In our discussions of the Gospel, we're going to break it down into 4 essential parts. Remember, this is just one way to organize it so we can discuss and remember it better. The organization itself is not the Gospel! Please interact with the Gospel, and be careful not to fall in love with some way to organize it. It is as we interact with it that it will become part of us and be beneficial to us. Here is how we will look at it:
- God is Holy
- Man is sinful
- Jesus is the answer
- God calls us to respond with repentance and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord
In our previous discussion, we spoke of God's holiness and a little of the sinfulness of mankind. We will at some point go back and look at the holiness of God, but for next week we are to consider the sinfulness of man. Please remember to read through Genesis 3, and ponder the following questions:
- What was the essence of Adam and Eve's sin?
- Consider how this "essence" of sin connects the outward effects of sin that we can see. In other words, what is it about sin that makes it so bad that God hates it, and how does that show itself in our actions as sinners?
4 comments:
I think that our culture in particular, has difficulty with the very first point, the holiness of God. I don't think the idea of a being who is fundamentally more valuable and morally rightious simply because of Himself comes easily to people. I don't even know if some can entertain the idea! Why do you think this is?
The holiness of God implicates us as sinners. If God is holy then clearly we are wretched. It is easier to deny our sinfulness if we deny that there can be anything as holy as God. Again, if God is an absolute holiness, an absolute righteousness, that leaves us to be absolutely wretched and this is uncomfortable for people who do not have God to turn to in order to be washed clean of the wretchedness.
Gospel means "good news". The way I've always known it is this: God is holy; Man is totally depraved and separated from God; God sent Jesus into the world to reunite us with Him; Jesus was fully God, yet fully man; He died for our sins and we can now become God's children if He works in our hearts to bring us to believe in this Gospel. I know this isn't complete, and there are many other aspects, but I'm still studying it, and going deeper, and growing deeper. See you all on Sunday.
Lizzygirl,
That is a avery good start to understanding the gospel. A couple of questions: (1) What does it mean that God is holy? (2) What was the ultimate reason for Jesus' comming to the cross? (Look at John 12:27-28).
As a minor sidenote: The word "Gospel" does not itself mean good news. It comes from the Old English 'godspel', which was a compound of 'god' (good) and 'spel'(story or message). The Greek word translated 'Gospel" actually means 'good news', or according to (www.etymonline.com) "...reward for bringing good news."
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