Evangelism- An Exhaustive Study
By D.M.M. 4/1/04
This treatise is a summarization of an exhaustive study which I did using Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (KJV). The following words and each of their occurrences in the Bible were exhaustively analyzed: “evangelist”, “evangelists”, “gospel ”, “gospel’s”, “preach”, “preached”, “preacher”, “preachest”, “preacheth”, and “preaching”.
The words were put on a grid. The grid was filled out longhand and contained the following column headings: the bible verse used, Strong’s number, the name of the preacher, descriptor (anything helping describe evangelism), comment, and notes.
As you can see there’s only three references in the English to “evangelist” or “evangelists”, (Greek “euaggellistes”). However, when we expand the study to include “the gospel” (“euaggellion”), and “preach the gospel” (“euaggellizo”), we then have plenty of references to dig into.
The following are points of note with references to the listing number from my original longhand grid:
“EVANGELIST”
1.) Phillip the Evangelist, Acts 21:8 “We reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Phillip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.” There’s not much detail in these verses. We can see for sure, though, that a person can be known as an evangelist, and have that ability as his principal work for the Lord.
This verse also clearly shows a fulfillment of the promise of generational Christianity which is contained in Acts 2:38 & 39: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call”. The gift of the Holy Ghost was manifested in Phillip’s two daughters, not as evangelists, but as prophets.
3.) To Each One Grace is Given, Ephesians 4:11 I find it no accident that this verse is found immediately following the passage above which includes the reference to Acts 2:39. The fourth chapter of Ephesians discusses the manifestations of God’s grace in the Church. Ephesians 4:7 guarantees, “To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it”. Just as I was reading Acts 2:39, for the approximately 150th time in my life, the Lord showed me that this verse contains the same promise as Ephesians 4:7, only it’s worded differently. Phillip and his children were given the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39). This promise is that “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it”, “for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call”. We in this generation are “far off”, 2000 years from when those promises were first voiced. However, even in this age, for each believer “to each one of us grace has been given”. Verse 11, then, cites evangelists as a manifestation of God’s grace, and a witness of God’s presence in his Church, and also as a fulfillment of the need to build Christ’s Church through the manifested power of the Lord Jesus Christ, himself.
This passage essentially lists evangelism as one of the “gifts to men” discussed in Ephesians 4:8 and Psalm 68:18. Psalm 68:18 explains why God gave such “gifts to men”: “That you, O Lord God, might dwell there”. So God indwells his Church through the various gifts of the Spirit, evangelism being discussed herein.
I’m currently speaking of those with the gift of evangelism, not what we normally refer today as lifestyle evangelism. We all should, as Christians, contain the gospel in every fiber of our existence (I Peter 3:15). I do not discount that some who practice lifestyle evangelism do have the gift of evangelism. When I speak of the gift of evangelism, I’m referring to being led to reach, with the gospel, large crowds of people or groups of ones and twos many times over. In my day I can not discuss evangelism much without Billy Graham coming to mind. Currently the man is in his mid eighties and still reaching large groups with the gospel. The only explanation that is reasonable is that Mr. Graham is endowed as an evangelist, and his power comes totally from the Lord; and really that ought to be obvious to those who study the Word. What about the preacher on the street corner? I’d say, “Yes, unless it’s a false gospel”! What about myself on occasion when the Lord has led me to speak to small gatherings, when I am somehow able, after stuttering and stammering, to still get the gospel message out? Well, on such occasions I’m definitely practicing evangelism, but that doesn’t make me an evangelist. All who give out the gospel are practicing evangelism and all believers should, but only those whose principal Spiritual ability is evangelism should be defined as evangelists.
How, then, does God indwell the Church through evangelism? Chiefly there are 2 ways:
a.) We don’t worship a mute idol. An evangelist is gifted by God and is obeying the general call and a specific leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ asserted “I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18). I was once led to consider an insightful verse- Ephesians 2:8. The verse says, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith”. Consider the true story of a woman who by grace heard the glorious gospel, believed, and by grace through faith was saved. Okay, that’s grace! But, let’s not merely consider grace (previously defined as intercession from God’s throne) from the saved person’s perspective. Wasn’t the preacher led by the Lord to give out the gospel? That’s the grace of evangelism. Also, that’s Jesus Christ building his Church, indwelling his Church, and walking amidst “the seven golden lampstands” (Revelation 1:12&20).
b.) All the gifts are manifestations of God’s grace (charismata). So God is indeed working in and through the individual evangelist. When an evangelist, or any other Spirit led believer, obeys the Lord’s leading and exercises his or her Spirit given abilities, then that person is at that moment the very right hand of God in that situation.
So God indwells the Church by indwelling each believer. Further, God is manifesting his power and presence through the Spirit’s gift to each Christian servant.
“GOSPEL”
9.) An Orderly Account, Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah the prophet…”. If you want to give an orderly, meaningful account of something you must have a beginning and an end to your account. Mark begins his account at Isaiah, with the important concept that the good news of Jesus Christ is a major fulfillment of prophecy, which is a very substantive point. Paul, in Galatians 3:8, goes even further back and points out that God “announced the gospel in advance to Abraham”. Some contend that the gospel is first contained in the prophecy ofGenesis 3:15. Don’t think for an instant that I’m saying that the gospel is merely an orderly or historical account of the life and work of Jesus Christ. In order for the Scripture to be true, and it is undeniably true (John 10:35), the gospel must be “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Acts 1:16).
15.) Fulfillment of Prophecy, Luke 7:22 “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” The Lord Jesus is making a major point concerning the gospel: the work of Jesus Christ is the major fulfillment of prophecy, not merely a fulfillment but rather the major fulfillment of prophecy. Peter exclaimed, “All the prophets testify about him” (Acts 10:43). The Lord Jesus knew that John Baptist would recognize and be looking for the Messiah’s fulfillment of prophecy, so to comfort John in prison he quoted the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 61:1&2.
17.) Teaching vs. Preaching the Gospel, Luke 20:1 “One day he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel”. The Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the Holy Spirit working through the writer Luke, draws a distinction between teaching and preaching the gospel. Not all teaching done by the Lord Jesus Christ is the gospel. An obvious example of this is the end times teaching of Mark 13. So, we can conclude that all of the gospel is Christ’s teaching, but not all of Christ’s teaching is the gospel. Really, this verse brings out an important point, that if we are going to understand evangelism, we must succinctly define the gospel. This necessary gospel definition is contained in Item #23 below.
18.) Salvation Only by the Gospel, Acts 8:12-25 “But when they believed Phillip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, they were baptized, both men and women” Here we see that the Holy Spirit was given by laying on of hands by the apostles. This passage has been a source of many questions. However, I believe it (and other difficult passages) can be sorted out as we study and understand the grace of God. First, let’s realize that the primary work of Philip (vs. 12) and Peter and John (vs. 25) was preaching the gospel. Next let’s conclude that there was obviously something Peter and John were able to do that Philip was not doing; and that something was a showing of Holy Spirit power in the baptized believers; albeit Phillip, himself, did work many miraculous signs and healings per Acts 8:6&7.
Applying facts that I’ve gathered thus far from this grace study, here is what I conclude. The Philip, of Acts 8, was not the apostle Philip listed in Matthew 10:3, but is Philip the Evangelist discussed in Acts 21:8, and also one of The Seven listed in Acts 6:5. Here’s some facts that brought me to that conclusion:
a.) The Philip of Acts 8 was left at the end of the passage “preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea” (vs. 40). While great signs accompanied him (vs. 7, & Mark 16:17), the Holy Spirit was not coming in great power upon those who believed even though they were baptized. That’s because he wasn’t trying to do the work of an apostle, but rather to save souls by the power of evangelism. He had a different grace gift than the apostles; he was an evangelist. Also, please note that he’s left traveling about evangelizing “in all the towns until he reached Caesarea”, which is exactly where Philip the Evangelist is found 26 years later when Paul and his group stayed at his house in approximately 60 AD as recorded in Acts 21:8. We could speculate on what occurred to stop Philip in his tracks in Caesarea all those years; but it seems obvious that, with “four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy”, Philip was faithfully raising his family in Caesarea all those years.
b.) It’s also noted that “all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). This directly states, then, by inclusion in the same passage, that the Philip of Acts 8 was not an apostle; because the passage says the 12 apostles stayed in Jerusalem.
So, we conclude that the Holy Spirit didn’t come in power upon these believers, because even though they were sealed by the Holy Spirit and saved, and even water baptized; Philip’s calling as an evangelist could only bring them to the point of salvation, and then water baptism, and not any further. Why not any further?! Peter preached the gospel in Cornelius’ house, and “the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” (Acts 10:44). I believe that the difference is clearly due to the different grace of God given to Apostles, sent as Church builders, as opposed to evangelists as heralds of the salvation. (This is not to say that Phillip had no other grace gifts, such as shepherding and teaching, especially since he raised four Christian women who spoke for the Lord (prophesied).
21.) Gospel as a Message, Acts 15:7 “That the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe”. Peter describes the gospel as a message. He even discusses the semantics of salvation, “He purified their hearts by faith”. The concept, that the gospel is a message having power to change non-believers into believers, is an important concept of Christianity. Some denominations only define the gospel as the four gospel books- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We must understand that the gospel is a message with power for salvation, not a portion of the Bible, as some claim.
There is a sequence of events that occur when the Lord saves someone, as further discussed in Item#143 below. One of these critical elements that occurs is that the message of the gospel is communicated. The concept of the gospel as a message is, therefore, critical. Either publicly or privately, verbally or written, the message must be communicated. Romans 10:13-15 explains this same concept: “ ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those that bring good news!’ “.
22.) The Enormous Need and the Real Help for that Need, Acts 16:9&10 “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’….we got ready at once…to preach the gospel to them”. We sometimes forget the enormity of the need and importance to preach the gospel in foreign lands. We don’t consider that those countries without a Christian heritage are the most despotic and impoverished countries on the globe. When we consider the countries that nominally practice some form of idolatry (and I consider Islam as a form of such idolatry), we see countries without hope- countries buffeted by famine, pestilence, and every form of strife. When we contrast these with the nominally Christian countries, however, we see relative prosperity. These countries without Christ are not just in need of food and medicine; they desperately need the gospel. CLICK for an example of this need. We as Christians must realize that famine, pestilence, and strife are symptoms of these cultures’ spiritual starvation. Their most pressing need is still the “bread of life”, the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
23.) The Notion of a “Gospel of the Kingdom”, Acts 20:24-25 “…the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. Now I know that none of you among whom I’ve gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again”. This passage is one among many verses that discusses the notion of “the gospel of the kingdom”.
I note that there is a false notion that Christ first preached “the gospel of the kingdom” to the Jews, and then, when they rejected it, he preached a different gospel to the Gentiles. After carefully scrutinizing this notion, however, I conclude that the same gospel was preached first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. The following passages prove this:
a.) The above passage in Acts 20 clearly states that Paul preached “the kingdom”, and that such preaching was “the gospel of God’s grace”. Scripture doesn’t contain an implication that Paul’s “gospel of God’s grace” was any different than the gospel preached by the Lord Jesus Christ. Any such conclusion is the teaching of men and not of God. Also, Phillip was noted as having “preached the good news of the kingdom of God” in Samaria (Acts 8:12).
b.) In Galatians Chapters 1, 2, and 3, Paul carefully shows that there can only be one gospel. Paul shows that “some people are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7). He denotes a curse upon all who would “preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you” (Galatians 1:8). Paul clearly cites that “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you’” (Galatians 3:8). While the promise of a Messiah was only being developed through Abraham, still he believed that portion of the gospel which was revealed to him. So, the gospel has always been the same gospel, even though it was not brought all together until Christ opened his disciples minds to the Scripture in Luke 24:44.
c.) Matthew 9:35 “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” This verse is typical of many that define the Lord Jesus’ preaching as the good news of the kingdom, but this doesn’t mean that it was a different gospel. Here are some facts that prove and explain this point:
1.) Jesus explained, concerning the end times, in Matthew 24:14, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”.Point proven! I could end this proof right here, but for definition of the gospel we should go a little further.
2.) The Lord Jesus developed his presentation of his gospel in stages, and in a manner that could be accepted; and always with a view toward future generations. Recall that he liked to refer to himself as the Son of Man, knowing that those who would believe would eventually realize his deity and his need to die for sin. First the Lord showed himself as somebody to pay attention to, by working miracles and teaching with clarity and power. Then the Lord presented himself as fulfillment of prophecy, knowing that astute disciples would accept him as Messiah (Luke 7:22, Matthew 16:16&17). Finally, the Lord could begin to reveal the crux of the matter, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14&15). “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).
3.) The Lord Jesus did first present his gospel to “the lost sheep of Israel” (Mark 7:28), but this doesn’t show that it was a different gospel. In fact, Ephesians 2:17 shows that it was the same gospel- “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.”
4.) Finally, we should realize that there’s a good reason why the Lord referred to his gospel as the “gospel of the kingdom”. That is, that very little was ever taught regarding the kingdom of heaven until he shared his teaching. Consider the Lord Jesus’ parables: the Sower , the Tares and the wheat, the Mustard Seed, the Yeast, the Hidden Treasure, the Great Pearl, and the Net (all located in Matthew 13); the Lost Sheep and Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18); the Workers and the Vinyard (Matthew 20), and the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22). So we see that, just as little was known about the resurrection until Jesus boldly declared “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25), little was known concerning heaven until he began preaching his gospel of the kingdom.
