus rose from the dead as the Lord. Thank you for making me right with you and part of your family through his glorious resurrection. Thank you for setting me free from the power of sin and death. Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to live inside of me to give me all the help I need to be a follower of Christ. Jesus, I ask you to baptize me in the Holy Spirit and power so that I can be one of your Great Commission-aries. Thank you for giving me eternal life. I declare my allegiance to you, and I depend on your Spirit to help me live this out. I look forward to the day when you come again in great glory. Amen.

 

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Can Marriage Be Used to Share the Gospel?

 

 

 

 

The world system is a sort of invisible matrix which is all around us. It is hostile to God and truth and undermines the gospel whenever and however it can. The values of the age in which we live are consumerist (selfish) and Antichrist (hostile to submitting to the rule of Jesus, the risen Lord). Our anti-God culture profoundly influences how even church people think with regard to the meaning and purpose of the gospel. Many in the church only think in terms of “what’s in it for me?” – meaning forgiveness and heaven; rather than what’s in it for God? –  meaning his glory and pleasure as Creator – Redeemer.

In a similar way, our views on marriage have been attacked and undermined by consumerism and the spirit of the age.

Marriage is a picture of the church’s relationship to Christ – a relationship that is birthed by and depends upon the truth of the gospel.

In this article I hope to show how marriage is a reflection of the gospel in three basic ways. By sharing with others what the Bible has to say about marriage, it may be possible to transition into sharing the gospel.

Ephesians is a good place to start.

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Ephesians 5:22-33 (ESV)

Three Purposes of Marriage

Covenant Companionship

Even before God commanded us to be fruitful, which includes one of the more pleasurable aspects of marriage, he revealed the core purpose of marriage when he created Eve.

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him. Genesis 2:18 (ESV)

God is a relational Trinity. He has always been in relationship, and he knows that being alone is not good.

Covenant companionship was God’s stated reason for creating Eve and is the primary purpose of marriage.

The antichrist spirit, which attacks marriage from every conceivable angle, denigrates its covenantal aspect. Today more and more couples choose to live together without making any formal commitment. Those who do get married divorce at an alarming rate, further nullifying the power and purpose of marriage. God is a covenant keeper who never breaks his word, in sharp contrast to humans who routinely break their promises to be faithful to their spouses “until death do us part.”

Whenever a couple divorces, it contradicts the covenantal nature of God and sends a false message of God’s faithfulness, which marriage is designed to mirror.

The world system has essentially rejected God’s plan and purpose for marriage, and, as a result, many casualties of this way of thinking suffer from devastating loneliness and insecurity. Children are usually the hardest hit by this “new world order” of multiple or even non-existent father figures. Many children grow up never having seen or experienced a “good marriage,” one that is built on love, respect, and faithfulness, giving them little or nothing upon which they can build in their own married lives. Fatherless children often enter fatherhood without much of a clue of how to be a good father. Our society is reaping the consequences of the antichrist philosophy of marriage. Brokenness, loneliness, crime, and dysfunction abound.

Procreation

The first command God gave to humankind was to be fruitful and multiply in order to fill and subdue the earth.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28  And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28 (ESV)

From earliest times, society has understood and supported marriage as an orderly and God-ordained means for propagating the human race in a way that provides safety and stability to the mother and children.

The antichrist spirit which permeates the world system works against that command in every conceivable way by promoting birth control, abortion, and other societal values that put the pursuit of money, leisure, and convenience ahead of having children.

In the convoluted thinking of the world system, it would be better not to have children, than not to be able to give them all the things we are told by that system that they need in order to be happy. Birth rates have fallen dramatically over the past 100 years in our country as we transitioned from an agriculture-based economy to an industrialized one. Children went from being an economic asset on the farm to being viewed as a liability and an expense. This coupled with an abandonment of biblical values regarding the inherent worth of children has resulted in our current predicament.

“If there are fewer younger people in the United States, there may be a shortage of young workers to enter the labor force in 18 to 20 years,” said University of New Hampshire demographer Kenneth Johnson. “A downturn in the birth rate affects the whole economy.” It takes 2.1 children per woman for a given generation to replace itself, and U.S. births have been below replacement level since 2007. As of last year, a separate CDC analysis shows an American woman will give birth to an average of 1.88 children over her lifetime, also a record low. (CNN.com article: Baby Bust – US Births at Record Low)

Ironically, but not surprisingly, the strategy of the world’s anti-children spirit does not end up promoting wealth but actually impoverishes those who subscribe to it.

Pleasure

In his goodness and wisdom, God attached considerable pleasure to the procreation process. Knowing how selfish we are by nature, unless God made sex pleasurable, many would likely opt not to have children, wishing to avoid the responsibilities attached to parenting and family life. Unfortunately, birth control and abortion seem to have circumvented God’s design, allowing people to enjoy pleasure without immediately apparent negative consequences. Pleasure during sex, prior to the advent of modern birth control, was a strong motivation toward having children and fulfilling God’s command to multiply and fill the earth.

God saw that everything he created was good; therefore, sex is good, if it is enjoyed as God intends within the confines of the marriage covenant.

Proverbs teaches us that God’s blessings have no sorrow or regret attached to them (Proverbs 10:22), unlike sex outside of marriage. The antichrist spirit seeks to divorce marriage of responsibility and faithfulness by focusing on the pleasure aspect only, propelling the human race into a headlong pursuit of pleasure, which is reminiscent of biblical Sodom and Gomorrah. Hedonism is inherently selfish, which was the root sin of the Sodomites.

Making pleasure the singular focus of sex strips it of its proper purpose in God’s scheme, which is the propagation of the human race and the enhancing of the marital relationship.

