It Starts Small

God’s Word provides detailed explanation of Heavenly wisdom, which leads to godliness, or earthy demonic wisdom which leads to corruption. Today we are going to look at our gospel.

A vital question to ask ourselves, does the gospel change from person to person?

In 2 Timothy 2:8, Paul instructs believers to follow “my gospel.” Some have interpreted this to mean that each have their own individual gospel that is based on individual experiences. This could not be further from the truth. Paul is exhorting Timothy to hold tightly to the unchanging, true gospel that Paul was preaching.

What else is he saying in this passage?

First, that it is the only gospel.

Second, this gospel is to be remembered because it is the meaning of the story of Christ.

While some say that claiming to have exclusive truth is “narrow-minded,” Christ followers can rightly claim that this gospel is true. If there was any other gospel, the events that occurred in the life of Jesus would not have happened because they would not have been necessary. Jesus is the only one to fulfill the prophecies from the Old Testament about the promised Savior. Jesus is the only one who can really teach about God since He is a person of the Trinity. Jesus could perform the task to accomplish what is needed — salvation, the defeat of enemies, and a guide through life.

By saying “my gospel,” Paul is not implying that it belongs to him or that it is a personal opinion. He means that it is the only true gospel that was revealed to him and the other apostles by Christ himself.

The gospel can be clearly defined and stated. It is not some vague feeling or spirit. The gospel is the story of Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done. The gospel is the story of Jesus, the seed of David and the Son of God, who was born in Bethlehem, died for our sins, was buried, and raised from the dead.

The meaning of the story is that through faith in Jesus, we can receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Repentance and forgiveness of sins are the be preached to all nations in Jesus’ name. This is the ONLY gospel because if there was another way to be saved, Jesus would not have had to come and die. Jesus is the only one to fulfill all the prophesies of the Messiah. Jesus is the only one who can reveal the Father to us and teach us about God. No one has seen God except the Son. Jesus is the only one to accomplish what needs to be done for our salvation. He alone can keep the law for us, conquer our enemies, bear the punishment for our sins, give us new live, and present us to God.

Without the gospel, there is no hope. We have no way to escape God’s Wrath except through faith in Jesus. When we pursue godliness, we must listen to what Paul exhorts: remember! We must remember the gospel and believe it to be saved. If we reject the gospel, there is nothing left for us but eternal destruction.

Paul said,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16

Paul teaches to not be shamed by others because of what we believe. He is saying, I am not ashamed of the message and the reality of Christ crucified for sinners and raised with power and saving all who trust in him. Why not? Because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

This is the same way that Jesus overcame feelings of shame when he was shamed for the gospel. Jesus looked to the joyful triumph of his cross and resurrection. Paul looked to the joyful triumph of the gospel in eternal salvation.

We do not avoid feelings of shame by altering the gospel to make it popular and inoffensive. We avoid feelings of shame by remembering that the gospel is going to be vindicated in the end. We remind ourselves that the gospel alone brings forgiven sinners to final, everlasting joy.

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If you are following along in the Journal, the back pages have a table of Heavenly Wisdom vs. Corrupted Wisdom. Today’s scripture is in the first block under the column Heavenly Wisdom. If you get stuck, you can visit this page and see my example.

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