The reason I’m spending time dispelling the false notion of a short term “gospel of the kingdom” is that this false notion is contrary to, and makes it difficult to clearly define, the true gospel. Since the gospel is a message, then what’s the whole message including all the facts; and what’s the minimum part of that message which will still bring the grace of salvation through faith in the gospel? I suppose I had better answer those 2 questions. The whole gospel is everything concerning the Christ: the ancient prophecies and everything surrounding those prophecies, everything concerning his first and second coming and his future promises to Israel and his Church, everything concerning his death, burial and resurrection, even such typology. Not only was the gospel preached to Abraham according to the Galatians reference above, but it was also preached to “all those Moses led out of Egypt” (Hebrews 3:16, 4:2, and 4:6). Every verse in the Bible is said to be an arrow that points to Christ and the cross. Peter said, “All the prophets testify about him” (Acts 10:43). So, any discussion or teaching of the Scripture can be a gospel message depending really upon the empowering work of the Holy Spirit toward the salvation of the hearer. I’ve heard of people being saved through many different verses of the Bible, but such verses always bring the person to the Cross.
The minimum part of the gospel message needed for salvation, as accepted by many, and I agree with them, is Romans 10:9 which guarantees, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”.
26.) The Only Power for Salvation, Romans 1:15&16 This is one of the most important passages in Scripture, because it states that the gospel “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”. If you want to be involved in Evangelism you must understand that the power for salvation is the gospel. Righteous living, good works, church attendance, various traditions, water baptism, these all have their place. But salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), and that faith must be in the one true gospel. At the point of believing the gospel then, a non-believer “is included in Christ” and is “marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13). So if you want to reach someone for Christ, you must reach him with the gospel, and pray that the Lord will give him the grace to believe. (Acts 18:27). We should understand that grace, faith, and the gospel are not all the same but they work together in salvation. A person is saved by God when they believe (have faith in) the gospel. However, grace, defined as intercession from God’s throne, is permeating throughout such a situation. It’s grace that such a person’s mind is prepared to believe, and it’s grace that an evangelist is sent to give the gospel, and there’s probably many other instances of grace in that person’s life that brought them to that point. However, grace can only bring one to a point. After that faith is necessary and a person must choose to believe. Immediately upon believing, new, spiritual birth occurs and many other things occur at that point of new birth. This is why the Scripture declares, “By grace are you saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).
27.) Pending Judgment is Part of the Gospel, Romans 2:16 Through this verse it’s made clear that a formal judgment by God the father through Jesus Christ is part of the gospel. It’s important to remember that “being saved” doesn’t mean getting religion, but rather that a person is spared the permanent wrath of a holy God in the Lake of Fire. There’s an old saying: “The gospel, being God’s Word, is a two edged sword. On the one edge is God’s love demonstrated at Calvary. On the other edge is God’s wrath and his sure judgment of sinners”. When I first believed in 1979, I was impacted by both edges.
The judgment spoken of in Romans 2 is not just the judgment day of non-believers (a.k.a. Great White Throne Judgment- Revelation 20:11). The judgment also refers to the judgment of believers (a.k.a. the Bema Judgment- II Corinthians 5:10). So, we must conclude that eventual judgment for all, resulting in eternal wrath for the non-believer and heavenly rewards for the obedient believers, is “part and parcel” to the gospel.
28.) How to have Beautiful Feet, Romans 10:15 This is one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible. It speaks of God’s, and really all of heaven’s, view of evangelism. This verse is a partial quote from Isaiah 52:7 which says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ “. Somehow, I conclude from these Scriptures that all of heaven rejoices when the glorious light of the gospel is preached in dark places. And when a person gets saved, the joy and celebration in heaven is unspeakable (Luke 15:7&10).
Let’s go a little further here. This verse also reminds us that the Lord blesses the means of facilitating the gospel message. It doesn’t say he blesses the hands or even the mouth, but the feet. How many times have you seen the Lord work in miraculous ways in order to facilitate the spreading of the “good news”. This is currently God’s first priority in this creation. The spreading of the gospel, and the saving of souls through that gospel, is still the Lord Jesus’ primary task. All of the Lord’s other work: the building and sanctification of His Church, the preservation of creation, his rule over all principalities, and his intercessory work at the throne, is all still focused on saving souls through the gospel. Really, if you want to understand the way of God’s creation, this world, and particularly God’s grace you must accept that principal; because nothing will make much sense unless you do. Eternity is important to the Lord; and it ought to be important to us too. There’s an old Christian saying: “God doesn’t care what you’re doing now, so much as where you’re at in eternity”.
31.) “My Gospel”, Romans 16:25 “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel”. Here Paul refers to the good news which he preaches as “my gospel”. Also in II Timothy 2:8 Paul writes of “my gospel” stating, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal”. Some important points are:
a.) Paul is not stating that his gospel is different from the gospel preached by others, either by the Lord Jesus, or to Abraham and Moses, or by other Christians. He’s merely differentiating his good news from the world’s good news. The world’s good news in those days might have been that real estate values went up, or taxes were decreased; but Paul’s good news is Christ resurrected in fulfillment of Scripture.
b.) Note that the resurrection is contained in the one true gospel, and well as Christ’s life and death as fulfillment of prophecy (in this case as the descendant of David).
c.) Also we note that the gospel is, in these two passages as in many others, expressed as the empowering ingredient in salvation. This verse notes the gospel “is able to establish you“. II Timothy 2:8-10 cites that through the gospel the elect “may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus”. Romans 1:16, above, defines the gospel as “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”.
d.) Item # 35 below contains a good description of the gospel which Paul preached.
32.) Gospel Separate from Baptism, I Corinthians 1:17 “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel- not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” Herein we are reminded that water baptism and the gospel are two separate teachings, and that salvation is through the gospel. Since salvation is through the gospel, Paul puts gospel preaching as his first priority. This is clearly shown throughout most of the New testament, particularly Acts, Chapters 10 and 11. There is a baptism (immersion) which occurs just at the time a person first believes the gospel. However, this is the immersion in the Holy Spirit of which water baptism is a type or figure. So, when a person is water baptized, they do this as a public statement that he is already saved and has already been immersed (baptized) in the Holy Spirit.
Now I know that there are teachings which seem to say that water baptism, itself, saves you, but such a teaching would clearly contradict the teachings which we’ve just cited. There’s a point of logic that a serious Bible scholar must follow in order to sort out supposed contradictions in Scripture. This logic is simply that there is no such thing as a contradiction in Scripture; the contradiction is in our understanding of Scripture. So all Scripture must be true, not just some of it (John 10:35, II Timothy 3:16), because ultimately the Holy Spirit’s interpretation of Scripture is the one true interpretation of Scripture (II Peter 1:20). I’ve spoken to some teachers who have studied difficult teachings, and they’ve listed scriptures for one side of an issue, then they’ve listed scriptures for the other side. They then take, what amounts to, their best guess at the answer. No Good! Such an approach doesn’t get you to the Holy Spirit’s true meaning on such an issue, since you’ll be left with a contradiction in Scripture. Since we know that a contradiction in Scripture is impossible, we know that such a conclusion is incorrect. We must further study such issues and pray for wisdom and understanding, in order to obtain the Holy Spirit’s true interpretation of Scripture. Such misunderstanding can easily stem from other issues that we are building our conclusion upon. We’d be better off putting such an issue aside and concluding, “Here’s an issue I don’t yet grasp, so I’d better be careful about what I say on that issue”.
Getting back to water baptism, I have thoroughly investigated this, and in order for all Scripture to be true, water baptism is not God’s instrument of salvation, but rather Holy Spirit immersion through the gospel. Water baptism should certainly soon follow a person’s decision to believe the gospel, however. I’ve found that all scriptures which seem to cite water baptism as God’s instrument for salvation can be reexamined to conclude that the gospel and Holy Spirit baptism are the actual true instruments of God’s salvation. But, no matter how much the Scripture is reexamined, we can never explain away verses such as our present verse, I Corinthians 1:17, neither Acts Chapters 10 and 11. Acts 10:47 asks, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have”. In Acts 11:15&16, Peter explained his evangelistic work in Cornelius’ house, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit’ “.These verses clearly cite immediate salvation, new life, and Holy Spirit immersion to those believing the gospel. What other passages could ever make these scriptures disappear, or even begin to change their obvious and clear meaning?!
Now let’s consider the opposite, incorrect, view. The strongest case for salvation by water baptism is misinterpreted through I Peter 3:21: “In it (Noah’s ark) only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes water that now saves you also- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience towards God”. There is a critical word that must be considered in order to get a clear perception of this verse, that critical word is the word “symbolizes”. My Greek Interlinear was consulted which displays the King James, the NIV, and the Greek, all together. The following led to my conclusion that this verse is not saying that water baptism saves us:
a.) Symbolizes- KJV puts it this way: “the like figure whereunto (even) baptism doth also now save us”. The Greek puts it: “Which also us figure now saves (even) baptism”. The Scripture is discussing symbolism. Two figures of salvation are used, Noah’s ark and water baptism of Christians. This Scripture doesn’t cite that water baptism gives you eternal life, anymore than it cites that the Ark adventure gave Noah’s group eternal life. These two symbols, or figures, are pictures of the immersion in God’s Holy Spirit which occurs at the point of believing the gospel. The only non-figurative statement concerning water baptism is that it’s “the pledge of a good conscience toward God”. Water baptism as a public statement of “a good conscience toward God”, made clean by Holy Spirit washing which had already occurred upon believing the gospel, this is exactly how I and many others understand water baptism. So the verse does not discuss water baptism as God’s instrument of salvation, but merely as a symbol of salvation. The term “the like figure” in the KJV agrees with this conclusion that water baptism is another figure (a like figure) of salvation, just as Noah’s ark is also a figure of salvation.
The major point of logic is that water baptism, upon careful reexamination, is found not to be God’s instrument for salvation. If you claim that water baptism saves you, then you cannot explain the believers in Cornelius house being baptized (immersed) in God’s Holy Spirit, and them never having been water baptized. Since “The Scripture…cannot be broken” (John 10:35), the only answer is that the immersion (a.k.a. baptism) in the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:16) is what saves us. Although our heart strings yearn to accept the religious teaching of our culture, we must lay aside our culture when it conflicts with the clear teaching of God’s Word. Or, as one old saint once told me, “Don’t tell me what you say. Tell me what God’s Word says”.
35.) The One True Gospel, The Whole Gospel, and the Minimum Gospel for Salvation, I Corinthians 15:1-7 “Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel that I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the Word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” This group of verses is accepted by many as a key description of the one true gospel (Galatians 1:8&9) which Paul preached. Here are the points contained in this description of the one true gospel:
a.) These Corinthians to whom Paul is writing are, for the most part, believers. They are described as having received the gospel, and have taken their stand upon the gospel. This is a good description of believing: receiving the gospel as true and vital for salvation, and trusting (standing) upon Christ’s atoning work for redemption.
b.) “By this gospel you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain.” As was stated, the gospel “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”. However, this belief has got to be genuine and heartfelt (Romans 10:9). Evidently some of these Corinthians were still going to reject the seed of the gospel which was sown among them (Mark 4:13-20).
c.) The gospel, of all the teachings of Paul and of the Lord Jesus, is “of first importance” (verse 3). This should be obvious because each person’s most critical need is to be spared from the eternal Lake of Fire.
d.) “Christ died for our sins” (verse 3). The sin atoning power of the Lord Jesus death is not just critical in God’s plan of salvation; it’s the theme of heaven. A quick look at the book of the Revelation will show the Lord Jesus continuously (and therefore eternally) referred to as the Lamb upon the throne (Revelation 5:6, and others).
e.) “According to the Scriptures” (vs. 3). This shows that the Lord’s atoning work was not just the fulfillment of prophecy (Matthew 5:17), but also God’s plan from before creation (Acts 2:23, II Timothy 1:9).
f.) “He was buried and that he rose again the third day” (vs. 4). The bulk of Chapter 15 of I Corinthians is regarding the importance of the Lord’s resurrection. Here’s just a sampling from this great chapter, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith”. The point is that the resurrection of Christ is an important ingredient of the gospel message. It’s not enough to say that he died for our sins. The promise of eternal life with the resurrected Christ is implicit to the gospel.
g.) He appeared, after his resurrection, to Peter and to more than 500 people at the same time (vs. 5&6). The point here is that his resurrection was not a secret, and was even chronicled as fact by that most important non-Christian historian of the time, Josephus.
So these are the key facts of the gospel as described by Paul. Keep in mind, though, that the Lord through the Scripture contains other facts as being included in the gospel. This was shown in Item #23, above: “The whole gospel is everything concerning the Christ: the ancient prophecies and everything surrounding those prophecies, everything concerning his first and second coming and his future promises to Israel and his Church, everything concerning his death, burial and resurrection, even such typology”. Also, please keep in mind that the minimum amount of the gospel to be believed is well recognized as being Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”.
36.) Evangelism, a Large Part of Apostleship, II Corinthians 2:12 “Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ”. This verse brings up a big point. That is; evangelism is a large portion of apostleship. This concept is brought out more fully in II Timothy 1:11, “And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher”. We can conclude it is impossible to perform much of the other services in God’s grace without the gospel. If you think about it, you’ll conclude that even things like Christian teaching and shepherding are impossible without an understanding of, and an unction to share, the gospel. To be an evangelist, though, is to have evangelism as your grace gift from the Lord Jesus and your principal work for the Lord (Ephesians 4:7&11).
This concept is acutely brought out in the case of Timothy. Timothy is encouraged in II Timothy 4:5, “Do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry”. We know, however, that Timothy’s gift (I Timothy 4:14) was not limited to being an evangelist. This is brought out in I Thessalonians where Paul, Silas, and Timothy write, “As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you”. So Timothy, as an “Apostle of Christ” also had to “do the work of an evangelist”, which makes sense when considered along with his apostolic ministry. As was already said, it’s hard to fathom any Christian ministry that doesn’t contain an unction to share the gospel.