Three Purposes of the Gospel

Covenant Relationship

Perhaps the greatest horror for any person is to be entirely alone.

This is why solitary confinement is so effective. The Bible confirms this truth.

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12  remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:11-12 (NASB)

Jesus came to remedy this horrific condition of aloneness and separation from God by bringing us back into a covenant relationship with him.

This mirrors the central purpose of marriage. A Christian is more than anything else a child of God. Through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, whereby he paid the penalty for our rebellious independence from God, those who believe and pledge allegiance to him (confess him as Lord) are restored to the family of God, being made sons of God through the new birth. (1 John 5:1)

One of the great benefits of being part of God’s family is its indissoluble nature.

Jesus told us that those born into the family stay in the family.

Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35  "The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36  "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34-36 (NASB)

Isaiah promised that the Holy Spirit is forever committed to the relationship.

"As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring," says the LORD, "from now and forever." Isaiah 59:21 (NASB)

Jesus confirmed this great truth.

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17  that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 18  "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16-18 (NASB)

Covenant companionship with God through the New Covenant provides for the deepest need of the human soul, just as does marriage. It is not good, nor was it ever intended by God, that man should be alone. Neither did God intend for marriages to end through divorce. He made this abundantly clear by promising never to abandon his children.

Multiplication

The Great Commission is the New Covenant spiritual equivalent of the command God gave to Adam and Eve and afterward to Noah, and therefore the entire human race, to be fruitful and multiply.

God brought us into his family with an eye toward commissioning us to join him in reaching the entire world with the gospel. No one could ever accuse God of thinking small. Great Commission Christians focus outwardly on those who do not yet know Christ, the “harassed and helpless sheep” which have not yet come to know and believe in Jesus, the Great Shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-38)

The antichrist spirit hates this multiplication ministry of the church and will fight it tooth and nail. If you want to see spiritual warfare, actively pursue evangelism and disciple making. Satan will put up with all sorts of church activities, but as soon as one begins to become truly missional “all hell” will likely break loose in opposition.

Just as Satan tries to distract couples from having children through the pursuit of “more important” things, he seeks to cause the church to turn inward and pursue its own desires, needs, and pleasure, rather than be outwardly focused on the world that so desperately needs Jesus.

Pleasure (Blessings and Joy)

Jesus routinely met people’s physical and spiritual needs as a way to demonstrate God’s care and love to them. Ephesians 1:3 tells us that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. These blessings include forgiveness, justification (being declared “not guilty”), redemption (being set free from everything which formerly enslaved us), reconciliation (being restored to an intimate relationship with Father God), sonship (being given all the privileges and responsibilities associated with being God’s child through Christ), and eternal life (having the Holy Spirit living within and in union with us).

The antichrist spirit has permeated the church with a thoroughly consumerist mindset.

Often both ministers and members participate in this dysfunctional relationship. People search for the church that will provide them with the “best value” in terms of preaching, programs, music, and an overall experience. Ministers and staff have acquiesced to this culture of consumerism by providing everything that the people want in the hope of growing their churches. Churches often compete with each other for the available “fish” and advertise their church as “the best.” People end up thinking that their Christian responsibility is to go to church and listen to praise and preaching by paid professionals, while their children are off in other areas being ministered to by other professional staff. As long as we give an offering and help out with serving the church entertainment business, we feel that we have done our duty; even though we may have neglected the main thing – the Great Commission. Ministers are fine with having a large group of people flock to hear their preaching each week and give finances to support their ministry. Unfortunately the mindset of focusing on what we get from Christ and church is not at all what God had in mind.

The essence of being a disciple is to die to self in order to serve Christ and other people. It is not about what we get out of it as much as what we give. However, it is a well-known truth that it is impossible to outgive God. He will see to it that those who serve him will be blessed.

God desires our happiness, but does not want us prioritizing seeking that. He wants us to seek Him. Likewise, marriages work best when both spouses seek the happiness of the other, rather than prioritizing their own.

Being a good disciple of Christ makes us a better marriage partner.

Concluding Thoughts

Being in a worshipful and obedient relationship with Jesus the Messiah will lead us to receive all his blessings and willingly do the work of going and making disciples. Likewise when marriage focuses on two people making a covenant commitment to one another and practicing selfless love, children will likely effortlessly follow and sexual love will be extremely pleasurable. It is vital that we keep our focus on what is most important both in marriage and the gospel. Good things will follow if we do. If we don’t, everyone will suffer.

When we share what makes a good marriage work, look for opportunities to compare how marriage mirrors our covenant relationship with God through Christ. Who knows? You may lead someone to faith in Christ.

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The Gospel Raises the Dead

 

 

 

 

 

And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8  "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Matthew 10:7-8 (NASB)

Jesus commissioned his disciples to announce the presence and power of God’s kingdom by preaching the good news of his, the king’s, arrival and ministry and by demonstrating the king’s delegated power and authority. This was done by healing, setting people free from demonic oppression, and raising people physically from the dead. Jesus also promised all who would follow that we would do even greater works than he did after his ascension into heaven (John 14:12).

Our Lord sent his Holy Spirit to empower us to preach the gospel and do miracles in his name as a testimony to the truthfulness of our words. (Acts 1:8)

In my lifetime I have seen God heal and set people free from demons, but not once have I witnessed a physically dead person being brought back to life. I must add, however, that I have heard of that happening and have even talked to people who said that they saw it happen in other countries. Why is this not happening where we live? Is it a sign that we lack faith? Will this miracle become more prevalent as we draw closer to Christ’s Second Coming? I imagine the answer to these last two questions is yes and yes. But, let us consider another side to this.

