WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

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1 WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 I. The Meaning Of Gospel 1a Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel A. What The Word Gospel Means B. What The Gospel Includes C. What The Gospel Is Not (Galatians 1:6-9) 1. The Gospel Is Not Religious Works 2. The Gospel Is Not Social Reform 3. The Gospel Is Not Health & Wealth 4. The Gospel Is Not The Kingdom Of God 5. The Gospel Is Not Lordship 6. The Gospel Is Not Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation II. The Mission Of The Gospel A. The Gospel Is A Message To Be Proclaimed 2 I preached to you B. The Gospel Is A Fact To Be Received - which you received C. The Gospel Is A Foundation On Which To Stand - in which you stand, D. The Gospel Is A Hope That Rescues - and by which you are being saved, (cf. Rom 1:16-17) E. The Gospel Is A Truth Based On God s Word - if you hold fast to the word I preached to you unless you believed in vain. III. The Message Of The Gospel 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, A. Christ Died For Our Sins B. Christ Was Buried C. Christ Was Raised On The Third Day Conclusion: 1. Understand It 2. Believe It 3. Depend On It 4. Proclaim It

2 WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, Introduction: Share testimony Q: When did you first hear the Gospel? Q: Did you make it more complicated that it actually is? Q: What convinced you to come to faith? (Holy Spirit) I. The Meaning Of Gospel 1a Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel A. What The Word Gospel Means Euangellion Eu good Angelos message o Angels were messengers Our local news is full of bad news Then programmers follow it up with comedy o But comedy isn t about good news it is the satirization of bad news Don t we love telling good news o A marriage proposal o A baby s birth o A family member s salvation o Sharing that Christ died for our sins and rose again B. What The Gospel Includes Christ s death on behalf of sinners Christ s resurrection New Testament scholar Simon Gathercole offers the following outline of the gospel taught in common by Paul and the Gospel writers: 1) The Son of God emptied himself and came into the world in Jesus Christ, becoming a servant. 2) He died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. 3) He rose from the grave as the firstfruits of a whole renewed world. ( The Gospel of Paul and the Gospel of the Kingdom, in God s Power to Save, ed. Chris Green, InterVarsity, 2006, pp )

3 C. What The Gospel Is Not (Gal 1:6-9) 1. The Gospel Is Not Religious Works Not changing one s life in order to please God Not becoming religious That, according to Ephesians 2:8-9, is rejected because we have been saved by what Christ has done for us (death & resurrection), not man s endeavor Ephesians 2:8-9 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 2. The Gospel Is Not Social Reform Liberation theology o liberate countries from unjust regimes liberal churches were even sending money to support militias (e.g. Sandanistas) against the government o liberate the poor from poverty sin = poverty salvation = wealth basis for the Health & Wealth Gospel o liberate the slaves from abuse I m grateful for Justice ministries, but the Gospel is not liberating one from oppressive people or modern slavery It is about liberating a soul from sin and judgment through the work of Christ on the cross and the resurrection We must make sure ministries, even justice and pro-life ministries are based in the Gospel 3. The Gospel Is Not Health & Wealth Osteen, Hagan, Copeland, Hinn preach God wants you healthy and wealthy Poor Jesus didn t own a house, a collection of jewelry, a closet full of fine clothes Osteen s Your Best Life Now focuses on having the best life now, the Bible talks about the best life to come 4. The Gospel Is Not The Kingdom Of God Emergent church leader Brian McLaren: o Denies that the gospel is justification by grace through faith, the free gift of salvation, Christ being a substitutionary sacrifice for sin. (The Secret Message Of Jesus, p. 91) Rather, that the gospel is the kingdom of God is at hand. (ibid, p. 92) This kingdom exists now through a political, social, religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new world. (ibid, p. 4)

4 The key is social reform in the world bringing about God s kingdom by fixing all the social ills of the day o Cited from Gary Gilley s The Crossless Gospel - Parts 1& The Gospel Is Not Lordship True, Paul states that declaring Christ is Lord will be saved (Rom 10:9) and this is only achieved through the work of the Spirit of God (1 Cor 12:3) But some think that only stating with conviction the Lordship of Jesus makes one saved Peter preaches in Acts 2 about Christ s Lordship but through the cross and resurrection some Lordship advocates bypass that heart of the true Gospel Greg Gilbert: But surely it s not correct to say that the declaration Jesus is Lord is the whole sum and substance of the Christian good news. Gilbert, Greg ( ). What Is the Gospel? (9Marks) (p. 104). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition. 6. The Gospel Is Not Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation This is a true biblical theme, but it is not the Gospel itself This is a good way to summarize the Scripture and even a fine outline to present the Gospel, but it is not the Gospel Greg Gilbert: The problem, though, is that creation-fall-redemption-consummation has been used wrongly by some as a way to place the emphasis of the gospel on God s promise to renew the world, rather than on the cross. Gilbert, Greg ( ). What Is the Gospel? (9Marks) (p. 106). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition. Gilbert: If we say merely that God is redeeming a people and remaking the world, but do not say how he is doing so (through the death and resurrection of Jesus) and how a person can be included in that redemption (through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus), then we have not proclaimed the good news. We have simply told the narrative of the Bible in broad outline and left sinners with their faces pressed against the window, looking in. (ibid, p. 107) Galatians 1:6-9 6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. 8 Let God s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. II. The Mission Of The Gospel 1b I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you unless you believed in vain. A. The Gospel Is A Message To Be Proclaimed - I preached to you Preach gives the idea of heralding good news