37.) The Glorious Gospel, II Corinthians 4:3&4 “Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”. This verse in its context speaks of the glory of the gospel, and of all ministry of the New Covenant. II Corinthians 3: 7-11 leads up to our verse by asserting, “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?…For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!”. I concluded that II Corinthians 4:3&4 should actually be memorized, because it can be used so often to help explain macroscopically why different situations are the way they are. Particularly, it puts plainly the roll of Satan in blinding people to the gospel. As such it is an important verse to Christians in general. Also see Item#47f3 of the Healings Section.
42.) False Gospels, Galatians 1:6-9 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.” If we considered all the people throughout history who are headed or have already found their way to hell, we could fit them into very few categories: atheists, idolaters, agnostics, those who are obstinate to the gospel- caring more about their flesh or the world than about their eternity, and those who believed a false gospel. So, the preaching of false gospels is well worth considering. Here are some marks which Galatians points out as descriptive of false gospels:
a.) Verse 7- A different gospel is not the power of God for salvation, it is “really no gospel at all”.
b.) Verse 8- A different gospel is one other than what Paul preached. So we really have to key in on what Paul preached, which is exactly what this “Grace Study” is doing.
c.) Verse 9- There’s an eternal curse on those preaching a false gospel.
d.) Verse 12- A false gospel is man made, as opposed to the true gospel which is God revealed.
e.) A false gospel seeks to promote justification before God by observing laws, and therefore sets aside the grace of God (Galatians 2:16-21). It’s the setting aside of the grace of God that is the real damage done by a false gospel. Since salvation is “by grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8&9), Satan has been successful in blinding one’s eyes to the gospel by getting them to accept a false non-saving gospel. (Please recall how Item#37, above, suggested that II Corinthians 4:3&4 was a multifaceted verse and can be used for explaining a variety of situations.) Truly, “The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (II Corinthians 4:3&4).
f.) Satan is involved in the blinding and bewitching of those who accept such beliefs (Galatians 3:1).
g.) A false gospel, usually very subtly, denies the power of Christ’s crucifixion by placing the accomplishment of salvation on the shoulders of the individual, rather upon the finished work of Christ on the cross (Galatians 3:1).
h.) A false gospel denies the indwelling of individuals by the Holy Spirit and the working of the Spirit amidst Christ’s Church. It does this by promoting human effort to observe laws rather than by salvation through faith and further growth in the grace of God (Galatians 3:2-5).
i.) A false gospel will not fit in with the rest of Scripture, particularly how the gospel was preached in advance to the Patriarchs Abraham and Moses (Galatians 3:6, Hebrews 4:2&6), and how that gospel was ultimately their power for salvation as well (Romans 4:13-15).
j.) A false gospel, which is based on the performance of laws brings a curse, and I’ve seen the results of such a curse. Galatians 3:10 says, “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse”. Take this fact seriously! This is not a cute curse. We’re talking about generational doctrinal error here, which manifests itself in separation from the blessings of God.
k.) Finally, a false gospel does not bring the promises of God, none of them: not eternal life, not the Holy Spirit, no grace from God’s throne, no crowns or other eternal rewards, nothing (Galatians 3:14).
So, we conclude that it’s very important to recognize the real thing, the true and glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept no substitutes!
56.) The Word of Truth, Colossians 1:5 “The hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you”. A prevalent theme in the Scripture, which also helps define the gospel, is the concept of the gospel as the Word of Truth. The Lord Jesus described himself as “The Way the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6). It is no wonder , then, that his gospel is also known as the Word of Truth. Here are some other passages where the gospel is referred to as the Word of Truth:
a.) Ephesians 1:13- “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation”. The entire first chapter of Ephesians includes many points. Among the interstices of these many points, is the consideration that a person is “included in Christ” only when they believe “the word of truth, the gospel”. The picture therein is a world full of lies, in which only the truth can cut through all the confusion of such a culture full of lies. Certainly not any different from our day!
b.) Galatians 2:5- “Some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom that we have in Christ and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” These two reasons for non-believers pretending to be believers exist today. Some find truly born again believers a curiosity. They’ll hang with the believers, not to obtain the grace of God which brings freedom and a true work for Christ, but rather to spy on us so they can go back to their religious friends with some tidbit of truth and act even more religious. Others hang with the believers in order to entice us into their religions, and would have us follow their religious rules and regulations and submit to their clergy as if such practices could make one righteous before God. An important point made by Paul is that we are not to give in to teachers of a false gospel, not for a moment. I read it this way: that we don’t have to continuously debate with them, but always be ready for the Spirit to use us to speak out to such people. We know that God’s Holy Spirit is never inappropriate. So if we rely on prayer and his leading in such situations, then the Lord’s will shall be done; and we will continue to be “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13).
c.) Galatians 2:14- “When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ”. The major point brought out herein for our purposes, is that there is a line of conduct consistent with the truth of the gospel. While the gospel doesn’t have rules and regulations, we are to live out the truth of the gospel in our thought patterns and lifestyle. If we don’t do this then we also will be “not acting in line with the truth of the gospel”. We’ll be walking in error. The teaching of the gospel, with all its end time prophecies of Christ’s eminent return, and with all its promises of reward for Christian service, should motivate and focus our wills to coincide with the Lord Jesus’ will.
d.) II Thessalonians 2:14- “…God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel….”. So we see that the gospel is the direct connect to belief in the truth, and is also directly connected to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit as he brings a person to the point of salvation.
One of my definitions of an evangelist is that of a sword fighter who fights for men’s souls using the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). This definition fits right in with the “Word of truth” definition of the gospel.
58.) Not Just Words, but Power, I Thessalonians 1:5 “…Because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction….You welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit”. I’m tempted to group this verse with Romans 1:16, which defines the gospel as “the power of God for salvation”. Actually, though, Romans 1:16 defines a specific power: “for salvation”. While this verse is describing the more general power of the Holy Spirit. This power includes, not just salvation, but also the promised Holy Spirit, deep conviction, and the joy of the Holy Spirit. Paul makes a similar statement in I Corinthians 2:4 where he says, “My methods and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power”. The main point here is that the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus and the Father, all back up the gospel message with great power, enough to accomplish the Lord’s purpose of salvation and the giving of the promised Holy Spirit.
60.) Obedience and Disobedience to the Gospel, II Thessalonians 1:8 “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.” As was discussed in Item#56 above, Galatians 2:14 describes some who “were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel”. From the context of Galatians 2:14 we see that believers can step out of line and still be saved. However, II Thessalonians 1:8 describes those who are disobedient to the gospel, and it’s obvious that they won’t be saved from God’s eternal wrath. It’s also obvious from this passage that obedience to the gospel means believing, and disobedience to the gospel means disbelief in the gospel. An example of those who were disobedient to the gospel are the religious leaders of Luke 20. They heard the gospel (vs. 1) and also the parable that the Lord Jesus spoke concerning them (vs. 19). However, instead of belief and repentance, we see disbelief of Christ’s message and what appears to be an inordinate concern for maintaining their place in their cultural/ religious pecking order (a sure mark of fleshly, old nature, conduct).
These religious leaders even bring up the notion of Christ’s authority to preach. This was a wise concept to bring up, because obedience to the gospel is concerned with the authority for salvation (“Salvation is found in no one else” (Acts 4:12)). The word “obey” (“hupakouo” in the Greek, ), as used in II Thessalonians 1:8, is defined by Strong’s[1] (No. 5219) as “to heed or hearken to a command or authority”. So disobedience to the gospel is rebellion against Christ’s authority to save and will bring sure, eternal, destruction in the Lake of Fire.
67.) There is a rest for the People of God, Hebrews 4:2-6,&9 “For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard it did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, ‘So I declared an oath in my anger, they shall never enter my rest’ “. This is a wonderful and consoling promise, that we can stop striving for righteousness by works and merely rest in God’s good news of his Christ. The statement that the gospel is the means to arrive at this rest is contained in the above verses. However, in order to understand the concept of God’s rest we must study Hebrews 3:1 through 4:11. To force us to the conclusion that the entrance to God’s promised rest is by believing the gospel, the following points are noted:
a.) Vs. 3:3 - This entire passage, from 3:1-4:11, is really an extension of the statement, “Fix your eyes on Jesus….Jesus had been found worthy of greater honor than Moses”; the point being thatIsrael never entered into God’s rest, but in Christ we can enter that rest.
b.) Vs. 3:7-19 – The Holy Spirit is quoted (from Psalm 95:7-11) as explaining that God got angry at those of Moses time, because out of unbelief (vs.19) they disobeyed God leading God to conclude “their hearts are always going astray and their hearts have not known my ways”. Those who “heard and rebelled” were the entire generation “whose bodies fell in the desert” (vs. 16&17). There was to be a rest for them, and that rest was to be when they entered the promised land (Vs. 11&19), but they never entered God’s rest because of unbelief manifesting itself in disobedience (Vs18&19). Again, the point is made that unbelief is what caused their disobedience and their refusal to enter God’s rest.
c.) Vs 4:1-3 “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us just as they did…Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said”. The statement is plain. The gospel was preached to the Israelites of Moses time, but it was revealed in pictures through the blood sacrifices and the promise of a Messiah. It is also plain that belief in this gospel brings a person into God’s rest, both today after Christ’s death , and in Moses time before Christ’s birth. (However, those in Moses time never claimed that rest.)
d.) Vs 4:4-6 “ ‘And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.’ And again in the passage above he says, ‘They shall never enter my rest’ “. This passage says that God’s rest is the same rest as God provided for himself on the seventh day of creation, when His work was finished.
e.) Vs. 4:7-11 Since the Israelites did not enter God’s rest, “God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts’….There remains, then a Sabbath- rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his”. God’s rest is described as the very same rest as God’s seventh day rest at creation. We enter that rest by believing the gospel, and accepting Christ’s atoning work at the cross as full and final payment for sin. We stop striving for righteousness through the Law and rest in God’s righteousness, apart from the Law, which is given to all who trust in Christ’s finished work at the cross (Romans 3:21&22). Or as one believer put it, “The Old Testament in the Law says ‘Do, do, do’! But the New Testament in Christ’s blood says, ‘Done, done, done’! “.
It’s necessary to understand the typology herein. The salvation and wanderings of the children of Israel are a picture of believers in New Testament times (I Corinthians 10:1-11, Hebrews 8:5). The Israelites (as the believers) were saved from the power of the wicked Pharaoh (Satan) by the blood of the Passover lamb (Christ’s death- I Corinthians 5:7). They went through the Red Sea (believers’ baptism), and came to Kadesh Barnea on the edge of the Jordan River. However, Israel (the believer) refused to enter the promised land due to lack of faith, as discussed above. So Israel’s refusal to enter the promised land is not a picture of lack of saving faith, because they had already been saved out of Egypt (the world), and had the Passover lamb’s blood applied (already saved). Israel’s refusal to cross Jordan is a picture of a believer’s refusal to claim the manifold promises of God. The first promise that we claim is salvation. We’re saved, and we can know that we’re saved (Romans 10:9, Titus 3:5, etc.). From there we can claim many other promises that allow Christ to do his work through us. How about the promised Holy Spirit, just for one example (Acts 2:39). What about the promise of continued overall prosperity, according to Psalm 1. (Regarding typology, also see Item#74 of the Apostleship Section, and Item#92 of the Teaching Section.)
So entering God’s promised rest is not only restful , but is actually allowing God to work through us; not by striving to do a bunch of religious works, but rather seeking and obeying God’s will in our life. This relationship with God is restful because God does the work, not us. We are merely used as his vessels. Paul did great things for Christ but was always careful to say, “Yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (I Corinthians 15:10). This whole concept of God’s rest is explained, in a nutshell, by the common Christian saying, “Let go, and let God”.
68.) Evangelism is Always by Holy Spirit Power, I Peter 1:12 “…those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven”. The gospel and those sent to preach the gospel all operate by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a stated fact. I Corinthians 12:3 states, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’, except by the Holy Spirit”. Romans 10:15 states, “And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those that bring good news!’ “.
“GOSPEL’S”
75.) “Me and the Gospel”, Mark 10:29 “No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much”. Here, and in Mark 8:35, the Lord Jesus identifies and equates work on behalf of the gospel and work on his own behalf as the same thing. Further, in Mark 8:35 the Lord Jesus is saying that taking up your cross is taking up Christ and the gospel. The Scripture explains three main facets of the Lord’s work today: the saving of souls, the manifesting of his glory in his Church on earth, and his continuing maintenance of his creation as a place for mankind to inhabit. But the Lord Jesus’ first purpose is still saving souls (Luke 19:10). Since the saving of souls through the gospel (Romans 1:16) is the Lord Jesus’ first work, that is why he is plain to identify the cause of the gospel as being inseparable from his personal will. Also see Item#28, above.
“PREACH”
77.) The Anointed Ministry of the Lord Jesus- the Christ, Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-“. Of course, the Lord Jesus quoted the first part of this prophecy in Luke 4:18-21. He quoted up to and including “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”. Then he closed the book, sat down, and said, “Today is this Scripture fulfilled in your hearing”.
I worked in the legal department of a government office for 15 years and I know firsthand that terms and conditions of laws and covenants, can be partially met; and also that it is possible for a government official to easily and fairly “split the hair” as to whether such a term or condition was met. Other teachers have taught, and I agree, that The Lord Jesus split the prophecy of Isaiah in two parts, by only quoting the first part as being fulfilled at his Luke 4 proclamation. The latter part of Isaiah’s prophecy has to do with “the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion”. This latter part won’t be accomplished until the Lord Jesus sets foot upon the earth again at his second coming.