Every single person comes into this world, according to the Bible, “dead in sins.” (Psalm 51:5, Ephesians 2:1) This is because we inherit Adam’s fallen nature. We come into this world separated spiritually from God with an inborn default propensity to pursue selfish desires and try to live independently from God. When we act out these propensities, we add our sin to the cauldron of cascading judgment that we rebels deserve. The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) Jesus came to rescue us from this nightmare situation. He paid the penalty for our sins, taking our judgment of death upon himself. After three days, God raised him from the dead, making him the Author of Life. In Jesus’ own words, he is now the “resurrection and the life!”

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26  and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NASB)

Each time someone is spiritually reborn through faith in Christ, it is a life-restoring miracle. God brings a dead person back to life and gives them the promise that spiritually, at least, they will never die. Unless Christ returns, every one of us will die physically, but Jesus promises that the spiritual life transcends physical death. When we die physically, we who believe will experience a “seamless” transition into the manifest presence of God. This is because everyone of us is already there spiritually.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5  even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6  and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:4-6 (NASB)

When we share the gospel and our hearer responds in faith, we have a part in God’s raising him or her from the dead spiritually speaking, which will one day result in his or her receiving a new resurrection body at the Second Coming. (John 6:40)

Being spiritually made alive again is a far greater thing than simply restoring life to a physical body. Born again people will live forever with God, even after they die bodily. People who are merely physically raised from the dead will one day die again nevertheless, and, if they are not reborn through the gospel, they will suffer eternal death.

Every single person who confesses that Jesus is Lord and believes in his or her heart that God raised him from the dead becomes a brand new creation, made alive from the dead, never to experience eternal death and separation from God.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)

It takes the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit to make this happen.

The new birth is a miracle of the first magnitude that rivals creation.

The light (revelation) of Christ shining into our sin darkened hearts is even greater in some way than the light God spoke into existence during creation, because it reverses the curse upon sin and causes a dead person to come alive and be brought into God’s family to live eternally.

For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NASB)

I believe, as did Paul, that the new birth is a spiritual resurrection.

For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." Ephesians 5:14 (NASB)

So, do not be intimidated or feel like a failure because of our Lord’s telling his disciples to raise the dead. Perhaps one day we will even witness dead bodies coming to life again. Until then, however, every time we preach the gospel, we put ourselves in a position to see an even greater demonstration of Christ’s life giving power, the spiritual resurrection of a spiritually dead individual. That gives us a good reason to share the gospel and glorify God as we await the return of Christ and the glorious resurrection of all the dead.

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The Gospel and Deliverance

 

 

 

 

And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Matthew 10:7-8 (ESV)

Everywhere Jesus went he manifested the reality of the kingdom of God by setting people free from demonic oppression. He commissioned his disciples to do the same, which is still in effect.

Deliverance from demons, like healing, is clear indicator of the presence of the King and the advance of his kingdom.

The Bible teaches us that evil spirits actually exist. Demons seek to capture, torment, and destroy people. The King came to set the captives free, give people peace, and protect them as the Good Shepherd. One of Jesus’ names is Redeemer. A redeemer is one who purchases the freedom of another in order to set them free. Jesus paid for our freedom with his blood.

And they *sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Revelation 5:9 (NASB)

His death and resurrection sets people free from everything that would try to enslave them, so that they might serve God freely and wholeheartedly.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20  that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21  Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22  God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.Ephesians 1:19-22 (NLT)

All power and authority was transferred to the risen Messiah King, which he uses to liberated Satan’s former captives. He does this through the power of the Holy Spirit.

But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Matthew 12:28 (ESV)

Jesus gave authority over evil spirits to his disciples.

The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." 18  And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19  "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Luke 10:17-19 (NASB)

Evil spirits must obey when followers of Christ command them to leave. The Holy Spirit enforces our commands when we operate in the authority of Christ. When disciples of Christ cast out demons, it is a clear demonstration of God’s power and Christ’s authority.

Like healing, deliverance confirms the authenticity of the gospel message.

The early church carried forward this practice as part of its gospel message.

Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. 13  None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14  And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15  so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16  The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. Acts 5:12-16 (ESV)  

And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7  For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. Acts 8:6-7 (ESV)

Today people in the secularized West often try to explain away demonic activity as being a product of the ignorance of previous generations, believing that we can account for what the Bible calls the demonic by other scientific explanations. However, if we maintain that Jesus actually knew what he was talking about and that the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, we must take demons seriously. Conversely, many people are terrified by the demonic, having gotten all their information from horror movies which glorify evil.

The reality is that demons exist, but they are under the authority of Christ and must obey Christ’s representatives.

How and when to cast out demons is a big topic, but you can read more by clicking here.) The important things to remember are that demons are real, Christ has already defeated them, followers of Christ have authority over them, the Holy Spirit backs up that authority, and casting them out is a sign of the presence of God’s kingdom. When we preach the gospel, we should expect to encounter demonic oppression in people and be prepared to use Christ’s authority to handle the situation. When we do that properly, it confirms the reality of Christ’s authority and the truth of the gospel.

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The Gospel according to Isaiah

 

 

 

 

Isaiah is the most quoted Old Covenant prophet, predicting the coming of our Lord Jesus and his messianic ministry some 800 years before Christ’s birth. Let me give you a sampling.

Isaiah told us that Jesus would be born from a virgin. (Isaiah 7:14) He also let us inow that this child would be God himself, upon whom God’s government would rest. (Lord and King)

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NASB)

When Jesus began his itinerant ministry, he quoted Isaiah 61.

