The Gospel (part 4)

by

BERT BAUMAN

THE GOSPEL AND JESUS CHRIST

In Romans 1:16, Paul boldly declares that the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation but elsewhere he preaches Jesus Christ as the savior of man. It must be then, that the gospel and Jesus Christ are intrinsically related. The Apostle John agrees with his premise when he tells us that the Word was made flesh and was named Jesus. Jesus also enforces this thought, declaring himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life. The Word which comes to us in the gospel is not merely a word then, but it is really a PERSON. It is a Person Who gives life, not a mere word of truth. “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” (John 5:39-40). Salvation, after all, is deliverance from death in all its various forms, and death can only be overcome or eliminated by making the dead alive—hence, salvation must be the impartation of God’s life for He alone has life and immortality… SALVATION IS OF THE LORD. (I Timothy 6:16, Jonah 2:9).

When the gospel is preached it becomes the vehicle of life, since it actually carries in and with it the Person of Jesus Christ. It is He Who brings us to God (John 17:2). It is in Him that God has chosen to meet man (I Timothy 2:5). Through Him God will bring all creation into Himself (Ephesians 1:10, Col 1:20)! It is the purpose of God to make every man alive through this Christ (I Corinthians 15: 20-26), therefore Jesus said, “preach the gospel to every creature”. Paul emphasizes the importance of preaching the gospel in Romans 10:14, “… and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”. So then, Jesus is the Word Who comes to us in the gospel, consequently, error in gospel preaching comes perilously close to presenting a false or distorted Christ!

Extract from the book “The Gospel” by Bert Bauman