The Good News Of The Gospel

Temple Baptist Church - 4-1-2018

Mark 15:12-15, 33-47; 16:1-8

Introduction: 

A.  This morning is Resurrection Sunday.  A day much revered among God’s people.  Our celebration of the glorious Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Capstone of Christianity; the completion of the glorious gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

Romans 1:4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

B.  The Gospel defined:  The word gospel means “good news” or “good tidings.” 

1.  The good news for a world dying in sin! 

2.  The good news that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son!” 

3.  The good news that the sinful does not have to spend eternity in a devil’s hell! 

4.  The good news that all has been done that is necessary for a sinner to be saved! 

5.  The good news that every sinner who ever lived could be saved!

6.  The good news that God’s prepared heaven is now freely accessible to the both the greatest and the least of mankind!

C.  We just read very familiar verses of Scripture that define the gospel.  Paul defined it in a shorter version in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;  (2)  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  (3)  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins (death)  according to the scriptures;  (4)  And that he was buried (burial), and that he rose again(resurrection) the third day according to the scriptures: 

D.  In both the Books of 2 Corinthians and Galatians, we find the perverting of the gospel.  In the First Century, as false teachers infiltrated the local churches and found willing followers, the gospel fell under attack.  Satan hates the gospel!  The gospel is God’s power unto salvation to those who believe on Christ. 

E.  This morning, I want to look at some aspects of the Gospel found in these verses of Scripture. 

1.  The Purity Of The Gospel - The Gospel Defined – vs. 3-4  Many do not understand the gospel and refer to themselves as “full gospel” by adding other things to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.  Galatians calls this is “another gospel which is not another!”

a.  Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.  (Involves the prophecies [such as not having a bone broken, etc.] doctrines of sin, Christ, and salvation.)

b.  Christ was buried.  (Involves prophecies fulfilled such as that He made His grave with the rich.)

c.  Christ rose again the third day according to the scriptures.  (A glorious bodily resurrection.)

2.  The Preaching Of The Gospel - The Gospel Delivered – vs. 1, 3  The gospel must be preached in all of its purity in order to be effective.

a.  The Gospel Daringly Declared – vs. 1 “declared”  (Unashamedly and boldly preached.)

b.  The Gospel Dutifully Delivered – vs. 3 “delivered”  (In fulfillment of the Great Commission, preached to every creature both at home and abroad.)

3.  The People Of The Gospel – The Gospel Desired – vs. 1  A realization that salvation is through Christ alone brings about two things.

a.  The Gospel Brings Conversion – vs. 1 “received”  (A realization that works cannot obtain salvation.)

b.  The Gospel Brings Confidence – vs. 1 “stand”  (A realization that works cannot maintain salvation.)

4.  The Power Of The Gospel – The Gospel Demonstrated - vs. 3-4  The Gospel message works as well today as it did two thousand years ago.  It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.  

Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

a.  The Power Of Propitiation – vs. 3 “Christ died” (For every man, woman, and child who ever has or ever will live.)

b.  The Power Of Salvation – vs. 3 “our sins” (For all of our sins, past, present, and future.)

c.  The Power Of Resurrection – vs. 4 “rose again”  (Brings resurrection presently in holiness of life and then resurrection future into His eternal presence.)

5.  The Protection Of The Gospel – The Gospel Defended - vs. 2  The Gospel has always been under attack because it alone brings salvation.  The Gospel was attacked through the denial of the resurrection of the Sadducees, those who religious zealots who crucified Christ, the soldiers who were to keep the tomb.

a.  Against Apostasy’s Deviation – vs. 2 “keep in memory”  (We live in days where the virgin birth, blood atonement, and other major gospel doctrines are under attack.)

b.  Against Apathy’s Dereliction - vs. 2, 10 “believed in vain…I laboured”  (If the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation [and it is] then we must be busy telling others the glorious news that Christ died for them and they can be eternally saved through trusting His finished work at Calvary.)