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, Luke 4:18 (NASB)

He went about in the power of the Spirit setting people free as God’s representative King. Matthew explained Jesus’ healing ministry by quoting Isaiah 53.

When Jesus came into Peter's home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. 15  He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. 16  When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17  This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES." Matthew 8:14-17 (NASB)

His governmental Lordship was also prophesied, along with his princely ministry of bringing peace to those who put their faith and allegiance in him. This Messiah King would be God’s New Covenant man. Whereas the Old Covenant was a pact between God and men, the New Covenant was between the Father and the Son. The Son would keep its provisions so that we could be saved by faith in him and what he did.

I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, Isaiah 42:6 (NASB)

Later when the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders conspired to kill him. Matthew quoted Isaiah to give context to what was happening.

But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. 15  But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, 16  and warned them not to tell who He was. 17  This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 18  "BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. 19  "HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. 20  "A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. 21  "AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE." Matthew 12:14-21 (NASB)

When his disciples asked him why he spoke in parables, Jesus quoted Isaiah.

Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12  "For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13  "Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14  "In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 15  FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.' Matthew 13:11-15 (NASB)

Jesus again quoted the prophet to castigate the rebellious Jewish leaders who would not accept him.

"You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 8  'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 9  'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'" Matthew 15:7-9 (NASB)

Jesus would become the Savior and Lord of the all the earth, a light to the nations. He would accomplish this in a most unexpected way, by dying on a cross as God’s Lamb. This was laid out in Isaiah 53.

As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. 12  Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:11-12 (NASB)

Here we have a beautiful exposition of forgiveness and justification. His resurrection is also foreshadowed by the statement, “I will allot him a portion with the great, he will divide the booty with the strong.”

Paul quoted Isaiah as the justification for his own apostolic ministry.

How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Isaiah 52:7 (NASB)

The ultimate reconciliation of a remnant of Abraham’s descendants to our Lord is also prophesied.

Thus says the LORD, "As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, 'Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,' So I will act on behalf of My servants In order not to destroy all of them. 9  "I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, And an heir of My mountains from Judah; Even My chosen ones shall inherit it, And My servants will dwell there. Isaiah 65:8-9 (NASB)

The restoration of the nation of Israel was also foreseen.

Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons. 9  "Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?" says the LORD. "Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?" says your God. Isaiah 66:8-9 (NASB)

Jesus’ second coming as God’s appointed judge is also foretold.

For behold, the LORD will come in fire And His chariots like the whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16  For the LORD will execute judgment by fire And by His sword on all flesh, And those slain by the LORD will be many. Isaiah 66:15-16 (NASB)

Also, the new heavens and new earth are prophesied.

For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So your offspring and your name will endure. Isaiah 66:22 (NASB)

I encourage you to read Isaiah through gospel lenses. You will be blessed. Take note that Isaiah’s 66 chapters match the number of books in the entire Bible. Also note that the first 39 chapters are very different from 40-66. There are 39 chapters in the Old Testament, just like the first section of Isaiah. The 27 books of the New Testament are mirrored by Isaiah 40-66, in which the New Covenant is clearly prophesied. It is an amazing book that will greatly encourage your heart.

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Healing and the Gospel

 

 

 

 

And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2  and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal… 6  And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. Luke 9:1-2, 6 (ESV)

The gospel announces that God’s King has been born in fulfillment of promises made to Abraham and King David. He was rejected and put to death, but God the Father raised him from the dead, declaring that he is Lord of all. Those who renounce their rebellion against God’s rule and declare their allegiance to Jesus will be forgiven and given the Holy Spirit. As proof of Jesus’ authority and ability to set prisoners free, he regularly healed people when he walked the earth. After his resurrection and ascension, his disciples also healed people to demonstrate the reality of God’s rule. Healing was linked to the gospel message then and is still.

Jesus launched his public ministry in a synagogue in Nazareth by sharing his messianic mission statement from the prophet Isaiah.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19 (ESV)

The Father in heaven sent Jesus to planet earth to release those who were and are under the oppression of the devil. This oppression manifests itself in many ways, including sickness, disease, and demonic oppression.

The gospel is not limited to the forgiveness of sins. It is holistic, bringing liberty to the entire being – body, soul, and spirit.

When John the Baptist later questioned Jesus regarding his messianic identity, our Lord reminded John and his followers that, although he was not behaving in the way most people thought the Messiah would act by overthrowing Roman oppression, he was fulfilling the role prophesied by Isaiah. When Luke wrote his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, he included this marvelous summation of Christ’s ministry, which was spoken by the apostle Peter:

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38 (NLT)

The anointing of the Holy Spirit, mentioned in Luke 4:18, empowered Jesus (and us today) to heal all who were and are oppressed by Satan by overcoming sickness, demonic oppression, and even death, not to mention the more spiritual and psychological oppression related to sin, guilt, and condemnation.

Paul also operated in healing and miracles when he presented the gospel.

For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 (NLT)

Was this a peculiar operation of grace for those early days, or does it continue? Some theologians have proposed that the gifts of the Spirit ceased after the deaths of the twelve apostles. This is a human theological construct designed to account for the lack of the miraculous today by claiming signs and wonders were only for the early days following the resurrection, before the church came into possession of the New Covenant scriptures. According to this theory, now all we need to do is to proclaim the truth without having any confirming signs of Christ’s reign over the oppression of the devil.

It is always a bad idea to build our theology around our experience instead of around the Word of God.

Nevertheless it is a common practice, since we all tend to explain away that which makes us uncomfortable. It’s what psychologists call denial. We don’t want to be confronted by the truth; so, we build walls and fences to keep it at a distance.

