Everybody Talks About the Gospel

By David Duncan, Outreach Minister

Edmond Church of Christ

Do you get confused by the various Christian groups like I do? For practically every combination of words, there seems to be a religious group with that name. Not only do their names differ, their practices all seem to be slightly different.  Almost all of them, however, talk about the “gospel.”

Preachers pound their pulpits and plead that every member should preach the gospel.  Church leaders encourage the members to live by the gospel.  Some folks listen to gospel music. People read from the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Perhaps you have even been encouraged to “obey the gospel.”  You might even be willing to follow the gospel if someone would just explain to you what it is!

There has been so much talk about the gospel some people have come up with wrong ideas.  Maybe they have started preaching and teaching about the gospel before they even understood its definition.

When I was in the fourth grade, I did not want anything to do with girls.  I only talked to girls if their desk happened to be near mine.  Although I was beginning to notice the girls in my class, I certainly was not going to confess to having a girlfriend at that age. 

One day one of my friends announced to all of the boys in gym class that one of our favorite stores had just received their first shipment of Farrah Fawcett posters.  Even better, the posters were only $2.45.  Some boys even skipped milk break to save money to buy the posters after school.

As soon as school was out I rushed home to tell my parents about the great deal on Farrah Fawcet posters. My parents were as incredibly naïve as I was!  They said, “What is a Farrah Fawcett?”  I said, “I don’t know but everybody is getting one and I want one, too.”

My parents might have been naïve about TV stars and sex symbols, but they were not willing to allow their fourth grade son to do whatever he pleased.  My mother did take me to the store so we could investigate more in-depth.  After a trip throughout the entire store without finding the “Farrah Fawcetts,” my mother finally asked a clerk to point the way.

The woman pointed to a box of rolled up posters in a corner.  On the side of the box was pasted the famous Farrah Fawcett swimsuit poster of the 1970’s.  I had never been so embarrassed in my whole life.  Not only was I embarrassed to talk about girls, I knew my mother would never let me hang such a poster in my room.

The point is that we sometimes talk about things before we understand their significance. I am the first to claim I do not understand the gospel as well as I should, but I do have a reasonable grasp of the subject.

In the following pages I want to explain the word “gospel.”  I am proud to say my definition is not original.  If it were, it would be made-up.  Instead, I want to define it as closely as I can to the way the Bible defined it.

Just What is the Gospel?

If you grew up going to Sunday School or Vacation Bible School, you might remember that gospel, in the New Testament sense, literally means “good news about Jesus.”         

If you have time, I would encourage you to read what we call the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  These men wrote about the life of Jesus.  It is from their accounts of the life of Jesus we have the basis for the good news.

Another interesting read that details many of the struggles facing the early Christians is 1 Corinthians, written by Paul.  Paul was perhaps the most prolific writer and missionary of the Bible.  Some of the problems he was trying to work out in the Corinthian church could even make a middle school aged boy blush.  He dealt with tough subjects like divorce, incest, lawsuits and drunkenness. The book also addresses positive subjects such as the Lord’s Supper, love, and most importantly for this discussion, the gospel.

Paul beautifully defined the “gospel” when he wrote:

“Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.  Otherwise, you have believed in vain.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:  that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”  (1Corinthians 15:1-5)

Notice what Paul wrote about the gospel.  He had preached it and the Corinthians had accepted it.  They were even saved by it, as long as they held on to the gospel.  Then, note at the end of the quote how Paul defined the gospel he had preached.  He said it was the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. 

Now that I know the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, what I am supposed to do with it?

How Do I Respond to the Gospel?

It is amazing what we can learn about a subject by studying something similar.  For example, when I worked in Brazil as a missionary, it was vital for my wife and me to speak Portuguese.  During our first year in Brazil we spent 573 hours in language classes.  When it was over, I knew a reasonable amount of Portuguese and a whole lot of English grammar.

English was something I had merely used to convey my thoughts and ideas before I studied Portuguese. Although I studied the normal number of years of English grammar in the American public school system, I never totally got the feel of it.  When I studied Portuguese, however, English adjectives and direct objects all of a sudden made sense to me.  English clicked as soon as I studied it from a slightly different angle. 

The same principle might be true for you concerning Paul’s writings.  We sometimes start reading in New Testament letters like 1 and 2 Thessalonians and Ephesians without realizing the book of Acts gives us a background to the letters.  If you want to understand 1 Thessalonians better, study Acts 17:1-9.  If you are studying Ephesians, read Acts 19 and 20 and you will discover the background of Paul’s relationship with the Ephesian Christians.  Luke, the author of Acts, traveled with Paul, helping him plant churches in various cities.

Luke gives insight into Paul’s work at Corinth in Acts 18.  Lots of important things happened in that ancient city.  For one thing, Paul was so mistreated by the Jews in Corinth that he vowed to focus his teaching on the Gentiles (non-Jews).

It is Acts 18 that gives a bigger clue as to how Paul defined the gospel.  Remember, we learned in 1 Corinthians 15 that Paul taught the Corinthians the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  In Acts 18, Paul tells how the Corinthians responded to the gospel.  Notice the following verse:

Crispus the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized (Acts 18.8). 

