Gospel Foundations
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day. 1 Cor. 15:1-4, ESV.
In our journey of turning our eyes upon Jesus we have witnessed His incarnation, His sinless life, His sacrificial death, and His resurrection from the dead. We have come to the end of His earthly life, but not to the end of His influence and work.
The ongoing impact of Christ on the world is summed up in one word: "gospel," which literally means "good news."
The apostle Paul is the Bible writer who most fully defines the saving gospel. Today we need to let his thoughts on the topic soak into our minds. One of Paul's best definitions appear in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. The twin facts that Jesus died for our sins and that He rose that we might have life are the very foundation of the saving gospel. His death alone didn't save. Dead Saviors can't help anyone. Thus Jesus' resurrection is absolutely crucial to the good news. It is in many ways its central feature.
But before exploring further the significance of the Resurrection, we need to take a look at other aspects of the gospel, remembering all the while that they also rest on the bedrock accomplishments of Christ's death and resurrection.
Paul expounds on the word "gospel" again in Romans 1:16, 17, in which he claims that he is "not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, 'He who through faith is righteous shall live' " (RSV). It is from that passage that we get the phrase "righteousness by faith."
Another passage, even though it doesn’t use the word "gospel," certainly highlights its content. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God--not because of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9, RSV).
We need to read those passages again and again and meditate upon their meaning for our lives, remembering all the while that the saving power of the gospel in our lives is founded upon the two great anchor points of Christ's life that we have spent so much time on this year--His death for "my sins" and His resurrection that "I" also might have life.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day. 1 Cor. 15:1-4, ESV.
In our journey of turning our eyes upon Jesus we have witnessed His incarnation, His sinless life, His sacrificial death, and His resurrection from the dead. We have come to the end of His earthly life, but not to the end of His influence and work.
The ongoing impact of Christ on the world is summed up in one word: "gospel," which literally means "good news."
The apostle Paul is the Bible writer who most fully defines the saving gospel. Today we need to let his thoughts on the topic soak into our minds. One of Paul's best definitions appear in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. The twin facts that Jesus died for our sins and that He rose that we might have life are the very foundation of the saving gospel. His death alone didn't save. Dead Saviors can't help anyone. Thus Jesus' resurrection is absolutely crucial to the good news. It is in many ways its central feature.
But before exploring further the significance of the Resurrection, we need to take a look at other aspects of the gospel, remembering all the while that they also rest on the bedrock accomplishments of Christ's death and resurrection.
Paul expounds on the word "gospel" again in Romans 1:16, 17, in which he claims that he is "not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, 'He who through faith is righteous shall live' " (RSV). It is from that passage that we get the phrase "righteousness by faith."
Another passage, even though it doesn’t use the word "gospel," certainly highlights its content. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God--not because of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9, RSV).
We need to read those passages again and again and meditate upon their meaning for our lives, remembering all the while that the saving power of the gospel in our lives is founded upon the two great anchor points of Christ's life that we have spent so much time on this year--His death for "my sins" and His resurrection that "I" also might have life.
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