The truth is that Jesus never stopped setting the captives free, body, soul, and spirit. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

If the early disciples needed the confirming signs of God’s presence and power in their presentation of the gospel, how much more do we need it? Evil and deception is just as strong today as ever.

We need both God’s truth and his power.

Separating the power of God to heal from the presentation of the gospel is a serious error which deprives the gospel presentation from being confirmed by the Holy Spirit the way God intended.

When Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples in Luke Chapter 10, he told them:

Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ Luke 10:9 (NLT)

When we engage those who do not yet know Christ, it is a divine strategy to pray for their healing. When we do so, we give God the opportunity to reveal himself to the person in a way that confirms his existence, power, and love. Healing is a function of God’s divine compassion for our predicament.

Healing reveals God’s love in a way that anyone except the most hardened religious people can understand and accept.

Healing confirms the words of the gospel and opens the heart to believe that Jesus is both Lord and Savior. Some call miracles the “dinner bell” to salvation. Evangelists in third world countries know the importance of signs and wonders. Have we become so intellectual that we no longer require God’s power? How foolish!

We do well to take Jesus’ commands to those early disciples to heart.

We should look for any and every opportunity to pray for the sick in order to open the door to sharing the gospel of grace with people we know and love.

It is not up to us to actually heal anyone: that remains under God’s jurisdiction. However, as Christ’s representatives, we have an amazing opportunity to open the door for God to work. If you pray for the sick, you may see a miracle with your own eyes. More importantly, you may open the door for your hearer to receive eternal life through faith in Christ!

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Overcoming Bitterness and Wrong Motives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For many people, several obstacles may need to be overcome before receiving the baptism in the Spirit. My previous article in this series illustrated how to deal with past occult involvement. This article looks at how to overcome bitterness and other wrong motives.

 

 

Bitterness

Nothing undercuts our life of grace and faith more than bitterness. When we hold onto past or present offenses against God and others, we imprison ourselves and block the riches of God’s blessings from having free flow in our lives. The only way any of us can stand before God is because Abba Father forgave our sins based on Jesus’ taking the rap for us by paying the ultimate penalty of death. When we refuse to forgive others, in effect we reject what God did for us, showing that we believe that our standard of righteousness is even higher than God’s. He may be able to forgive, but we cannot. This is the height of pride and deception, and grieves God’s heart.

When we nurse offenses, we are bound in a prison of our own making until we liberate ourselves by choosing to forgive those who have hurt us.

Jesus taught that when we refuse to forgive, God will turn us over to “tormentors,” so that we can learn to forgive. In his parable of the unforgiving servant, Jesus said:

"Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33  'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?' 34  "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35  "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." Matthew 18:32-35 (NASB)

Once we suffer a while, hopefully we will decide that holding onto our bitterness is not worth the price.

I have found that when we are bitter we have a difficult time receiving anything from God. We usually cannot hear his voice because our hearts are hard.

Hardness of heart is the scariest thing that happen to anyone, and bitterness is a sure sign that we have that condition. Only tenderhearted people can forgive and receive from God.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32  Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32 (NASB)

If we harbor bitterness of any kind, it is paramount that we release those who have offended us, so that we can be free to receive all that God has given to us.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anyone we need to forgive. If anyone comes to mind, we should say out loud that we release them from owing us anything and ask God to wash us clean from all traces of unforgiveness. We let go of the debt. Now they are accountable only to God and we are free. If appropriate, we may need to meet with them later to reconcile.

To learn more about forgiveness – what it is and is not – click here.

Wrong Motives

The last obstacle we may need to overcome has to do with wrong motives, such as ambition, pride, and the love of money. James wrote the following warning.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:3 (NASB)

God blesses us with the baptism in the Spirit to equip and empower us to be his witnesses. If we are seeking this gift for a less than honorable reason, he may withhold this amazing blessing for our own good until we repent.

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19  saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20  But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21  You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Acts 8:18-21 (ESV)

I have occasionally encountered people with issues that God insisted they get right before receiving the baptism in the Spirit, but it is not the norm.

If the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart that you need to get something right with him, however, please listen and do what he says.

Conclusion

Now that we have identified some of the major obstacles to receiving God’s blessings, we have a responsibility to use our knowledge and do whatever we need to do in order to remove them. If we do our part, God will certainly do his. He desires to bless us beyond our comprehension. We must not allow anything to interfere!

The next article will show exactly how to receive the baptism in the Spirit. Are you ready? Are you hungry? Good. God will not disappoint you.

 

Want to know more? I have written a book on this very topic, which is available on Amazon. Click here to find out more.
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Anatomy of a Gospel Presentation: Driving It Home

 

 

 

 

In my previous article, I detailed how to use the New Testament record of the life and ministry of Jesus to explain how he fulfilled Old Covenant messianic promises and prophecies. The New Testament colors in our picture of the Messiah, providing unexpected richness and clarity. The Gospel presents Jesus the Messiah King, who died for our sins and rose again in power, and who will return some day to judge the nations and rule over God’s kingdom forever. In this article, I will show how we can drive home this message to our hearers in a way that should provoke a response.

Once again, I am using Paul’s Gospel message that he delivered in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:14-41) for a model of how we can present it. I will also refer to Peter’s presentation on Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41) , another excellent example. As I mentioned before, there are a great variety of ways to share the Gospel, as can be seen when we examine the different times it was shared in the Book of Acts. Nevertheless, there is a basic pattern that should be followed, if we are going to present a complete gospel and not an inferior “Gospel Lite.” I admit that some situations do not provide the time to be thorough, but, when we do have the opportunity, we should take advantage of it.