Remember Paul said he preached the gospel and the Corinthians received it (1 Co. 15:1,3) It is plain and simple.  Acts 18:8 explains how the Corinthians who accepted Paul’s message responded.  They believed and were baptized.

That is not all the Bible says on this subject.  After you have studied 1 Corinthians 15 and Acts 18 for a while longer, turn to Romans 6.

Although Paul never uses the term “gospel” in the passage we are about to study, he uses terminology even more precise. Instead of just using the word “gospel,” he defines the way we make a response to the death, burial and resurrection.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means!  We died to sin; how can we live it any longer?  Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin  (Romans 6:1-7)

I know the above passage is long.  If you skipped it, however, please go back and read it.  It is of eternal importance.

Do you see what I mean about Paul simplifying his thoughts?  In 1 Corinthians 15, he explained that the Corinthians were saved by their acceptance of the teaching of the gospel.

In this passage, Romans 6, Paul clearly explains how we can conform to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15.  In Romans 6 Paul is obviously stating we experience this death, burial and resurrection in Jesus.

It is important to note Paul’s message was not something that saved just the Corinthians.  The gospel saved people in Rome, Colossae and the other cities mentioned in the New Testament.  For example, Peter and the other 11 apostles told the Jews on the first day in the history of the church to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  The Ethiopian official thought the gospel was so important he stopped along the side of the road to be baptized (Acts 8:36-38).  Baptism was clearly the way one reenacted the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

The word baptize comes from the Greek word, baptizo.  It means to literally immerse or submerge something.  Since we are talking about a burial, it seems only natural baptism would refer to immersion, a total covering.  Don’t you think it sounds a little bit silly to think you could bury something by sprinkling or pouring dirt on it?  I think God made the connection between immersion and burial intentionally.

Is Baptism the Only Thing I Should Be Concerned About? 

No, there are certainly other items we have not discussed in detail.  This booklet is focusing on baptism because different interpretations have made it the “sticking” point.  Let’s briefly look at a few vital things we learn in the Bible about salvation.

Acts 8 states the people in Corinth believed and were baptized.  Acts 2:38 mentions repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  John 3:5 includes being born of water and the Spirit (baptism) and verse 16 emphasizes the importance of believing in Jesus.  Romans 10:9 stresses the importance of publicly confessing Jesus as Lord and I John 1:9 focuses on us confessing our sins to God.

We should think of our Christian walk as a relationship with Jesus.  He wants us to believe in Him because He loves us and wants us to be with Him.  He wants His children to confess Him because He wants us to stand up and be proud of Him, in a similar way you would profess your allegiance to a person you love. Our repentance means we are now resolved to follow His ways and be faithful to Him.  Baptism then allows us to spiritually experience what He underwent physically.

Am I Finished After I Am Baptized? 

Baptism is not the end of the Christian life, it is just the beginning.  It seems the reason Paul wrote Romans 6 was because some Christians had decided they could live in any situation they desired.  He reminded them that Jesus certainly is gracious, but a self-indulgent life was not a proper response.

Alone and in prison, Paul gave vital instructions and encouragement to Timothy to stand strong in the faith despite the circumstances.  Paul stressed the importance of dying to sin when he wrote:

Here is a trustworthy saying:  If we died with him, we will also live with him; If we endure, we will also reign with him.  If we disown him, he will also disown us; If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

Notice Paul assumes we would “die with Him.”  Don’t forget Romans 6!  It certainly seems like a reference to our response to the gospel.  Then, Paul states we need to “endure.”  Our original Scripture states a similar idea, “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you” (1 Corinthians 15:2).  So, the Corinthians were told they needed to remain convicted to the gospel to which they had already responded.

We can deduce the first people baptized in Acts 2 believed the good news about Jesus.  They understood from Peter’s convincing sermon that Jesus was the Savior of the world.  As soon as Peter made the point that God had made Jesus, the one they had crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36), they interrupted the sermon and said, “Brothers, what shall we do?”  They realized they had sinned and believed in Jesus.  Peter’s answer was simple, “Repent (change your ways) and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Did you notice the two beautiful blessings the believing, repenting, baptized believer found in Jesus?  They found forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit!

When we are guilty, there is nothing that feels better than forgiveness.  People may never forgive us for what we have done.  We may even have trouble forgiving ourselves. Praise God, He will forgive us when we come to Him!

The gift of the Holy Spirit is just as beautiful.  It means God is living inside us!  He now helps us in prayer (Romans 8:26, 27) and gives us spiritual fruit known as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-26).

Sometimes we may forget God has given us such a wonderful Spirit and we don’t practice patience or peace or kindness.  We must remember God has given us the Spirit with those qualities and we need to cherish them.

What Will Literally Happen When I Am Baptized?

For people who have not spent a lot of time witnessing baptisms, this is one of the most frightening questions.  After all, we are talking about a death, burial and resurrection!  This section will cover most of the details which will occur before, during and after you are baptized under normal circumstances.