For the purpose of this study, I key in on that Greek word “euaggelisasthai”[2], rendered “preach good news” in Luke 4:18. Not all preaching is preaching of the gospel. So when we see the term “preach good news”, we know right away that evangelism is being discussed as opposed to prophecy, correction, or general teaching.
82.) Preaching Differs from Teaching, Matthew 11:1 “He went on from there to preach and teach in the towns of Galilee”. I took the time to go through the instances where the terms “preaching” and “teaching” are found together. ( These passages are: Luke 20:1, Acts 5:42, Colossians 1:28, Acts 4:2, I Timothy 2:7, II Timothy 1:11, Romans 2:21, and Acts 15:35.) After reviewing these passages the following points became clear:
a.) The preaching, in every case of a believer doing the preaching, was preaching of the gospel. These cases spanned the preaching of the Lord Jesus, the 12 apostles, and Paul and his group. This preaching was a heralding or active proclaiming of the gospel.
b.) The teaching was always a derivative of that Greek word “didasko”. The content of the teaching, usually had to be gathered from the surrounding context. In at least one spot Paul describes himself as a “teacher of the true faith” (I Timothy 2:7). The true faith then would include the gospel, but also includes Godly Christian living as evidenced in much of Paul’s letters. Paul encourages us to “command and teach these things” in I Timothy 4:11, with practically the same encouragement in Titus 2:15. (See Item#141-q&r, in the Teaching Section.)
c.) There is a definite difference between preaching and teaching. This is very clear in Romans 2:21. Preaching is the active heralding of a truth, while teaching is the causing of doctrine to be absorbed by the students.
d.) Although there’s a definite difference between preaching and teaching, we readily see that the same individuals are used to both preach and teach. In fact the routine was clearly that those traveling preachers of old were, indeed, preaching and teaching in the same sermons. Paul described himself as “a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher” in II Timothy 1:11. So, it is definitely possible to have more than one spiritual ability and to practice them even at the same time. There is a problem, though, when a supposed Christian leader claims that he’s the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher; or if a person claims that he sees clearly (cleric), while others in his local church do not. Such a claim would be in violation of the teaching of Ephesians 4:7, “To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it”. The obvious effect of such an error is that the actual work of the Spirit is never performed the local gathering. Or, in the case of those who insist on getting the Spirit’s message/ work out anyway, their work through the Spirit is rejected as being not authoritative since they’re not clergy. A clear deception of Satan! A snare laid in the early foundations of these gatherings! The organizational errors of congregations are often penned into the written church constitution, which at least makes the correction of these errors somewhat accessible (Hint! Hint!).
83.) Repentance Prepares the Way, Mark 1:4 “And so John came, baptizing in the desert and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. Repentance is part of the gospel message. Jesus cried, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). So repentance, defined as the turning away from sin, is an important part of the preaching of the gospel. Please see Item#94 below.
84.) Spreading the Gospel, Mark 1:38 “They exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’ Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else- to the nearby villages- so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.’ “ The Lord Jesus is taking the position that it is his intention to have the gospel continually spread and not just stop at some group of people. In fact he prophesied in Luke 24:47 that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem”. Paul also states that as his position in II Corinthians 10:14-16: “For we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ….Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you”. I’ve always found it interesting, that when Paul arrived in Rome for the first time, there were Christian brothers already there to meet him and encourage him (Acts 28:15). It’s almost as if the gospel is a wildfire that burns in all directions. This is, indeed, an accurate description except that the fire is not burning wildly; it is fully under the control of God’s fiery Holy Spirit.
85.) Apostle Merely Means Sent, Mark 3:14 “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and he might send them forth to preach”. This is an important verse in that it’s got some controversy to it. You see, the phrase “might send them forth” is the non-lofty, Greek word “apostle”[3], used in its correct context, and with its simple meaning clear. Some manuscripts have it, “he appointed twelve- designating them apostles- that they might be with him…”. The addition of the phrase “designating them apostles” doesn’t really make a difference in the meaning of the verse. It does raise a flag, however, at an important point. This point is that the historical worship of the apostles has changed the meaning of the word “apostle”, and therefore has changed the teaching from the Holy Spirit’s correct interpretation of God’s Word (II Peter 1:20&21). The word “apostle” merely means a person sent by God. An apostle is obviously ordained or designated by God at the point when that person is sent by God. Such ordination is noticeably and directly by God, and has little to do with the ordination rituals that many religions and Bible colleges practice. If the Lord is sending you somewhere to preach or work for him, then go now and don’t wait for agreement from others, even Christians around you (although you certainly should seek their support and commendation, but don’t tarry, Acts 13:3). Ordination by God has nothing to do with the agreement of others around you. On the contrary, the flesh wars against the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:17), and “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear”. Ordination, or God’s calling/ sending in your life, is God offering you the riches of heaven. He’s giving you a stack of blank checks already signed and saying, “Take these and cash them in, as you will, for the glories of heaven. Each of these checks will not only make you rich in eternity, but will also glorify Me and my Son in eternity!”. “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal….Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear….But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:19-33).
86.) Great Commission, Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation”. This is Christ’s great commission, first of all to the eleven that he had trained and sent into the world to do this, and thenceforth representatively to his entire Church. Chuck Missler, in his DVD presentation “Home Fellowships- The Once and Future Church”[4], stated that the Great Commission obviously had two prongs, evangelism and discipleship. We must agree with Chuck Missler’s conclusion since Matthew’s account (Matthew 28:19&20) of the Great Commission cites discipleship as the principle element. I strongly feel that serious service through discipleship and study is what God wants from each of us, to present us as trophies of his grace- Ephesians 2:7. That being said, we should never be tricked into speaking against the gospel or its power to save, or any other person’s evangelistic work. Consider how much discipleship the Ethiopian eunuch had out in the desert in Acts 8. Not much! Yet, we cannot deny that the Holy Spirit was at work there. We should be very careful when we speak about other Christians, lest we find ourselves inadvertently speaking against the Holy Spirit of God. “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (I Corinthians 12:3).
94.) Repentance is Part of the Gospel, Acts 14:15 “We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God”. This verse succinctly describes repentance as part of the gospel message. This is important to understand. I spoke at a street mission once, giving the gospel, and I made sure that the hearers understood their need to repent. I explained that repentance was turning from sin, and that while some sin would take a while to fall away, eventually Christ could separate us from all sin. After the meeting one of the leaders tried to correct me saying that a person could be saved without ever repenting. He said he knew several alcoholics who drank regularly, but he knew that they were saved because they came to the meetings regularly and loved the Lord. Well I know many people struggling with sin, and some don’t seem to be struggling much, and they each profess salvation. Regarding these types of situations there are a few things that we can conclude:
a.) Thankfully we don’t have to judge these people, the Lord will do that. So, we don’t have to take a position on their salvation. An older preacher once told me that in such situations, “If a person isn’t acting like a Christian, I would never act as if they were a Christian”. Another Christian lady said that when her children acted in obvious disobedience, she would warn them that they were lost and heading for hell. Myself, I try to rely on Christ and the truth of each person’s situation, but I tend to take a position similar to my old preacher friend. So, I never assure a person of their salvation when they’re walking by the flesh.
b.) Here are two relevant passages. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. While Galatians 5:21 says, “Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God”. Since “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35) both these verses must be true. Most teachers will tell you, and I agree, that people with a continuing, unrepentant, fleshly lifestyle have not believed in Jesus in their heart. Therefore, the promise of Romans 10:9, while still true, doesn’t apply in their case. But it’s still not up to us to judge any such person, I’m merely trying to explain that repentance is important for salvation.
c.) From Acts 14:15, no matter how one feels concerning the need for repentance in salvation, it’s abundantly clear that the one true gospel message contains a call for personal repentance.
d.) Whether such people are saved or unsaved, the only actions that will change such situations are prayer and the reality of truth in their lives, particularly the reality of Christ’s truth. Other realities, such as jail or living on the street, can also lead a person to repentance.
97.) Holy Spirit Direction- Who to Evangelize, Acts 16:10 It’s been said that the book known as The Acts of the Apostles would better have been titled The Acts of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the book of Acts, and this verse is a good example, we see the Christians constantly looking for the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is so because they became conscious of the Spirit’s presence. As an example, consider Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:4&33) and later before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8). Peter remembers being filled with the Holy Spirit, because he said so in Acts 11:15-17. Actually, I also say this from my own experience; and if you can’t remember ever being filled with the Holy Spirit, then you should really pray concerning that. We can discern both the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life, and being filled with the Spirit at certain times. One preacher said that he could recognize the difference between the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the presence of Jesus in his life. I agree with him. The question from this passage that must be asked is: “Does God direct who to evangelize?”. The Scripture says “Yes”: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5). Also, from studies of the Sequence of Salvation (Item#21), we see that in salvation, step one is that a person is sent by God to give out the gospel. The call to be an evangelist, as well as the call for individual lifestyle evangelism, is necessarily work which is a direct extension of the Lord’s “right hand”. As such it is a “pure gold” work of God (See Item #16 , in the Prophecy Section). Consider Paul’s leading according to this passage. He’s called to evangelize in Macedonia in this specific situation, but in Acts 13:2 he was directed generally to the Lord’s apostolic work (which includes evangelism) that he was doing. So, yes, the Lord either generally or specifically directs who to evangelize. A serious evangelist will be in serious prayer seeking to whom the Lord will send them. From this mindset comes the often heard expression, “There’s no accidents in the life of a Christian”. All of our steps are carefully put in order by the Lord.
106.) Subsidizing Evangelists and Apostles- a Commandment, I Corinthians 9:14 “The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should make their living from the gospel.” This verse and the passage surrounding it bring out an important point, and also a dysfunctional aspect of today’s Church. Evangelists and apostles have the right to a “material harvest” and a “right of support”. Christians today extend this right beyond missionaries to the so-called pastors of the church. This is wrong, and not what’s taught, or demonstrated, in Scripture. The term “preach the gospel” is the Greek word “kataggello”, which means announce particularly the gospel. So, this commandment doesn’t apply to all preachers, and certainly not to pastors, elders, and deacons, but rather to gospel preachers who make their living from the gospel. Since money is a measure of the Church’s time and effort, we are hereby pointing out the actual focus of the Church’s work. The Lord Jesus’ first work, still today, is saving souls (John 3:17, Luke 19:10, I Corinthians 15:3). Bad spending practices obviously stifles the provision for the Lord’s evangelists and apostles to the mission fields. This also harms the local gathering. The true pastors, which Christ raises up from elders in the local gathering, are resisted in their shepherding. (I Peter 5:1). Such bad teaching is still proliferated through “Dark Ages” Christianity even today. (Please see Item nos. 1-d, 25-c, 40-d, 75-c, and 312 in the Shepherding Section of this study.) I conclude that, other than full time evangelism, or apostleship/ church building, there are, indeed, other full time callings to the Lord’s work. These other full time callings will not be callings within a local gathering such as pastors, elders, or deacons. I mean full time traveling preachers, bible camp administrators, Christian halfway house managers, etc.. However, funding for these other full time callings must be secondary to evangelism and apostleship, from the perspective of funding by a local gathering. Please also see Item #55 in the Apostleship Section.
107.) Compelled to Evangelize, I Corinthians 9:16 “Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” Paul is also describing the plight of each Christian in his urging to practice his Spirit manifested gift. “Do you think Scripture says without reason that the Spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely” (James 4:5)? The very concept of a spirit contains the notion of motivation and attitude. So, the Holy Spirit’s motivation will be like a fire, burning inside of us, urging us to do God’s will which will be the practice of our principal gifts from God. So Paul is not the only one compelled to evangelize, but rather every evangelist who ever lived. Evangelism is not the only gift which the Holy Spirit compels to be practiced. Consider the apostleship of Peter and John, who said, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we’ve seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19&20). Further, those reasons which Paul lists as his compelling motive to evangelize are not the only forces that the Spirit will use to compel a person to the obedient use of their grace gifts. What does, or what will, the Holy Spirit use to compel you to practice your gift?
109.) Holy Spirit Direction- Open and Closed doors, II Corinthians 2:12 “Found that the Lord had opened a door for me”. The account of this opened and closed door can be found in detail in Acts 16:7-12. The door was shut for them to go to Bithynia by the Spirit. The door was then opened for them to go to Macedonia by “a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’ “. We hear of many Christians telling of how their paths were directed by the Lord opening and closing doors for them, and thus forcing them to follow the Master’s prepared path. In Revelation 3:7 the Lord explains such doors: “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open”. The Lord, in that passage describes a door that generally is open for Christians that practice love. The Lord proclaims to the Church of brotherly love, Philadelphia, “See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut”. Not much detail is specifically given regarding this door. However, in Revelation 4:1 the Lord opens a similar door to the apostle John. I believe, though, that this is the same door as is still today offered to any, either by group, or individually, who practice Christian, brotherly love. I say this because through the door comes the voice of the Lord Jesus saying, “Come up here”. When John heard the voice immediately he was “in the Spirit” and before the Lord Jesus’ throne in heaven. Without becoming too verbose about what is before the Lord Jesus’ throne, consider the seven spirits of God which are the seven blazing lamps. These represent the complete (sevenfold) power of the Holy Spirit, to enlighten, to emblazon people’s hearts, and to empower believers; and these lamps are not just burning, they are blazing. The Greek word “lampas” is being used, and is used with the same typology in the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, who are urged to carefully keep their lamps trimmed and full of oil until the Bridegroom comes back.
The Lord’s opportunity for the Church of brotherly love in our age is still, “Come up here”. To John the Revelator this was a call to walk with his mind in heaven while his body was still on the island of Patmos. To us, this is a similar call: to “live by the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:16); “to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10); and to live out and practice “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power to us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18&19). We do this by manifesting God’s great power in us, the Church of the Living God, performing in all its facets that “glorious…ministry that brings righteousness” (II Corinthians 3:9). (Also see Item#47f3 of the Healings Section- blindness to gifts.) This grace is given to each of us by Christ (Ephesians 4:7). We can do this because God has already “raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).
