Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: GRADUATE (08/01/19)
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TITLE: What is the Gospel? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Donna Martelli
08/07/19 -
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“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” John 3:16 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
What does it mean to believe in Him? Greek, the language of the New Testament, usually gives us a more panoramic meaning for a word than we have in English. The word “believes”, biblically, is not just agreement with the facts or mental assent to them. When John 3:16 says “whoever believes in Him”, it means whoever trusts in, clings to and relies on Him. I think we need to graduate from our surface belief in Jesus and consider that the Gospel is all that Jesus is and all that He does.
There is another word that I want to tell you about. It is the word “deny”. Jesus said that if we are going to come to Him, we have to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) Deny in Hebrew means to disown ourselves, forget ourselves, lose sight of ourselves and our own interests, refuse and give up ourselves. Wow. That same verse goes on to say that we must take up our crosses and follow Him. That means we must cling steadfastly to Him, conform wholly to His example in living and if need be, in dying. That is a bit different than simple head knowledge.
If that isn’t enough, consider “Without holiness, no one will see the Lord”. (Hebrews 12:14) Does that scare you like it scares me? Jesus Himself said that He wants us to be holy, as He is holy. He wouldn’t ask us anything if it was impossible, would He? So how is it possible that we who were born in sin could ever possibly be holy?
In order to be holy, we have God’s grace to empower us, but we must obey all of His Word, lest we receive His grace in vain. We must leave our old lives in the world, commit ourselves to Him completely and desire His presence above all else. Then we will love Him passionately as He loves us. He wants to know us. The word “know” is used to express an intimate relationship, like that of husband and wife.
What is the Gospel? It is all this and more. You and I need to graduate from our old lives to our new lives in Him and from our baby Christianity to a life of power and love, ablaze with His Spirit. What a wonder He is!
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