We never want to give people an excuse to reject the Gospel because we presented it inadequately.

We must not inoculate people against the Gospel by giving them a small dose that enables the hearers to “wall off” future presentations, thinking that they have already heard it all. It took multiple chapters for each Gospel writer to present the story of Jesus. We cannot possibly do it in four easy steps. Jesus is much more than a bridge back to God. He is the reigning Lord of Lords.

The Gospel is a presentation of God’s Messiah King, not an abridged formula or plan that keeps us out of hell.

The Passion and Crucifixion

The heart of the Gospel is our Lord’s passion, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit baptism on Pentecost, which launched the church’s apostolic ministry. (Another important aspect of the Gospel is Christ’s Second Coming, which I will address in a future article.) Each Gospel writer gave us the most important details of this part of Jesus’ time on planet earth because in it we find the core of the Gospel message.

Just as a magnifying glass can focus sunlight into a single brilliant point that has the ability to ignite what it touches, the Gospel should bring its Old Covenant context and New Covenant explanation into a fiery focus at the crucifixion.

Jesus, the promised Messiah, was put to death unjustly in order to ransom us back to God!

"Brethren, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. 27  "For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. 28  "And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. 29  "When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. Acts 13:26-29 (NASB)

Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane revealed that he laid down his life primarily to please his Father and secondarily for our sake; although, the two are inextricably linked. Jesus demonstrated his amazing love by voluntarily laying down his life for the church – for us. But more than that – if we really want to drive our message home as Paul did – we must emphasize that he not only died for us, but because of us. It was our sin and rebelliousness that he took upon himself so that we can share in his right relationship with God the Father.

Peter powerfully presented our guilt on that first New Covenant Pentecost.

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23  this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. Acts 2:22-23 (NASB)

It is vital that people understand the magnitude of the evil committed by those (us) who put God’s Son to death!

The Holy Spirit can and will take this important truth and use it to break our hearts and engender repentance. We should also explain that Christ’s sacrificial death is the sole reason for Father God’s offer of forgiveness and reconciliation, which Paul makes clear in the one of the passages quoted below.

This is the part of the Gospel that almost everyone presents, and it is vital, but it is not the end all. The Lamb of God ministry of Christ is a means to an end. Jesus died so that he might rise again in power and glory in order to enter into his Son of God / Son of Man Messianic King ministry. We should not curtail our Gospel presentation with the offer to receive forgiveness of sins. This trends toward being a consumerist Gospel that draws people to simply receive without any “strings attached.” It sounds wonderful, but it is not the full Gospel. Jesus did not die so that we can be forgiven and then do whatever we please. God’s purpose in saving us is to glorify himself by producing a multitude of sons (and daughters) who will reflect Christ’s character and ministry. Surrender to Christ’s Lordship is a very important “string” that we must trumpet thunderously, if we are doing to present to real Gospel.

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2  which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3  concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4  who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5  through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake, 6  among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; Romans 1:1-6 (NASB)

 

The Resurrection

If the Gospel were a musical symphony, the beginning would be a sonata-like lively presentation of the Old Covenant promises explained in the light of Christ’s birth and ministry, the focus of my first two articles in this series. The crucifixion would be a slow, somber adagio-like section, followed by a thunderous and lively allegro section that focuses on the resurrection. The finale would be a triumphant section that includes the giving of the Great Commission, the ascension, and the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost, with the promise of his coming back as judge of the living and the dead.

The resurrection turned what looked like a horribly disappointing and disillusioning tragedy into a rousing victory celebration beyond our wildest dreams. Let’s see how Paul and Peter constructed their resurrection portion of their message. First we have Paul at Pisidian Antioch.

"But God raised Him from the dead; 31  and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32  "And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33  that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.' 34  "As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: 'I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID.' 35  "Therefore He also says in another Psalm, 'YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.' 36  "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; 37  but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. 38  "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39  and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. Acts 13:30-39 (NASB)

Please take a few minutes to think deeply about these verses. Next let’s take a look at Peter’s presentation in Jerusalem on Pentecost.

"But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. 25  "For David says of Him, 'I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. 26  'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; 27  BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. 28  'YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.' 29  "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30  "And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, 31  he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. 32  "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Acts 2:24-32 (NASB)

The resurrection affirms that our sins are forgiven because it proves that God the Father approved and received his sacrificial atonement for our sins. It also confirms that not only is Jesus God’s Lamb, he is God’s Messiah King, the Lord of lords, the glorious Son of Man prophesied by Daniel. Paul succinctly stated the import of the resurrection.

Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 23  Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24  but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25  He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. Romans 4:22-25 (NASB) 

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2  which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3  concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4  who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, Romans 1:1-4 (NASB)

 

The Ascension

Many Gospel presentations do not even include this section, which shows how far from God’s pattern we have strayed. The ascension of Christ further demonstrated that God the Father fully accepted the sacrificial death of his Son and installed him as the currently reigning and one-day coming again Lord and Judge of all the earth.

"Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34  "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, 35  UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."' 36  "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified." Acts 2:33-36 (NASB)

The ascension marks Christ’s installment on the throne of heaven where he reigns until his enemies are finally defeated and he returns in glory to the earth he created and redeemed. It also marks the outpouring of the promised Holy Spirit, which fulfilled the last part of the ministry that John the Baptist prophesied – Baptizer in the Spirit. (You can read more about John the Baptist’s prophecies concerning Jesus by clicking here.) The giving of the Spirit provides believers with another benefit and requirement. The baptism in the Spirit equips and empowers us to obey Christ by being his witnesses in fulfillment of the Great Commission. (Acts 1:8)

Calling for a Proper Response

As any good salesman knows, closing is critical. A great presentation means nothing without a sale. We should never try to coerce or manipulate our hearers into a response, but we should give them a reason and opportunity to make one.