To those who practice Christian love, this door is always open to them. There is something about true Christian love that opens this door. Romans 5:5 says that “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit”. So, which came first, the love or the Holy Spirit? I can’t answer that except to say conclusively that “God is love” (I John 4:7&8).
So, to each of us the Lord Jesus is saying, “Come up here”. He’s urging us to use our new nature and position in Christ, and, since we’re already seated at his throne, do great things through Christ “who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). But our work must be motivated by true Christian love, else are we not merely a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (I Corinthians 13:1)?
112.) Only One Gospel, Galatians 1:8&9 The gospel, as the power of God for salvation, has been well defined in Items # 23 & 35 above. However, in this passage Paul goes to great lengths to protect the integrity of the gospel. He gives a stern warning to any that would preach an altered gospel, “Let him be eternally condemned” (vs. 9). There’s an old saying regarding the gospel, “The best way to recognize counterfeit currency is by studying and recognizing the legal currency”. So, with that mindset, the following are points that Paul emphasizes in Galatians, which will help each of us to discern that one, true gospel (and also recognize a false gospel when we see it):
a.) Galatians 1:7&8- First we must consider that there’s only one gospel. You can’t just make up your own gospel, as was actually once suggested to me. The power of God for salvation comes through the one, true gospel. The false gospels that I’ve heard in my life have fine logical rings to them. However, they all have the same major flaw: they are not “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Through the gospel we are introduced to the one, New Covenant between God and Man, and the one Mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
b.) 2:3 The gospel is not based on compelling religious practices. Circumcision, though mandated in Judaism, was not compelled in the New Covenant.
c.) 2:4&5 Through the gospel we have freedom in Christ. This freedom is the ability to know what is right (God’s will for us), and the ability to do what is right.
d.) 2:14 The gospel brings inclusion and fellowship amongst all believers.
e.) 2:16 The gospel teaches that a man is justified by faith in Christ, not by observing the law.
f.) 2:17 The gospel does not promote sin.
g.) 2:21 Grace, being the intercession of God from his throne, is the operative ingredient in the gospel, not the law; else Christ died for nothing.
h.) 3:1 In the gospel Christ is clearly portrayed as crucified, and as such is our only payment for sin.
i.) 3:2 We begin our walk with the Holy Spirit by believing the gospel, not by observing laws.
j.) 3:6&7 As in the case of Abraham, God’s righteousness is credited to a person by faith.
k.) 3:18 A believer’s righteousness, and inheritance with the saints in Christ, was given by God in his grace through a promise to Abraham.
l.) 3:5-7 Through God’s Son we believers are God’s sons, with full rights as heirs, including the Holy Spirit.
m.) 5:1The purpose of the gospel, and Christ’s ministry, is to set us free from the Law so we can walk by the Spirit.
116.) Preaching Christ out of Selfish Ambition, Philippians 1:15-18 “Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill….the former preach Christ out of selfish ambition.” These passages show Paul’s ultimate focus, and the Lord’s as well: “What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice”. Paul alludes to rivalry within the Christian community. In I Corinthians 9:1-3, he cites that some doubt his apostleship, and even sit in judgment on him. Where do these false motives come from? Well, since I’m already well past the point of being repetitive, I must cite that the flesh wars against the Spirit of God. Galatians 5: 19-21 lists envy, discord, factions, and selfish ambition as being manifestations of the flesh. So we can understand that Paul, and we ourselves, needn’t count such preaching as false merely because the preaching was done out of false motives. I’ve heard that Ghandi was once asked, “What is the largest impediment to the growth of Christianity in India?” He answered, “The Christians themselves”.
Paul and our Lord, however, rejoice that the gospel is preached, even from false motives. From that I would point out two things that transcend circumstance:
a.) There is victory and glory for Christ merely in the fact that the gospel is preached. He came to earth and victoriously lived and died and even rose again, so that the gospel could be preached.
b.) There is Holy Spirit power in the gospel itself, regardless of how it is communicated. It is truly the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). There are so many people saved totally through the gospel, without access to the Christians who brought the gospel, that I couldn’t begin to tell these stories. Actually my salvation is such a story. I was saved two years after I heard the gospel, through Romans 10:9, by myself in the cab of a truck. I couldn’t remember much about the preacher, only that he briefly had the audience memorize and ponder Romans 10:9. So, the gospel, being the “sword of the Spirit”, effectively, has life and death power in and of itself.
“PREACHED”
135.) Taking the Kingdom by Force- The Power of the Gospel, Luke 16:16 “The law and the prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it”. This has always been an interesting verse. Matthew 11:12(KJV) renders the same teaching as, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force”. I suppose that, without understanding the gospel, a person could mistakenly conclude that the kingdom of heaven is spread through violence. Well violence, at the time the King James version was written, meant any forceful or energetic critical activity. So, in the early modern English of William Tyndale (1534 a.d.) and King James (1611 a.d.), the word “violent” needn’t contain savagery or bloodshed.
Since “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), we must conclude that heaven is taken by force. But, what kind of force can force God to let us into heaven? The answer is obviously the promise of eternal life given through his Word. Since his unbreakable Word does not stand alone, but is backed up by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not to mention his seat at the right hand of God’s throne, God’s promise becomes an absolutely enforceable covenant between God and man (I Corinthians 15:2-4). This is exactly what was expressed in Romans 1:16, when Paul defined the gospel as “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”. So we can be forced into heaven by the undeniable enforcement of God’s Word, that same forceful Word by which the heavens were made (Psalm 33:6). “Now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:21). (Also see Item#385e2 of the Prophecy Section.)
143.) The Sequence of Salvation, Acts 8:35 Studied eyes have observed and taught that, when the Lord saves someone, salvation always occurs in the same sequence of events.
These events always happen in the same sequence:
a.) A person is sent to give out the gospel.
b.) The gospel is given out.
c.) Some hear the gospel and believe.
d.) Those who believe are immersed (baptized) in the Holy Spirit.
e.) Later occurs water baptism and Christian growth.
These events always occur in that order, as shown in the following examples of salvation: the Ethiopian eunuch of Acts 8, Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, the Gentile believers in Cornelius’ house in Acts 10 and 11, the Philippian jailer of Acts 16, also Lydia in Acts 16, and the Ephesian believers according to Ephesians 1:12-14. Now, when reading these accounts, consider that all of the necessary events aren’t chronicled in each account. (The seven sayings of the cross aren’t entirely contained in any one of the four gospel books either, but none of Christendom questions that the Lord said each of those seven sayings.) The one account, that does chronicle all of the sequence of events in salvation, is the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house chronicled in Acts 10, and then retold by Peter in Acts 11. Also, I’ve found the Acts 10 & 11 account to be invaluable in clearly proving that water baptism is to occur after the Holy Spirit’s baptism (Acts 10:47, and 11:16).
145.) Water Baptism ASAP, Acts 9:18 Here we see Paul, after being struck blind at his conversion, immediately after receiving his sight he was baptized in water. While it is abundantly clear that salvation is by grace through faith, it is also abundantly clear that water baptism is to soon follow such faith. Consider not just Paul’s baptism, but also: the believers in Cornelius house (Acts 10:48), the believers in the Phillipian jailer’s house (Acts 16:33), the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:38), and the baptism of Lydia and the believers in her household (Acts 16:15).
The point that I see here is not just that water baptism is to be obeyed after a person believes the gospel, but that it is to be done as soon as possible (ASAP) after believing. To see more clearly what the benefits of immediate water baptism are, do this experiment. List those around you who have professed salvation but that you feel aren’t walking very close to the Lord. Now check off how many were never water baptized since they believed. I just did the survey and I come up with 92%.
The following are what I see as the benefits to believer’s baptism:
a.) Obedience to God (Acts 2:38).
b.) You’re making a public statement to the spiritual realms that you are Christ’s. The above experiment shows that there are still many temptations and trials even after believing. That part of the Spiritual armor known as the “breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6:14) needs obedience to God, particularly in essentials such as baptism.
c.) You’re making a public statement to those people who witness your water baptism that you’ve already been immersed in the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:16).
d.) Your soul is refreshed and edified by understanding the symbolism of water baptism and then going through with the public act. Colossians 2:12 cites, “Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead”. You know, you can appreciate and understand this passage much more when viewed from the perspective of this grace study. This passage accentuates the fact that we’re already “raised with Him”, and seated “with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace… Created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:6). The Lord Jesus was dead, then resurrected, then seated at God’s right hand. We were dead in sin, then given new life, and now we’re already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms.
149.) Chronicling the Gospel Message, Acts 13:16-41 In Scripture, there are relatively few accounts of a whole gospel message being delivered. We have Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40), Peter at Cornelius’ house (Acts 10:27-48), Paul on Mars Hill (Acts 17:22-34), and we also have this historical account. There have been some who would use this fact to distort the gospel. Such would start their distortion by insisting that we can only go to the historical account of Peter at Pentecost in order to obtain the one true gospel. However, let’s stop that false notion in it’s tracts by clearly showing that we have all the above accounts immediately available to us.
Typical distortions which I’ve heard use syllogistic logic to obtain the wrong conclusion. Here’s an example:
a.) We must rightly divide the Word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).
b.) There is only one gospel (Galatians 1:6&7).
c.) If you want to know what that one gospel is, you must go to the book of Acts which is a history book.
d.) In the book of Acts the best account of the gospel is given by Peter at Pentecost.
e.) Some, then, wrongly conclude that we must be baptized only using the name of Jesus in order to receive the promised Holy Spirit, or even to be saved.
If you’ve taken a college class in logic, which I have, you’ve probably been reminded that this type of distorted syllogistic logic is what Hitler used to justify and motivate people to kill the Jews. Slight, and sometimes obvious, distortions are placed in the beginning or middle statements, thus forcing the conclusion to be wrong. In the above example, Items a.) & b.) are true. However, since Items c.) & d.) are twisted, the conclusion in Item e.) must be logically false. We don’t have to go to the book of Acts to obtain the one true gospel (Items#23, 35, & 112, above, explain this.). Further, all of the gospel accounts must be true, not just Peter’s account at Pentecost, or some other favorite account, because Jesus said “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). So, all the Scripture must be true, not just some of it. Even further, the conclusion of Item# e.) is, indeed, false as chronicled in Acts 10, where souls were saved and even were baptized in the Holy Spirit without ever having gone through any water baptism (let alone water baptism only in Jesus’ name).
So, we see why these gospel accounts are important in protecting the integrity of that one true gospel, which “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
153.) Church Building (a.k.a. apostleship)- Evangelism, Organization, and Continuing Edification, Acts 14:21-23 In this passage and in Acts 15:36&41, we see the basic elements of church building and church strengthening. In these passages these tasks are done by Paul and his staff, while in our age these tasks are done by other apostles (missionaries), as well as evangelists, teachers, and prophets (preachers) of God. These basic elements, then and now, helped these gatherings to flourish. Here are these simple elements:
a.) Acts 14:21, “They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples”. Evangelism is the starting point in each culture.
b.) Acts 14:22, “They returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith”. It’s hard to say how much time had passed before Paul and Barnabus had returned to these towns. However, Paul was stoned in Lystra, then went on to preach in Derbe before returning to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. The point to be observed here is that the apostles followed up their evangelistic efforts, with strengthening and encouragement.
c.) Acts 14:23, “Appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting committed them to the Lord”. These were undoubtedly home churches, but every local gathering (large or small) should be overseen by elders. The Scripture points out that the local church organization, with its accountability and structure is set up by God in that manner. (My own experience is that, over time, moral failures of the leaders and schisms will result in those local gatherings who are not keeping with the organizational structure which allows elders to govern the affairs of the local church.) More of this topic obviously must be addressed in the Section of this Grace Study entitled “Shepherding”. However, please understand that local church organization does matter; and improper organization structure allows Satan to take “pot shots” at leaders and doctrine.
d.) Acts 14:27, “On arriving there (Antioch where they had begun), they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them”. It’s important to report to the commending church (Acts 13:3) the work of the Lord. The Antioch gathering obviously had prayed and financially assisted them, and therefore shared in the apostles’ work, and joy.
e.) Acts 15:36&41, “Let us go back and visit the brothers…and see how they are doing. … Barnabus took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord”. So, the apostles split up and revisited the churches that they had built through God’s grace. And, we are reminded that all this church building work, whether evangelism or edification and strengthening, is only by the grace of God. This grace is the intercession from God into otherwise failed lives, and the empowerment from God’s throne to otherwise weak people, which allowed them to do great things for God (I Corinthians 3:10, I Corinthians 15:9&10).
158.) Thoroughly Preach the Gospel, Acts 20:7 It seems to me that this passage is overshadowed by Paul raising Eutychus from the dead. However, it is well worth considering Paul’s manner of preaching. He preached from the breaking of bread until midnight. The Greek word for preaching, as used here, is “dielegeto”[5], which is rendered “lectured” by Marshall, the author of my Greek interlinear. Strong’s[6] (No. 1256) renders the meaning as to “say thoroughly”.
The point that’s coming out here is that, ideally, the gospel is to be thoroughly preached, and more importantly thoroughly communicated. If you time Billy Graham, he thoroughly communicates the gospel in 15 minutes. Sometimes, as the Spirit leads us to share the gospel, we can only get out a brief couple sentences. However, ideally, when we get the opportunity, we should thoroughly preach the gospel. I say this from my own experience, because there’ve been times, at funerals or other critical times, when The Lord’s Spirit has prepared an opportunity for me to give out the Good News, but I only give out a brief basic gospel message. Then when I’ve finished, I, and others realize that I should have pressed home the message even further. This is why it’s important to understand God’s grace and his gifts to us. Grace is God at work, and we shouldn’t be in fear of social or even governmental forces, if we know that we’re doing the Lord’s will.