If you wish, you may be baptized in front of the congregation before, during or after a worship service.  If you do not desire to have so many people around, it is perfectly fine to be baptized with a small audience, or with only you and the person baptizing you.  We only know from the Bible that people were baptized when they were convicted to so.  Nothing was specifically written about the witnesses.

You will probably be asked before you get in the water or just after, if you believe Jesus is the Son of God.  This if often referred to as “the confession.”  If you answer negatively, there is obviously no reason to continue the baptism.  If you answer positively, the process will continue.  You will be questioned about the identity of Jesus to make certain you understand what you are doing.

More than likely, you will be baptized in a baptistery (a small pool inside the church building built to ensure there is always ample water for a baptism.) If you are not near a baptistery, you may experience the spiritual death, burial and resurrection in a swimming pool, lake, river, ocean, or any other body of water large enough to cover you.  The Bible is not specific about the type of water to be used.

You will probably be loaned some clothes to wear during the baptism.  Maybe, you will wear some of your own clothes you do not mind getting wet.  Once again, the Bible is not specific about the clothes one wears during baptism.  People during the time of the New Testament were baptized immediately (Acts 2:37-41; 8:36-38; 16:33) so it does not seem they had time to think much about their clothes.

After you get in the water with the person baptizing you, they will probably explain exactly how you are going to go under the water.  The person (maybe raising their right hand) will then say something similar to, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of your sins.”  These words are often stated because according to Acts 2:38 and Acts 22:16, baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus also told his apostles in Matthew 28:19 to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Now, it is time for your biggest question.  How long will you be under water?  Don’t worry, it only lasts for an instant.  The person baptizing you will probably lean you back into the water.  (Sometimes a person is asked to lean forward or go straight down into the water but this is not as common.)  If you do not want water in your nose, you may hold it. 

If you are baptized in front of an audience people may respond publicly in some fashion when you come up out of the water.  A song is often started immediately afterward that gives honor to Christ for the blessing of another new birth.

After you have dried off, changed clothes and combed your hair, other Christians will probably want to hug you, shake your hand or pat you on the back.  People often make encouraging comments like, “Congratulations,” “Welcome to the family,” or “We are so proud.”

The act of baptism is actually very simple.  If you have never seen a baptism you may be surprised it is not any more difficult.  It should not surprise you, however, because God did not make following him overly difficult.  There are struggles along the way but the guidelines are very simple. 

What If I Say No?

Hospitals really confuse me.  Of course, I understand what goes on in a hospital, but when visiting, I can never find the room, floor, wing or person I want to visit!  They all seem like mazes to me.  (My manly character, however, would never allow me to ask directions!)

One day, in a large metropolitan hospital, I encountered another visitor who was also looking for a surgical waiting room.  Less stubborn than I, he immediately asked a nurse to point the way.  She said, “You can go any direction.  Each way eventually leads to the same place.”  The man chuckled and said, “You know, the same is true about religion.”

Before you condone or condemn his statement, think about it.  He was right and wrong.

The man was right in the fact that every person will end up standing at God’s judgment seat.  The writer of Hebrews said man is destined to die and face judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The day will come when every one of us will answer to God for what we have done.

In one sense, all directions do lead to the same place, the judgment seat of God.  At that point, we will be judged, save or unsaved, by God.

In another sense, the lost visitor in the hospital was wrong.  Every religion does not lead to salvation.  Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Peter, seemingly inspired by that thought, preached, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Sometimes Jesus spoke of difficult concepts His listeners had trouble grasping.  Other times He said things so directly His listeners had difficulties accepting.  Nicodemus has a conversation with Jesus that contained both.

Nicodemus was obviously a bit confused about being born again and the kingdom of God when he talked to Jesus on a dark night.  Although Nicodemus was puzzled, he certainly learned quickly what it took for a person to enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus told him, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5).

Jesus did not leave his statement open for debate.  There is only one way to enter the kingdom of God.  Usually, when there are discussions about spiritual ideas,  they occur because the Bible is not as specific as we would like.  Concerning baptism, though, there should be no controversy.  Jesus said all those inside God’s kingdom are baptized in water and the Spirit and that settles it.

We can deduce from Jesus’ statement that those not “born of water and the Spirit” are not in the kingdom of God.  You decide, whose kingdom are those people in that are not in God’s kingdom?

Say “Yes!”

I pray you will say “yes” when you are asked if you want to be baptized.  Better yet, don’t wait to be asked, go and tell someone you are ready to do it now.

One of the greatest blessings we receive from baptism is Jesus’ protection for our sins.  Paul reminded the Galatians, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:26,27).

When we are baptized it is like we are putting clothes on.  What do clothes do?  For one thing, they make us modest.  Jesus will take our ugly, sinful, spiritual bodies and make them presentable.  Second, he will protect us.  Jesus’ blood, which we will wear like clothes protects us from the elements.  Instead of Jesus coming into my heart, we now, in a sense, live inside him!  Now that is a blessing I don’t want to miss.

I pray you will consider being baptized.  Pick up the phone and call a Christian you trust right now.  Make today the day you start a new life in Jesus!

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