The proper reaction to the Gospel should be a sense of shock, sorrow, and amazement, coupled by a desire to get right with God. The proper response is a combination of repentance, faith, and surrender.

We err greatly If we fail to convey the magnitude of the sin of rejecting and crucifying God’s Son. We fail our hearers if we do not emphasize that surrender to Christ’s glorious lordship is central to the Gospel. If we omit the necessity of a life of obedience to this amazing Good Shepherd and Lord, we seriously damage a person’s chances to live in a way that brings the utmost glory to God.

Paul asked his hearers to “take heed” to his message, lest they be lumped among those whose hearts were hardened against God.

"Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: 41  'BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH; FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS, A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.'" Acts 13:40-41 (NASB)

Peter’s hearers on Pentecost were gripped by his Gospel presentation. When he announced that the one they crucified has been made the Lord of lords, they responded accordingly.

Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Acts 2:37 (NASB)

Such a response is music in the preacher’s ears and glorifying to God. It is evidence of the activity of God’s Spirit following a convincing presentation of the Gospel. Those who heard Peter understood his message, their guilt, and the need to get right with God. Peter gave them a clear path to accomplish this.

Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39  "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." Acts 2:38-39 (NASB)
  • Repent – The Spirit works in us to convict us of our root sin of trying to be the lord of our own lives. True repentance takes place when we acknowledge our sins, turn away from them, ask for and receive forgiveness, and surrender to Christ’s lordship. Faith is required for us to repent. We are not simply sorry for our sins. Rather we receive God’s amazing provision for us in Christ and commit to a lifetime of service to his Lordship.
  • Be Water Baptized – Water baptism is a public demonstration of our repentance, faith, surrender to Christ, and our commitment to serve him for the rest of our lives.
  • Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit – This equips Christ’s followers to fulfill the Great Commission. For more information on this, click here. We cannot adequately serve the Lord of the harvest without it.

Conclusion

My hope is that these three articles on the Anatomy of the Gospel have expanded and deepened your understanding of the Gospel and helped you see how important it is to share it thoroughly. According to Paul, the Gospel is the “power of God to salvation.” (Romans 1:16) Maybe the reason we do not see more power released to save people is because we are not properly presenting the Gospel. Let’s see what God will do when we better trumpet the most powerful message in the universe.

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Anatomy of a Gospel Presentation: Providing a New Covenant Explanation

 

 

 

 

In my previous article, I showed how important it is to frame a Gospel presentation against the backdrop of God’s Old Covenant promises and history with the nation of Israel. I would go as far as saying that the Gospel is almost unintelligible without knowing something about the Old Covenant promises that God would send a Messiah. Jesus is not a New Age guru who offers a path to personal peace. Rather he is the promised King of Kings who will rule the nations. Big difference!

There are as many ways to present the Gospel as there are unique individuals and situations, but there is a pattern that God wants us to follow in order to preach the Gospel as the early disciples did. Paul wrote that the fully preached Gospel is the power of God to bring salvation to its hearers. Let’s not shortchange people!

In this series of articles, we are taking a look at the way Paul presented the Gospel when he was at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:14-41). He was an apostle commissioned by God not only to go to the nations with the Gospel message, but also to establish the foundations of doctrine for the church. Luke’s account in Acts of Paul’s Gospel message is profitable for establishing our doctrinal understanding of the Gospel.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17  so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB)

Paul used the ministry of John the Baptist as his launching point for providing a New Covenant explanation of how Jesus fulfilled Old Covenant messianic promises. John was the forerunner, the emcee, so to speak, who announced to the world who Jesus was and is. The people of Israel were in a state of high expectation regarding the appearance of God’s promised Messiah. Many thought it might be John, but he relieved them of that supposition, declaring that the anointed one was coming and was now in their midst. (Luke 3:15-17) Can you imagine the level of excitement and anticipation that filled John and his followers?

As I wrote in an earlier article, John announced Jesus’ three messianic roles: Lamb of God (Savior), Son of God (Messianic King and Lord), and Baptizer in the Holy Spirit (Lord of the Harvest). The New Covenant account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection fulfilled John’s prophecies. His death on the cross was a complete fulfillment of Passover and the Lamb of God ministry. His resurrection from the dead confirmed Jesus as the Lord. His ascension into heaven followed by the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost fulfilled his Baptizer in the Spirit role with the church.

The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) provide an enormous amount of details of Jesus’ life and ministry before he died for our sins and was raised for our justification. Peter summarized Jesus’ ministry better than most.

“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38 (NASB)

What Peter’s hearers probably understood that we likely should clarify is that Jesus’ ministry fulfilled Isaiah’s messianic prophesies, confirming our Lord’s identity to all who had eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand. John the Baptist once again provides a hook for explaining this to our hearers. When John languished in prison, he had a lot of time to think and perhaps doubt. He might have been discouraged, and discouraged people tend to doubt. He sent some of his followers to Jesus to question him about his identity.

Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3  and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?" 4  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5  the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 6  "And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me." Matthew 11:2-6 (NASB)

The common expectation among the Jews was that the Messiah would lead them to a military and political victory over their Roman oppressors. Jesus obviously did not fulfill that expectation, leading to John’s and others’ doubts. Jesus’ reply cleared the air. He did not come the first time as the victorious leader of the armies of God. Rather, he came as the Suffering Servant to reveal God’s compassionate heart for the hurting and oppressed. (His Second Coming will fulfill the military and political side of things.) When Jesus quoted Isaiah 35:1-10 in the above passage, he provided a New Covenant explanation and clarification of an Old Covenant messianic promise. We should do the same for our hearers. I suggest you read Isaiah 35 in its entirety and consider how Jesus fulfilled it.