5 In the old days before the internet, a newspaper boy would call out the headline story on the sidewalk to sell his pile of newspapers Today, people can t wait to Tweet a news story But the idea is the same we are delivering news The Gospel is good news, so this is the focus of what we preach and teach It is amazing how many churches and pastors aren t preaching the Gospel I wonder how the liberal pastor thinks psycho-analysis or social reform is actually the Gospel Nothing wrong with social reform or psycho-analysis, but the results are wishful and the results are uncertain The Gospel is based on a finished act where sin has been paid for, death has been defeated because Christ died and rose again Preaching includes the combination of the tasks of teaching and persuading The Gospel is not just to be comprehended but apprehended Day Camp s goal is not just about citing the Gospel as a mantra, but to be persuaded through reason and revelation that the Gospel is true and needs to be believed in B. The Gospel Is A Fact To Be Received - which you received Vv. 3-4 is an ancient creed, a statement of faith This creed goes back to as early as 30AD This creed was part of the early church s oral tradition Critical (liberal) scholars even agree this creed pre-dates Paul s writings This means that it was too early for people to make things up Myths takes decades to a hundreds of years to develop This creed was established immediately after the resurrection Gary Habermas: Essentially all critical scholars today agree that in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul records an ancient oral tradition(s) that summarizes the content of the Christian gospel. Jesus the Christ died for human sin, was buried and raised from the dead, afterwards appearing to both individuals as well as groups of witnesses. While Paul penned the words, he is clear that this material was not his own but that he had passed on to his listeners years before (1 Cor 15:1-2) what he had received from others, as the very heart of his message (1 Cor 15:3). If he were writing today, he might have footnoted his source! Thus this testimony is actually years earlier than the book of 1 Corinthians. ("The Case for Christ's Resurrection,"To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian World View, ed. Francis J. Beckwith, William Lane Craig, and J. P. Moreland, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004) Habermas: The most popular view among scholars is that Paul first received this very early material when he visited Jerusalem just three years after his conversion. He visited Peter and James, the brother of Jesus (Gal 1:18-19), both of whom are listed as having seen the risen Jesus (1 Cor 15:5, 7). Stronger evidence to support this conclusion comes from Paul's use of the verb historesai

6 in Galatians 1:18, which is usually not very helpfully translated into English. The Greek term indicates that Paul visited Peter for the purpose of investigating a particular subject. The immediate context reveals that subject: Paul's topic for discussion was ascertaining the nature of the gospel message (Gal 1:11 2:10). And Jesus' resurrection was the focus of the gospel message (1 Cor 15:3-4; Gal 1:11, 16). Without it, faith is vain (1 Cor 15:14, 17). (ibid) Gary Habermas: Do critical scholars agree on the date of this pre-pauline creed? Even radical scholars like Gerd Lüdemann think that the elements in the tradition are to be dated to the first two years after the crucifixion... no later than three years after the death of Jesus. Similarly, Michael Goulder contends that Paul s testimony about the resurrection appearances goes back at least to what Paul was taught when he was converted, a couple of years after the crucifixion. An increasing number of exceptionally influential scholars have very recently concluded that at least the teaching of the resurrection, and perhaps even the specific formulation of the pre-pauline creedal tradition in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, dates to AD 30! In other words, there never was a time when the message of Jesus resurrection was not an integral part of the earliest apostolic proclamation. No less a scholar than James D. G. Dunn even states regarding this crucial text: This tradition, we can be entirely confident, was formulated as tradition within months of Jesus death. ( Tracing Jesus Resurrection to Its Earliest Eyewitness Accounts, God Is Great, God Is Good, InterVarsity Press, 2009, p. 212) C. The Gospel Is A Foundation On Which To Stand - in which you stand, Like a wedding photographer places you in the right place to be seen by the camera, Christ puts us in the right place to be seen by God as His own child D. The Gospel Is A Hope That Rescues - and by which you are being saved, (cf. Rom 1:16-17) Romans 1: For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, It is through faith that a righteous person has life. It is not prayer that saves but Christ s death and resurrection It is not E. The Gospel Is A Truth Based On God s Word - if you hold fast to the word I preached to you unless you believed in vain. III. The Message Of The Gospel 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, A. Christ Died For Our Sins

7 B. Christ Was Buried C. Christ Was Raised On The Third Day Paul is not trying to convince the Corinthians of Jesus resurrection, they are already aware of that and it is part of their creed What Paul is clearing up is the doctrinal fact that believers will be resurrected like Jesus The Greek-trained Corinthians wondered how the human body, which was physical and perishable, could enter heaven, which is spiritual and imperishable. o Classic Greek philosophers saw a separation between the physical and spiritual realm o Thus reconciling these two phenomena in Christ was difficult for them Paul states that the mortal body is transformed into an immortal body. V. 35 How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have? D.E. Garland: Paul deliberately begins his argumentation from Corinthian premises, but here he begins with the basic kerygma, which they believed, but whose eschatological implications they have not fully apprehended. He wants them to understand that all Christians will be raised from the dead (or changed if they are alive at Christ s coming), which means that the victory of sin and death is only temporary. God will defeat the last enemy. While graveyards may remind one of the brevity of life, the resurrection ensures the brevity of death. 1 Conclusion: 1. Understand It 2. Believe It 3. Depend On It 4. Proclaim It 1 Garland, D. E. (2003). 1 Corinthians (p. 681). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.