An account which brings out this same concept is Peter at Pentecost: “With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation’ “. So Peter preached using “many words” at that occasion, and about three thousand souls were saved that day. So, the gospel message is to contain not only the basics of Christ’s work at the cross, but also a wrestling for souls with warnings and pleadings. I believe Paul also tried to thoroughly present the Lord Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy and Scriptural typology (Acts 13:23-39). I also believe that each of these preachers spoke as they were led by the Holy Ghost, which should be our aim. Again, though, the point being brought out here is that the gospel needs to be thoroughly preached in order to be communicated.
170.) The Lord Jesus as an Evangelist, Ephesians 2:17 “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” This passage opens the topic of The Lord Jesus Christ as an evangelist. Of course, at this juncture of this grace study , I won’t have enough time to consider this mega-topic. The following are some good categories to consider, though:
a.) Anointing- See Item #77 above.
b.) Purpose- ‘The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).
c.) Style- “He taught as one who had authority” (Matthew 7:29, I Peter 4:11).
d.) Method- “Then he told them many things in parables” (Matthew 7:13, 13:3, and Mark 4:34).
e.) Timing & message development- See Item #23 above.
f.) His Use of Scripture- “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).
g.) Christ as Fulfillment of Prophecy- “If then David calls him ‘Lord”, how can he be his son?” (Matthew 22:43-46, 26:31).
h.) Prayer- “One of those days Jesus went up to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God” (Luke 6:12).
i.) By Power- “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” (Matthew 9:35). Also please see #58, above.
174.) Evangelism is a Witness of God’s Presence, I Timothy 3:16 “The mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory”. This verse connects the mystery of godliness with the preaching of the gospel. The point that’s brought out here is that God, who was separated from mankind by the sin of Adam, and reconnected somewhat to us through the nation of Israel, is now brought near again through heralding of the gospel. So, a world full of darkness, is now lit up by the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. Verse 16 ends with the Lord Jesus ascension into glory, but his presence is still here through the Spirit filled Church, and His witness is still here through evangelism. This concept is the same as was voiced in Psalm 68:18, where the Scripture explains why the gifts of Ephesians 4 were given. Psalm 68:18 says the gifts were given “that you, O Lord God, might dwell there”. So God indwells the Church, and his witness is present in this world through the gifts; and evangelism is definitely a gift of God. Also, it hasn’t escaped my perusal that this “mystery of godliness” could easily be replaced by one word: “grace”.
“PREACHING”
198.) Heralding the Good News, Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilea, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people”. The Greek phrase for “preaching the gospel’ used herein is “kerusson ro euaggellion”[7], which means “heralding the gospel”. Strong’s[8] (No. 2784) renders “kerrusso” as “to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth”. The concept that’s being conveyed, then, is that the gospel is to be heralded as critical, authoritative news that’s communicated in a public fashion, to people who haven’t heard it or need to have it publicly repeated. The word “herald” brings to mind a trumpet blast followed by the king’s courtier reading a proclamation to a crowd of citizens. This is one of the most often used Greek words for “preaching” seen in the New Testament. So this concept, even by repetition is worthy of note. Paul proliferates this concept when he writes in Romans 15:20, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ is not known”. So, the public heralding of the gospel, as an important message from The King, is an important means of evangelization. I note that the private repeating of the King’s public gospel message also falls within the concept of the heralding the good news. (Also see Matthew 4:2 and Luke 8:1, and many other passages.)
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT POINTS
Lest someone misconstrue, or even deliberately twist, the results of what’s being concluded from this study, the following summary points are noted:
1.) A person can be known as an evangelist; and the definition of an evangelist is one who has the spiritual ability of giving out the gospel, this being his principal work for the Lord. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1, & 3.)
2.) There is only one true gospel. It is defined in Scripture, and this one true gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. (The above items reference this: Nos. 9, 18, 21, 23, 26, 31, 32, 35, 42, 58, 112, 116, 135, 149, 174, &198.)
3.) It is important, and victorious, for the gospel to be spread and publicly proclaimed. (The above items reference this: Nos. 3, 21, 22, 26, 36, 75, 84, 116, 153, 174, &198.)
4.) There is a difference between evangelism and teaching, preaching, and apostleship. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1, 3, 17, 18, 26, 36, 58, 68, 82, 106, 153, 174, &198.)
5.) Evangelists are still called by God today, and evangelism is still necessary for the Church today. There are many who name themselves as Christians today who claim evangelism is obsolete, since people can be added to their gatherings through water baptism or religious rituals. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1, 3, 21, 22, 28, 32, 68, 75, 84, 97, 106, 112, 135, 143, 153, 174, &198.)
6.) Evangelism, especially the call to be an evangelist, is a manifestation of God’s grace. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1, 3, 18, 36, 58, 68, 116, &174.)
7.) The “how to’s” of evangelism can be studied and are contained in the scripture. (The above items reference this: Nos. 17, 18, 21, 26, 27, 28, 32, 37, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 97, 106, 107, 109, 116, 135, 143, 145, 153, 158, 170, &198.)
END HOME
[1] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company) p. 73 of his Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.
[2] Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear KJV-NIV Parallel New Testament In Greek And English (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975) p. 177.
[3] Ibid p. 111.
[4] Chuck Missler, “Home fellowships- The Once and Future Church” (Coeur J’Alene, ID: Koinania House, 2003)
[5] Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear KJV-NIV Parallel New Testament In Greek And English (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975) p. 413.
[6] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company) p. 22 of his Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.
[7] Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear KJV-NIV Parallel New Testament In Greek And English (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975) p. 11.
[8] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company) p. 42 of his Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.
By D.M.M. 4/1/04
This treatise is a summarization of an exhaustive study which I did using Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (KJV). The following words and each of their occurrences in the Bible were exhaustively analyzed: “evangelist”, “evangelists”, “gospel ”, “gospel’s”, “preach”, “preached”, “preacher”, “preachest”, “preacheth”, and “preaching”.
The words were put on a grid. The grid was filled out longhand and contained the following column headings: the bible verse used, Strong’s number, the name of the preacher, descriptor (anything helping describe evangelism), comment, and notes.
As you can see there’s only three references in the English to “evangelist” or “evangelists”, (Greek “euaggellistes”). However, when we expand the study to include “the gospel” (“euaggellion”), and “preach the gospel” (“euaggellizo”), we then have plenty of references to dig into.
The following are points of note with references to the listing number from my original longhand grid:
“EVANGELIST”
1.) Phillip the Evangelist, Acts 21:8 “We reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Phillip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.” There’s not much detail in these verses. We can see for sure, though, that a person can be known as an evangelist, and have that ability as his principal work for the Lord.
This verse also clearly shows a fulfillment of the promise of generational Christianity which is contained in Acts 2:38 & 39: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call”. The gift of the Holy Ghost was manifested in Phillip’s two daughters, not as evangelists, but as prophets.
3.) To Each One Grace is Given, Ephesians 4:11 I find it no accident that this verse is found immediately following the passage above which includes the reference to Acts 2:39. The fourth chapter of Ephesians discusses the manifestations of God’s grace in the Church. Ephesians 4:7 guarantees, “To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it”. Just as I was reading Acts 2:39, for the approximately 150th time in my life, the Lord showed me that this verse contains the same promise as Ephesians 4:7, only it’s worded differently. Phillip and his children were given the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39). This promise is that “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it”, “for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call”. We in this generation are “far off”, 2000 years from when those promises were first voiced. However, even in this age, for each believer “to each one of us grace has been given”. Verse 11, then, cites evangelists as a manifestation of God’s grace, and a witness of God’s presence in his Church, and also as a fulfillment of the need to build Christ’s Church through the manifested power of the Lord Jesus Christ, himself.
This passage essentially lists evangelism as one of the “gifts to men” discussed in Ephesians 4:8 and Psalm 68:18. Psalm 68:18 explains why God gave such “gifts to men”: “That you, O Lord God, might dwell there”. So God indwells his Church through the various gifts of the Spirit, evangelism being discussed herein.
I’m currently speaking of those with the gift of evangelism, not what we normally refer today as lifestyle evangelism. We all should, as Christians, contain the gospel in every fiber of our existence (I Peter 3:15). I do not discount that some who practice lifestyle evangelism do have the gift of evangelism. When I speak of the gift of evangelism, I’m referring to being led to reach, with the gospel, large crowds of people or groups of ones and twos many times over. In my day I can not discuss evangelism much without Billy Graham coming to mind. Currently the man is in his mid eighties and still reaching large groups with the gospel. The only explanation that is reasonable is that Mr. Graham is endowed as an evangelist, and his power comes totally from the Lord; and really that ought to be obvious to those who study the Word. What about the preacher on the street corner? I’d say, “Yes, unless it’s a false gospel”! What about myself on occasion when the Lord has led me to speak to small gatherings, when I am somehow able, after stuttering and stammering, to still get the gospel message out? Well, on such occasions I’m definitely practicing evangelism, but that doesn’t make me an evangelist. All who give out the gospel are practicing evangelism and all believers should, but only those whose principal Spiritual ability is evangelism should be defined as evangelists.
How, then, does God indwell the Church through evangelism? Chiefly there are 2 ways:
a.) We don’t worship a mute idol. An evangelist is gifted by God and is obeying the general call and a specific leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ asserted “I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18). I was once led to consider an insightful verse- Ephesians 2:8. The verse says, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith”. Consider the true story of a woman who by grace heard the glorious gospel, believed, and by grace through faith was saved. Okay, that’s grace! But, let’s not merely consider grace (previously defined as intercession from God’s throne) from the saved person’s perspective. Wasn’t the preacher led by the Lord to give out the gospel? That’s the grace of evangelism. Also, that’s Jesus Christ building his Church, indwelling his Church, and walking amidst “the seven golden lampstands” (Revelation 1:12&20).
b.) All the gifts are manifestations of God’s grace (charismata). So God is indeed working in and through the individual evangelist. When an evangelist, or any other Spirit led believer, obeys the Lord’s leading and exercises his or her Spirit given abilities, then that person is at that moment the very right hand of God in that situation.
So God indwells the Church by indwelling each believer. Further, God is manifesting his power and presence through the Spirit’s gift to each Christian servant.
“GOSPEL”
9.) An Orderly Account, Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah the prophet…”. If you want to give an orderly, meaningful account of something you must have a beginning and an end to your account. Mark begins his account at Isaiah, with the important concept that the good news of Jesus Christ is a major fulfillment of prophecy, which is a very substantive point. Paul, in Galatians 3:8, goes even further back and points out that God “announced the gospel in advance to Abraham”. Some contend that the gospel is first contained in the prophecy ofGenesis 3:15. Don’t think for an instant that I’m saying that the gospel is merely an orderly or historical account of the life and work of Jesus Christ. In order for the Scripture to be true, and it is undeniably true (John 10:35), the gospel must be “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Acts 1:16).
15.) Fulfillment of Prophecy, Luke 7:22 “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” The Lord Jesus is making a major point concerning the gospel: the work of Jesus Christ is the major fulfillment of prophecy, not merely a fulfillment but rather the major fulfillment of prophecy. Peter exclaimed, “All the prophets testify about him” (Acts 10:43). The Lord Jesus knew that John Baptist would recognize and be looking for the Messiah’s fulfillment of prophecy, so to comfort John in prison he quoted the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 61:1&2.
17.) Teaching vs. Preaching the Gospel, Luke 20:1 “One day he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel”. The Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the Holy Spirit working through the writer Luke, draws a distinction between teaching and preaching the gospel. Not all teaching done by the Lord Jesus Christ is the gospel. An obvious example of this is the end times teaching of Mark 13. So, we can conclude that all of the gospel is Christ’s teaching, but not all of Christ’s teaching is the gospel. Really, this verse brings out an important point, that if we are going to understand evangelism, we must succinctly define the gospel. This necessary gospel definition is contained in Item #23 below.
18.) Salvation Only by the Gospel, Acts 8:12-25 “But when they believed Phillip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, they were baptized, both men and women” Here we see that the Holy Spirit was given by laying on of hands by the apostles. This passage has been a source of many questions. However, I believe it (and other difficult passages) can be sorted out as we study and understand the grace of God. First, let’s realize that the primary work of Philip (vs. 12) and Peter and John (vs. 25) was preaching the gospel. Next let’s conclude that there was obviously something Peter and John were able to do that Philip was not doing; and that something was a showing of Holy Spirit power in the baptized believers; albeit Phillip, himself, did work many miraculous signs and healings per Acts 8:6&7.
Applying facts that I’ve gathered thus far from this grace study, here is what I conclude. The Philip, of Acts 8, was not the apostle Philip listed in Matthew 10:3, but is Philip the Evangelist discussed in Acts 21:8, and also one of The Seven listed in Acts 6:5. Here’s some facts that brought me to that conclusion:
a.) The Philip of Acts 8 was left at the end of the passage “preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea” (vs. 40). While great signs accompanied him (vs. 7, & Mark 16:17), the Holy Spirit was not coming in great power upon those who believed even though they were baptized. That’s because he wasn’t trying to do the work of an apostle, but rather to save souls by the power of evangelism. He had a different grace gift than the apostles; he was an evangelist. Also, please note that he’s left traveling about evangelizing “in all the towns until he reached Caesarea”, which is exactly where Philip the Evangelist is found 26 years later when Paul and his group stayed at his house in approximately 60 AD as recorded in Acts 21:8. We could speculate on what occurred to stop Philip in his tracks in Caesarea all those years; but it seems obvious that, with “four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy”, Philip was faithfully raising his family in Caesarea all those years.
b.) It’s also noted that “all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). This directly states, then, by inclusion in the same passage, that the Philip of Acts 8 was not an apostle; because the passage says the 12 apostles stayed in Jerusalem.
