The heart and core of the Gospel
Furthermore,
we have been admonished to; “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace, for there is one body and one Spirit, just as we were called in
one hope of our calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father
of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all” (Ephesians
4:3-6).
We
should also consider the plea made by the apostle Paul who wrote, “Now I plead
with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be
perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” Now the
reason why the apostle made this plea it is because “Sectarianism” which is the
idea of each belonging to a particular sect, religion or denomination is sin (1Corinthians
1:10).
Therefore,
the question is why are families and best of friends so divided in their
pursuit to follow Jesus Christ? Is Christ divided? Which religion that was
crucified for us! And were we baptized in the name of any specific religion? We
should all consider the fact that ultimately, each of us shall give account of
himself /herself to God: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to
what he has done, whether good or bad” (2Corinthians 5:10).
So
my greatest concern is, what is so complicated in the Gospel that the majority
of us who profess to be believers are blaspheming the sacred name of Jesus
Christ “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in
Christ Jesus before time began” (2Timothy 1:9)!
There
has been from the very inception of the church fears of people preaching false
gospels as forewarned by the apostle Paul saying; “I marvel that you are
turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a
different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and
want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be
accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any
other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed” (Ephesians
1:6-9).
So
then, what is this one and only Gospel which has been delivered to us and we
should not turn away from? First and foremost, the word gospel denotes good
news, and so, it is the good news as explained by the apostle Paul who was
assigned to the Gentiles, it is the good news of the grace of Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. For this is what the apostle Paul wrote; “And I, brethren, when I
came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to
you the testimony of God: For I determined not to know anything among you
except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1Corinthinan 2:1-2).
Therefore,
the one and only gospel which we are not to turn away from is made up of three
integral components, and they are;
a. God´s testimony regarding His Son
b. The grace of Jesus Christ
c. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ
To
be continued
With
brotherly love
Lucius
Joseph
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