As part of providing a proper New Covenant explanation of Old Covenant messianic promises, we can show how Jesus fulfilled God’s promise to Abraham to raise up a descendant who would become a blessing to the entire earth.

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. Galatians 3:16 (NASB)

We can show how Jesus fulfilled God’s promise to King David that he would raise up one of his descendants to rule over God’s kingdom forever.

"Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30  "And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, 31  he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. 32  "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33  "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34  "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, 35  UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."' 36  "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified." Acts 2:29-36 (NASB)

We can share how Jesus fulfilled Moses’ announcement that God would raise up another prophet like himself.

"Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20  and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21  whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22  "Moses said, 'THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you. 23  'And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' 24  "And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. 25  "It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.' 26  "For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways." Acts 3:19-26 (NASB)

The important thing is to tie Jesus into the Old Covenant because all scripture ultimately talks about Jesus.

Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." 45  Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, Luke 24:44-45 (NASB)

The Bible is a grand story that provides the only true explanation of creation, life, and redemption. The Gospel is the only story that gives people real hope and purpose. We dare not truncate it into a brief explanation of how Jesus bridged the gulf between us and God created by our sins. We should not present Jesus as a free ticket to heaven with no strings attached. This is not how the New Testament does it, and I show you how the early apostles drove this home in the next article. If we fail to adequately present the Gospel, we run the risk of inadvertently inoculating our hearers against it. If they hear a weak version, they may reject it without ever properly considering Jesus’ messianic claims. Let’s not give people that excuse. Let’s present the full gospel every time.

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Anatomy of a Gospel Presentation: Old Testament Context

 

 

 

 

This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2  God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3  The Good News is about his Son, Jesus. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4  and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5  Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. Romans 1:1-5 (NLT)

One of the best ways to study the key components of a good Gospel presentation is to examine how the first apostles preached. Due to attempts to streamline and mass market evangelism, we often reduce the Gospel to a simple presentation of what some call the “plan of salvation,” or The Four Spiritual Laws, or perhaps the Roman Road. None of these are “bad,” and many people have come to faith

The Gospel is a magnificent presentation of Jesus, the eternal Son of God, the Logos, the Son of Man, the Messiah King, Lamb of God and Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. When we reduce the Gospel to a mere explanation of how our sins can be forgiven, we err greatly.

When Paul preached to the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia in Acts Chapter 13, he laid out a classic presentation of the Gospel. Let’s take it apart to view its critical parts.

Using the Old Covenant Historical Context as a Springboard

After being asked to share a word of encouragement with the congregation, Paul began his speech by reviewing the history of God’s dealings with Israel. Why did he do this?

Paul knew that the Gospel can only be properly understood by framing it in the context of God’s historical relationship with Abraham and his descendants.

John the Baptist presented Jesus to Israel by telling his listeners that he is the Lamb of God, the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, and someone Great (the Lord and Messiah). If you wish to read more about this, click here.) These titles only make sense if we understand something about the history of Israel’s relationship with God.

Jesus did not come in a vacuum. He arrived as the fulfillment of specific promises that God made to Abraham and his descendants. Therefore, it is always a good idea to include some sort of historical context to make understandable the Gospel’s claims.

At Pisidian Antioch, Paul spoke to Jews who well knew the history of Israel; nevertheless, he still summarized it in order to introduce Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises. Paul began with the Exodus from Egypt and then mentioned how God gave them the Promised Land, raised up judges, and then gave them kings, specifically Saul and David. Paul’s goal was to get to David, because to this godly man God promised to raise up the Messiah.

And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ 23 Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. Acts 13:22-23 (ESV)

Since he spoke to Jews, he presumed they fully understood this claim and needed no Scripture reference. When we share the Gospel, however, most of our listeners will need to hear a reference, and the following will do nicely.

“When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 2 Samuel 7:12-13 (NASB)

This passage is acknowledged to be a Messianic promise. David’s son, Solomon, despite being a great and glorious king, eventually died. Neither he nor his kingdom endured forever. Therefore, in order for this promise to be fulfilled, another king must arise, one whose kingdom will last forever. Only one person fills the bill – Jesus, the glorious Son of Man, whose kingdom will destroy every other and endure forever! (Daniel 7:13-14)

Paul used the Old Testament historical context to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel.

Other verses can be used, too, such as God’s promise to Abraham that in his seed all the earth will be blessed (Genesis 22:18) or his promise to Moses that God will raise up a prophet like him to whom the nation will be accountable (Acts 3:22).

Each Gospel writer starts at a different place. Matthew begins with Abraham. Mark starts with a prophecy of Isaiah. Luke launches with an account of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus before giving us Jesus’ genealogy all the way back to Adam. John hits a home run by taking us all the way back to the creation of the universe by the eternal Logos, who became a human being named Jesus! Each Gospel narrative uses historical context to inform the reader who Jesus is. These writings are called Gospels because that is just what they are. We should learn from how they present Jesus.

Any serious disciple of Jesus, who wants to be able to share a strong biblical version of the Gospel, should familiarize himself or herself with the Old Covenant scriptural context of the good news about Jesus in order to properly show how he came as the fulfillment of God’s promises to provide a Savior and Messiah King.

Gospel “lite” is not Gospel right.

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