So, we conclude that the Holy Spirit didn’t come in power upon these believers, because even though they were sealed by the Holy Spirit and saved, and even water baptized; Philip’s calling as an evangelist could only bring them to the point of salvation, and then water baptism, and not any further. Why not any further?! Peter preached the gospel in Cornelius’ house, and “the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” (Acts 10:44). I believe that the difference is clearly due to the different grace of God given to Apostles, sent as Church builders, as opposed to evangelists as heralds of the salvation. (This is not to say that Phillip had no other grace gifts, such as shepherding and teaching, especially since he raised four Christian women who spoke for the Lord (prophesied).
21.) Gospel as a Message, Acts 15:7 “That the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe”. Peter describes the gospel as a message. He even discusses the semantics of salvation, “He purified their hearts by faith”. The concept, that the gospel is a message having power to change non-believers into believers, is an important concept of Christianity. Some denominations only define the gospel as the four gospel books- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We must understand that the gospel is a message with power for salvation, not a portion of the Bible, as some claim.
There is a sequence of events that occur when the Lord saves someone, as further discussed in Item#143 below. One of these critical elements that occurs is that the message of the gospel is communicated. The concept of the gospel as a message is, therefore, critical. Either publicly or privately, verbally or written, the message must be communicated. Romans 10:13-15 explains this same concept: “ ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those that bring good news!’ “.
22.) The Enormous Need and the Real Help for that Need, Acts 16:9&10 “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’….we got ready at once…to preach the gospel to them”. We sometimes forget the enormity of the need and importance to preach the gospel in foreign lands. We don’t consider that those countries without a Christian heritage are the most despotic and impoverished countries on the globe. When we consider the countries that nominally practice some form of idolatry (and I consider Islam as a form of such idolatry), we see countries without hope- countries buffeted by famine, pestilence, and every form of strife. When we contrast these with the nominally Christian countries, however, we see relative prosperity. These countries without Christ are not just in need of food and medicine; they desperately need the gospel. CLICK for an example of this need. We as Christians must realize that famine, pestilence, and strife are symptoms of these cultures’ spiritual starvation. Their most pressing need is still the “bread of life”, the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
23.) The Notion of a “Gospel of the Kingdom”, Acts 20:24-25 “…the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. Now I know that none of you among whom I’ve gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again”. This passage is one among many verses that discusses the notion of “the gospel of the kingdom”.
I note that there is a false notion that Christ first preached “the gospel of the kingdom” to the Jews, and then, when they rejected it, he preached a different gospel to the Gentiles. After carefully scrutinizing this notion, however, I conclude that the same gospel was preached first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. The following passages prove this:
a.) The above passage in Acts 20 clearly states that Paul preached “the kingdom”, and that such preaching was “the gospel of God’s grace”. Scripture doesn’t contain an implication that Paul’s “gospel of God’s grace” was any different than the gospel preached by the Lord Jesus Christ. Any such conclusion is the teaching of men and not of God. Also, Phillip was noted as having “preached the good news of the kingdom of God” in Samaria (Acts 8:12).
b.) In Galatians Chapters 1, 2, and 3, Paul carefully shows that there can only be one gospel. Paul shows that “some people are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7). He denotes a curse upon all who would “preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you” (Galatians 1:8). Paul clearly cites that “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you’” (Galatians 3:8). While the promise of a Messiah was only being developed through Abraham, still he believed that portion of the gospel which was revealed to him. So, the gospel has always been the same gospel, even though it was not brought all together until Christ opened his disciples minds to the Scripture in Luke 24:44.
c.) Matthew 9:35 “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” This verse is typical of many that define the Lord Jesus’ preaching as the good news of the kingdom, but this doesn’t mean that it was a different gospel. Here are some facts that prove and explain this point:
1.) Jesus explained, concerning the end times, in Matthew 24:14, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”.Point proven! I could end this proof right here, but for definition of the gospel we should go a little further.
2.) The Lord Jesus developed his presentation of his gospel in stages, and in a manner that could be accepted; and always with a view toward future generations. Recall that he liked to refer to himself as the Son of Man, knowing that those who would believe would eventually realize his deity and his need to die for sin. First the Lord showed himself as somebody to pay attention to, by working miracles and teaching with clarity and power. Then the Lord presented himself as fulfillment of prophecy, knowing that astute disciples would accept him as Messiah (Luke 7:22, Matthew 16:16&17). Finally, the Lord could begin to reveal the crux of the matter, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14&15). “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).
3.) The Lord Jesus did first present his gospel to “the lost sheep of Israel” (Mark 7:28), but this doesn’t show that it was a different gospel. In fact, Ephesians 2:17 shows that it was the same gospel- “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.”
4.) Finally, we should realize that there’s a good reason why the Lord referred to his gospel as the “gospel of the kingdom”. That is, that very little was ever taught regarding the kingdom of heaven until he shared his teaching. Consider the Lord Jesus’ parables: the Sower , the Tares and the wheat, the Mustard Seed, the Yeast, the Hidden Treasure, the Great Pearl, and the Net (all located in Matthew 13); the Lost Sheep and Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18); the Workers and the Vinyard (Matthew 20), and the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22). So we see that, just as little was known about the resurrection until Jesus boldly declared “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25), little was known concerning heaven until he began preaching his gospel of the kingdom.
The reason I’m spending time dispelling the false notion of a short term “gospel of the kingdom” is that this false notion is contrary to, and makes it difficult to clearly define, the true gospel. Since the gospel is a message, then what’s the whole message including all the facts; and what’s the minimum part of that message which will still bring the grace of salvation through faith in the gospel? I suppose I had better answer those 2 questions. The whole gospel is everything concerning the Christ: the ancient prophecies and everything surrounding those prophecies, everything concerning his first and second coming and his future promises to Israel and his Church, everything concerning his death, burial and resurrection, even such typology. Not only was the gospel preached to Abraham according to the Galatians reference above, but it was also preached to “all those Moses led out of Egypt” (Hebrews 3:16, 4:2, and 4:6). Every verse in the Bible is said to be an arrow that points to Christ and the cross. Peter said, “All the prophets testify about him” (Acts 10:43). So, any discussion or teaching of the Scripture can be a gospel message depending really upon the empowering work of the Holy Spirit toward the salvation of the hearer. I’ve heard of people being saved through many different verses of the Bible, but such verses always bring the person to the Cross.
The minimum part of the gospel message needed for salvation, as accepted by many, and I agree with them, is Romans 10:9 which guarantees, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”.
26.) The Only Power for Salvation, Romans 1:15&16 This is one of the most important passages in Scripture, because it states that the gospel “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”. If you want to be involved in Evangelism you must understand that the power for salvation is the gospel. Righteous living, good works, church attendance, various traditions, water baptism, these all have their place. But salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), and that faith must be in the one true gospel. At the point of believing the gospel then, a non-believer “is included in Christ” and is “marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13). So if you want to reach someone for Christ, you must reach him with the gospel, and pray that the Lord will give him the grace to believe. (Acts 18:27). We should understand that grace, faith, and the gospel are not all the same but they work together in salvation. A person is saved by God when they believe (have faith in) the gospel. However, grace, defined as intercession from God’s throne, is permeating throughout such a situation. It’s grace that such a person’s mind is prepared to believe, and it’s grace that an evangelist is sent to give the gospel, and there’s probably many other instances of grace in that person’s life that brought them to that point. However, grace can only bring one to a point. After that faith is necessary and a person must choose to believe. Immediately upon believing, new, spiritual birth occurs and many other things occur at that point of new birth. This is why the Scripture declares, “By grace are you saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).
27.) Pending Judgment is Part of the Gospel, Romans 2:16 Through this verse it’s made clear that a formal judgment by God the father through Jesus Christ is part of the gospel. It’s important to remember that “being saved” doesn’t mean getting religion, but rather that a person is spared the permanent wrath of a holy God in the Lake of Fire. There’s an old saying: “The gospel, being God’s Word, is a two edged sword. On the one edge is God’s love demonstrated at Calvary. On the other edge is God’s wrath and his sure judgment of sinners”. When I first believed in 1979, I was impacted by both edges.
The judgment spoken of in Romans 2 is not just the judgment day of non-believers (a.k.a. Great White Throne Judgment- Revelation 20:11). The judgment also refers to the judgment of believers (a.k.a. the Bema Judgment- II Corinthians 5:10). So, we must conclude that eventual judgment for all, resulting in eternal wrath for the non-believer and heavenly rewards for the obedient believers, is “part and parcel” to the gospel.
28.) How to have Beautiful Feet, Romans 10:15 This is one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible. It speaks of God’s, and really all of heaven’s, view of evangelism. This verse is a partial quote from Isaiah 52:7 which says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ “. Somehow, I conclude from these Scriptures that all of heaven rejoices when the glorious light of the gospel is preached in dark places. And when a person gets saved, the joy and celebration in heaven is unspeakable (Luke 15:7&10).
Let’s go a little further here. This verse also reminds us that the Lord blesses the means of facilitating the gospel message. It doesn’t say he blesses the hands or even the mouth, but the feet. How many times have you seen the Lord work in miraculous ways in order to facilitate the spreading of the “good news”. This is currently God’s first priority in this creation. The spreading of the gospel, and the saving of souls through that gospel, is still the Lord Jesus’ primary task. All of the Lord’s other work: the building and sanctification of His Church, the preservation of creation, his rule over all principalities, and his intercessory work at the throne, is all still focused on saving souls through the gospel. Really, if you want to understand the way of God’s creation, this world, and particularly God’s grace you must accept that principal; because nothing will make much sense unless you do. Eternity is important to the Lord; and it ought to be important to us too. There’s an old Christian saying: “God doesn’t care what you’re doing now, so much as where you’re at in eternity”.
31.) “My Gospel”, Romans 16:25 “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel”. Here Paul refers to the good news which he preaches as “my gospel”. Also in II Timothy 2:8 Paul writes of “my gospel” stating, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal”. Some important points are:
a.) Paul is not stating that his gospel is different from the gospel preached by others, either by the Lord Jesus, or to Abraham and Moses, or by other Christians. He’s merely differentiating his good news from the world’s good news. The world’s good news in those days might have been that real estate values went up, or taxes were decreased; but Paul’s good news is Christ resurrected in fulfillment of Scripture.
b.) Note that the resurrection is contained in the one true gospel, and well as Christ’s life and death as fulfillment of prophecy (in this case as the descendant of David).
c.) Also we note that the gospel is, in these two passages as in many others, expressed as the empowering ingredient in salvation. This verse notes the gospel “is able to establish you“. II Timothy 2:8-10 cites that through the gospel the elect “may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus”. Romans 1:16, above, defines the gospel as “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”.
d.) Item # 35 below contains a good description of the gospel which Paul preached.
32.) Gospel Separate from Baptism, I Corinthians 1:17 “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel- not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” Herein we are reminded that water baptism and the gospel are two separate teachings, and that salvation is through the gospel. Since salvation is through the gospel, Paul puts gospel preaching as his first priority. This is clearly shown throughout most of the New testament, particularly Acts, Chapters 10 and 11. There is a baptism (immersion) which occurs just at the time a person first believes the gospel. However, this is the immersion in the Holy Spirit of which water baptism is a type or figure. So, when a person is water baptized, they do this as a public statement that he is already saved and has already been immersed (baptized) in the Holy Spirit.
Now I know that there are teachings which seem to say that water baptism, itself, saves you, but such a teaching would clearly contradict the teachings which we’ve just cited. There’s a point of logic that a serious Bible scholar must follow in order to sort out supposed contradictions in Scripture. This logic is simply that there is no such thing as a contradiction in Scripture; the contradiction is in our understanding of Scripture. So all Scripture must be true, not just some of it (John 10:35, II Timothy 3:16), because ultimately the Holy Spirit’s interpretation of Scripture is the one true interpretation of Scripture (II Peter 1:20). I’ve spoken to some teachers who have studied difficult teachings, and they’ve listed scriptures for one side of an issue, then they’ve listed scriptures for the other side. They then take, what amounts to, their best guess at the answer. No Good! Such an approach doesn’t get you to the Holy Spirit’s true meaning on such an issue, since you’ll be left with a contradiction in Scripture. Since we know that a contradiction in Scripture is impossible, we know that such a conclusion is incorrect. We must further study such issues and pray for wisdom and understanding, in order to obtain the Holy Spirit’s true interpretation of Scripture. Such misunderstanding can easily stem from other issues that we are building our conclusion upon. We’d be better off putting such an issue aside and concluding, “Here’s an issue I don’t yet grasp, so I’d better be careful about what I say on that issue”.
Getting back to water baptism, I have thoroughly investigated this, and in order for all Scripture to be true, water baptism is not God’s instrument of salvation, but rather Holy Spirit immersion through the gospel. Water baptism should certainly soon follow a person’s decision to believe the gospel, however. I’ve found that all scriptures which seem to cite water baptism as God’s instrument for salvation can be reexamined to conclude that the gospel and Holy Spirit baptism are the actual true instruments of God’s salvation. But, no matter how much the Scripture is reexamined, we can never explain away verses such as our present verse, I Corinthians 1:17, neither Acts Chapters 10 and 11. Acts 10:47 asks, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have”. In Acts 11:15&16, Peter explained his evangelistic work in Cornelius’ house, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit’ “.These verses clearly cite immediate salvation, new life, and Holy Spirit immersion to those believing the gospel. What other passages could ever make these scriptures disappear, or even begin to change their obvious and clear meaning?!
