Which Gospel Are You Preaching?
You are either a minister of the gospel of Christ or you are a minister of another gospel. Preaching from the Bible doesn't necessarily make you a preacher of the gospel of Christ.
To effectively minister Christ and be qualified to be called a minister of His gospel, you must of necessity, know Christ and what His gospel is all about.
Apollos was a young man whom Luke, the writer of the Acts of the Apostles, described as being “an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures.”
We are also told that he was “instructed in the way of the Lord, was fervent in the spirit and that he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord”.
There was, however, one problem: he knew only about the baptism of John. He didn't know Jesus nor His accomplished work of redemption on the cross.
It's the same as those first 12 people who made up the Church in Ephesus. They didn't even know anything about the Holy Ghost and had never heard the gospel of Christ.
They had heard John preach about the coming of Christ and what He was going to accomplish in His coming to earth. But unfortunately, these people didn't even know that Christ had already come and done the things John said He would do. So, they were still waiting for Jesus to come.
So, we see that a person can be busy preaching 'the gospel' without actually preaching 'the gospel' of Christ '.
And if what you are preaching is not the gospel of Christ, then you are preaching another gospel.
Today, we have so many sincere and well-meaning people who are preaching another gospel thinking they are preaching the gospel of Christ.
So, what is the gospel of Christ?
Before we can pinpoint what the gospel of Christ is, let me first of all bring something very important to your notice. I believe it will help you to better understand what is meant by the gospel of Christ.
First, I want you to notice that the gospel is essentially the great commission.
Secondly, I want you to notice that the great commission was given by the Lord Jesus only after His death and resurrection. In other words, the great commission was given only after the great work of redemption had already been fully carried out by the vicarious death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
With the above background, it is explicitly clear that when Jesus gave the great commission, he was referring to a specific message. He wanted His disciples to give a specific message to the world.
So, again, what is the gospel of Christ?
The gospel of Christ is a declaration of God's accomplished work of redemption through the sacrifice and work of His Son, Jesus Christ.
It is the good news of what Jesus has already accomplished through His vicarious death on the cross, His glorious resurrection and glorification.
The Old Testament prophesied about it. The Prophets pointed to it. However, the gospels and epistles proclaim its fulfilment.
The gospel of Christ is the good news that what the Prophets prophesied about has already been fulfilled.
The Prophets of the Old Testament stirred the people in their generation to good works and called them to a relationship with God while trusting on God's promise to send the Messiah who would save them from their sins and from the power of their enemies.
On the other hand, the New Testament doesn't present or proclaim a promise. It proclaims the fulfilment of the promise of God.
The gospel of Christ is the good news that what God had promised He has fulfilled through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The gospel of Christ, therefore, is the message of the life, death, resurrection and glorification of the Lord Jesus and how His sacrifice affects our present relationship with God.
Any gospel that is not centered on Jesus and what He has accomplished through His death and resurrection is NOT the gospel of Christ.
You can preach anything, but unless it is centered on the person and already accomplished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and His ongoing work in the believer and in the world today through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that cannot be said to be the gospel of Christ.
Anybody can preach anything, but it takes the one who knows the Lord Jesus and what He has done and is doing today to effectively preach the gospel of Christ.
So, I want to encourage you, my dear friend and companion in the gospel of Christ, to re-evaluate the message you are preaching and the ministry you are propagating, and to ensure that it is consistent with the gospel of Christ according to scriptures.
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11 NIV).
Yours in the gospel of Christ
#JohnOnyekachi
#communicating God's love