Grace and Truth
Bible Ministries

Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 1Pet 3:15; The doctrine of witnessing part 39

In our study of the doctrine of witnessing Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; we are examining the doctrines that undergird the gospel so that we can understand how and why it is God alone who made it possible for our so great salvation exclusively by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Eph 2:8-9;

We are presently looking at the mandate for believers to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of their calling so that their life would not be an impediment to their mission of evangelizing the entire world but instead for their example to be a living testimony of the Gospel. Phil 1:27-30; 2Cor 3:3; 1Pet 3:15-17; NET

In order to fulfill this mandate believers are to purify their conscience so that they are able to detect, resist and oppose any and all attempts depose the legitimate authority of God's Word of truth. Heb 9:14; Eph 6:13;

Without the truth of God's Word in the soul emotional fear and guilt creates the potential for serious manipulation by do gooders with evil intentions. Remember the strong control the weak through fear and intimidation and the weak control the strong through guilt from an unpurified conscience.

As we closed last time we noted that the consequences of unconfessed sin and unresolved guilt are destroying our nation today. Isa 3:8-12;

Rejection of rational doctrinal thought from God's Word is causing the people to be thrown around by every kind of deceitful scheming and propaganda from evil deceitful people. Eph 4:14;

This is why many of the citizens of our nation especially those in the " ruling political class" are so fearful of offending anyone that they flee when no one is pursuing. Prov 28:1;

The only way our nation will recover from this is if there is a change of thinking decision regarding Jesus Christ and His Word. 2Chron 7:14;

In the mean time the doctrinal believers that form the pivot must hold their ground and wait on the Lord Eph 6:10-19; answering anyone who asks them about their confident expectation in the Lord while maintaining a good conscience in the face of false accusation. 1Pet 3:15-16;

This brings us to our next category in the Doctrine of Witnessing, a review of the content of the Gospel message under the category of the "Doctrine of the Gospel that we last studied in 2013." 1Cor 15:1-4; John 3:16; Acts 16:31;

In Rom 1:16; Paul refers to the gospel as the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes it.

The noun "Gospel" is translated from the Greek compound noun "Euaggelion"
Eu" means good; "Aggelos" means a messenger, an envoy, or one who brings the news.

The Greek word "Aggelos" is also transliterated "angel" as a messenger of God in some passages but not in this case. So the word "Gospel" actually means "good news."

God's good news to unbelieving mankind is called the Gospel. The Greek verb "Euaggelizo" means to announce good news. In the Scripture it is translated as proclaim or to announce good news or to communicate. It means to bring good news of victory, to declare good news of victory in a battle or war.

In more recent times the term "gospel" has came to mean to announce God's good news of salvation for mankind by faith in Jesus Christ.

The Hebrew verb "basar" that is generally translated "proclaim" as in (1Chron 16:23;) has the same meaning of proclaiming good news. The Hebrew noun ."besorah" is equivalent of the Greek word "euaggelion."

In Rom 1:16, "Euaggelion" means the declaration of good news of our Lord's victory on the cross, where He was judged for the sins of the world and has become the basis for God's peace with mankind. Eph 2:12-18;

The word was used to describe the bringing of good news of victory or to declare good news of victory in a battle or war. In this sense it is the good news of Jesus' strategic once and for all battlefield victory over satan in the Angelic Conflict that results in God's peace. John 14:27;

The Gospel is the communication of doctrines pertaining to salvation. The doctrines of salvation are the best news humanity could ever receive. The Gospel therefore includes all of the doctrines pertaining to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Throughout the history of mankind the Gospel has always been available, so that in every generation of every dispensation anyone could believe in Jesus Christ as He was revealed in their language and be saved.

This universal pattern was demonstrated by Abraham when he believed in Jesus Christ while living in Ur of the Chaldeans 4000 about years ago, Gen 15:6; Rom 4:3,20-22;

Paul states the boundaries of the Gospel in 1Cor 15:1-4; v1"Now I communicate to you, brethren, the Gospel which I preached to you, which also you received in which also you stand,

v2 through which you are also saved, which doctrine I preached to you if you hold fast and you have ([first class condition), unless you have believed to no purpose."

In this passage, Paul was teaching a Greek audience in Corinth. He had to explain the boundaries of the Gospel to them because some of the Greeks who had accepted Christ as Savior were having trouble with the concept of a literal, physical, bodily resurrection.

It was a cultural problem, the idea of a resurrection was contrary to Greek culture so there was a conflict between their culture accepted and believed and what God's Word clearly taught as truth.

Verse 2 indicates that they were saved but not fulfilling God's plan because of their unbelief. For the moment, Paul assumes the debater's first class condition, and assumes that the Corinthians response to the Gospel excluded resurrection, which it did.


While faith in Christ is the only way of salvation, and the Corinthians had believed in Christ for eternal life and now possess that eternal life, these Greek Corinthians were unable to accept the literal physical resurrection of Jesus Christ because that idea was contrary to what was acceptable to their culture.

This does not mean that the Corinthians were unsaved, but it does show that that part of the benefit of their faith in Christ was not useful to them during the time that they rejected it.

The principle is that any doctrinal principle that is rejected in unbelief is not experientially beneficial to those in unbelief.

Whatever part of the Gospel any believer rejects after being saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is empty of content, or vain because of their unbelief so as a result of their unbelief in that specific doctrine even though true is useless to them.

They were saved because they had believed that Jesus was the Son of God but they were not benefited by that component of the Gospel message so in that regard they were losing out on the blessing they would have if they did believe it.

The Corinthian believers had a problem believing in a corporeal bodily resurrection because of their Greek culture believed. Because of their culture they actually thought that a physical resurrection was abhorrent so they had rejected that part of the Gospel message and refused to believe it.

They possessed eternal life but by rejecting the concept of bodily resurrection they are missing out on the blessing that comes from the contentment of soul that comes from believing that they will be resurrected when the exit resurrection or rapture of the Church occurs.

They will actually be resurrected whether they believe in it or not so when it happens it will be quite a shock to them. Rom 3:3; because God's word is truth whether they believe it or not.

 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on 1/13/2016