Now let’s consider the opposite, incorrect, view. The strongest case for salvation by water baptism is misinterpreted through I Peter 3:21: “In it (Noah’s ark) only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes water that now saves you also- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience towards God”. There is a critical word that must be considered in order to get a clear perception of this verse, that critical word is the word “symbolizes”. My Greek Interlinear was consulted which displays the King James, the NIV, and the Greek, all together. The following led to my conclusion that this verse is not saying that water baptism saves us:
a.) Symbolizes- KJV puts it this way: “the like figure whereunto (even) baptism doth also now save us”. The Greek puts it: “Which also us figure now saves (even) baptism”. The Scripture is discussing symbolism. Two figures of salvation are used, Noah’s ark and water baptism of Christians. This Scripture doesn’t cite that water baptism gives you eternal life, anymore than it cites that the Ark adventure gave Noah’s group eternal life. These two symbols, or figures, are pictures of the immersion in God’s Holy Spirit which occurs at the point of believing the gospel. The only non-figurative statement concerning water baptism is that it’s “the pledge of a good conscience toward God”. Water baptism as a public statement of “a good conscience toward God”, made clean by Holy Spirit washing which had already occurred upon believing the gospel, this is exactly how I and many others understand water baptism. So the verse does not discuss water baptism as God’s instrument of salvation, but merely as a symbol of salvation. The term “the like figure” in the KJV agrees with this conclusion that water baptism is another figure (a like figure) of salvation, just as Noah’s ark is also a figure of salvation.
The major point of logic is that water baptism, upon careful reexamination, is found not to be God’s instrument for salvation. If you claim that water baptism saves you, then you cannot explain the believers in Cornelius house being baptized (immersed) in God’s Holy Spirit, and them never having been water baptized. Since “The Scripture…cannot be broken” (John 10:35), the only answer is that the immersion (a.k.a. baptism) in the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:16) is what saves us. Although our heart strings yearn to accept the religious teaching of our culture, we must lay aside our culture when it conflicts with the clear teaching of God’s Word. Or, as one old saint once told me, “Don’t tell me what you say. Tell me what God’s Word says”.
35.) The One True Gospel, The Whole Gospel, and the Minimum Gospel for Salvation, I Corinthians 15:1-7 “Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel that I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the Word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” This group of verses is accepted by many as a key description of the one true gospel (Galatians 1:8&9) which Paul preached. Here are the points contained in this description of the one true gospel:
a.) These Corinthians to whom Paul is writing are, for the most part, believers. They are described as having received the gospel, and have taken their stand upon the gospel. This is a good description of believing: receiving the gospel as true and vital for salvation, and trusting (standing) upon Christ’s atoning work for redemption.
b.) “By this gospel you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain.” As was stated, the gospel “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”. However, this belief has got to be genuine and heartfelt (Romans 10:9). Evidently some of these Corinthians were still going to reject the seed of the gospel which was sown among them (Mark 4:13-20).
c.) The gospel, of all the teachings of Paul and of the Lord Jesus, is “of first importance” (verse 3). This should be obvious because each person’s most critical need is to be spared from the eternal Lake of Fire.
d.) “Christ died for our sins” (verse 3). The sin atoning power of the Lord Jesus death is not just critical in God’s plan of salvation; it’s the theme of heaven. A quick look at the book of the Revelation will show the Lord Jesus continuously (and therefore eternally) referred to as the Lamb upon the throne (Revelation 5:6, and others).
e.) “According to the Scriptures” (vs. 3). This shows that the Lord’s atoning work was not just the fulfillment of prophecy (Matthew 5:17), but also God’s plan from before creation (Acts 2:23, II Timothy 1:9).
f.) “He was buried and that he rose again the third day” (vs. 4). The bulk of Chapter 15 of I Corinthians is regarding the importance of the Lord’s resurrection. Here’s just a sampling from this great chapter, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith”. The point is that the resurrection of Christ is an important ingredient of the gospel message. It’s not enough to say that he died for our sins. The promise of eternal life with the resurrected Christ is implicit to the gospel.
g.) He appeared, after his resurrection, to Peter and to more than 500 people at the same time (vs. 5&6). The point here is that his resurrection was not a secret, and was even chronicled as fact by that most important non-Christian historian of the time, Josephus.
So these are the key facts of the gospel as described by Paul. Keep in mind, though, that the Lord through the Scripture contains other facts as being included in the gospel. This was shown in Item #23, above: “The whole gospel is everything concerning the Christ: the ancient prophecies and everything surrounding those prophecies, everything concerning his first and second coming and his future promises to Israel and his Church, everything concerning his death, burial and resurrection, even such typology”. Also, please keep in mind that the minimum amount of the gospel to be believed is well recognized as being Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”.
36.) Evangelism, a Large Part of Apostleship, II Corinthians 2:12 “Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ”. This verse brings up a big point. That is; evangelism is a large portion of apostleship. This concept is brought out more fully in II Timothy 1:11, “And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher”. We can conclude it is impossible to perform much of the other services in God’s grace without the gospel. If you think about it, you’ll conclude that even things like Christian teaching and shepherding are impossible without an understanding of, and an unction to share, the gospel. To be an evangelist, though, is to have evangelism as your grace gift from the Lord Jesus and your principal work for the Lord (Ephesians 4:7&11).
This concept is acutely brought out in the case of Timothy. Timothy is encouraged in II Timothy 4:5, “Do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry”. We know, however, that Timothy’s gift (I Timothy 4:14) was not limited to being an evangelist. This is brought out in I Thessalonians where Paul, Silas, and Timothy write, “As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you”. So Timothy, as an “Apostle of Christ” also had to “do the work of an evangelist”, which makes sense when considered along with his apostolic ministry. As was already said, it’s hard to fathom any Christian ministry that doesn’t contain an unction to share the gospel.
37.) The Glorious Gospel, II Corinthians 4:3&4 “Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”. This verse in its context speaks of the glory of the gospel, and of all ministry of the New Covenant. II Corinthians 3: 7-11 leads up to our verse by asserting, “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?…For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!”. I concluded that II Corinthians 4:3&4 should actually be memorized, because it can be used so often to help explain macroscopically why different situations are the way they are. Particularly, it puts plainly the roll of Satan in blinding people to the gospel. As such it is an important verse to Christians in general. Also see Item#47f3 of the Healings Section.
42.) False Gospels, Galatians 1:6-9 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.” If we considered all the people throughout history who are headed or have already found their way to hell, we could fit them into very few categories: atheists, idolaters, agnostics, those who are obstinate to the gospel- caring more about their flesh or the world than about their eternity, and those who believed a false gospel. So, the preaching of false gospels is well worth considering. Here are some marks which Galatians points out as descriptive of false gospels:
a.) Verse 7- A different gospel is not the power of God for salvation, it is “really no gospel at all”.
b.) Verse 8- A different gospel is one other than what Paul preached. So we really have to key in on what Paul preached, which is exactly what this “Grace Study” is doing.
c.) Verse 9- There’s an eternal curse on those preaching a false gospel.
d.) Verse 12- A false gospel is man made, as opposed to the true gospel which is God revealed.
e.) A false gospel seeks to promote justification before God by observing laws, and therefore sets aside the grace of God (Galatians 2:16-21). It’s the setting aside of the grace of God that is the real damage done by a false gospel. Since salvation is “by grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8&9), Satan has been successful in blinding one’s eyes to the gospel by getting them to accept a false non-saving gospel. (Please recall how Item#37, above, suggested that II Corinthians 4:3&4 was a multifaceted verse and can be used for explaining a variety of situations.) Truly, “The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (II Corinthians 4:3&4).
f.) Satan is involved in the blinding and bewitching of those who accept such beliefs (Galatians 3:1).
g.) A false gospel, usually very subtly, denies the power of Christ’s crucifixion by placing the accomplishment of salvation on the shoulders of the individual, rather upon the finished work of Christ on the cross (Galatians 3:1).
h.) A false gospel denies the indwelling of individuals by the Holy Spirit and the working of the Spirit amidst Christ’s Church. It does this by promoting human effort to observe laws rather than by salvation through faith and further growth in the grace of God (Galatians 3:2-5).
i.) A false gospel will not fit in with the rest of Scripture, particularly how the gospel was preached in advance to the Patriarchs Abraham and Moses (Galatians 3:6, Hebrews 4:2&6), and how that gospel was ultimately their power for salvation as well (Romans 4:13-15).
j.) A false gospel, which is based on the performance of laws brings a curse, and I’ve seen the results of such a curse. Galatians 3:10 says, “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse”. Take this fact seriously! This is not a cute curse. We’re talking about generational doctrinal error here, which manifests itself in separation from the blessings of God.
k.) Finally, a false gospel does not bring the promises of God, none of them: not eternal life, not the Holy Spirit, no grace from God’s throne, no crowns or other eternal rewards, nothing (Galatians 3:14).
So, we conclude that it’s very important to recognize the real thing, the true and glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept no substitutes!
56.) The Word of Truth, Colossians 1:5 “The hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you”. A prevalent theme in the Scripture, which also helps define the gospel, is the concept of the gospel as the Word of Truth. The Lord Jesus described himself as “The Way the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6). It is no wonder , then, that his gospel is also known as the Word of Truth. Here are some other passages where the gospel is referred to as the Word of Truth:
a.) Ephesians 1:13- “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation”. The entire first chapter of Ephesians includes many points. Among the interstices of these many points, is the consideration that a person is “included in Christ” only when they believe “the word of truth, the gospel”. The picture therein is a world full of lies, in which only the truth can cut through all the confusion of such a culture full of lies. Certainly not any different from our day!
b.) Galatians 2:5- “Some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom that we have in Christ and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” These two reasons for non-believers pretending to be believers exist today. Some find truly born again believers a curiosity. They’ll hang with the believers, not to obtain the grace of God which brings freedom and a true work for Christ, but rather to spy on us so they can go back to their religious friends with some tidbit of truth and act even more religious. Others hang with the believers in order to entice us into their religions, and would have us follow their religious rules and regulations and submit to their clergy as if such practices could make one righteous before God. An important point made by Paul is that we are not to give in to teachers of a false gospel, not for a moment. I read it this way: that we don’t have to continuously debate with them, but always be ready for the Spirit to use us to speak out to such people. We know that God’s Holy Spirit is never inappropriate. So if we rely on prayer and his leading in such situations, then the Lord’s will shall be done; and we will continue to be “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13).
c.) Galatians 2:14- “When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ”. The major point brought out herein for our purposes, is that there is a line of conduct consistent with the truth of the gospel. While the gospel doesn’t have rules and regulations, we are to live out the truth of the gospel in our thought patterns and lifestyle. If we don’t do this then we also will be “not acting in line with the truth of the gospel”. We’ll be walking in error. The teaching of the gospel, with all its end time prophecies of Christ’s eminent return, and with all its promises of reward for Christian service, should motivate and focus our wills to coincide with the Lord Jesus’ will.
d.) II Thessalonians 2:14- “…God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel….”. So we see that the gospel is the direct connect to belief in the truth, and is also directly connected to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit as he brings a person to the point of salvation.
One of my definitions of an evangelist is that of a sword fighter who fights for men’s souls using the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). This definition fits right in with the “Word of truth” definition of the gospel.
58.) Not Just Words, but Power, I Thessalonians 1:5 “…Because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction….You welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit”. I’m tempted to group this verse with Romans 1:16, which defines the gospel as “the power of God for salvation”. Actually, though, Romans 1:16 defines a specific power: “for salvation”. While this verse is describing the more general power of the Holy Spirit. This power includes, not just salvation, but also the promised Holy Spirit, deep conviction, and the joy of the Holy Spirit. Paul makes a similar statement in I Corinthians 2:4 where he says, “My methods and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power”. The main point here is that the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus and the Father, all back up the gospel message with great power, enough to accomplish the Lord’s purpose of salvation and the giving of the promised Holy Spirit.
60.) Obedience and Disobedience to the Gospel, II Thessalonians 1:8 “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.” As was discussed in Item#56 above, Galatians 2:14 describes some who “were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel”. From the context of Galatians 2:14 we see that believers can step out of line and still be saved. However, II Thessalonians 1:8 describes those who are disobedient to the gospel, and it’s obvious that they won’t be saved from God’s eternal wrath. It’s also obvious from this passage that obedience to the gospel means believing, and disobedience to the gospel means disbelief in the gospel. An example of those who were disobedient to the gospel are the religious leaders of Luke 20. They heard the gospel (vs. 1) and also the parable that the Lord Jesus spoke concerning them (vs. 19). However, instead of belief and repentance, we see disbelief of Christ’s message and what appears to be an inordinate concern for maintaining their place in their cultural/ religious pecking order (a sure mark of fleshly, old nature, conduct).
These religious leaders even bring up the notion of Christ’s authority to preach. This was a wise concept to bring up, because obedience to the gospel is concerned with the authority for salvation (“Salvation is found in no one else” (Acts 4:12)). The word “obey” (“hupakouo” in the Greek, ), as used in II Thessalonians 1:8, is defined by Strong’s[1] (No. 5219) as “to heed or hearken to a command or authority”. So disobedience to the gospel is rebellion against Christ’s authority to save and will bring sure, eternal, destruction in the Lake of Fire.
67.) There is a rest for the People of God, Hebrews 4:2-6,&9 “For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard it did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, ‘So I declared an oath in my anger, they shall never enter my rest’ “. This is a wonderful and consoling promise, that we can stop striving for righteousness by works and merely rest in God’s good news of his Christ. The statement that the gospel is the means to arrive at this rest is contained in the above verses. However, in order to understand the concept of God’s rest we must study Hebrews 3:1 through 4:11. To force us to the conclusion that the entrance to God’s promised rest is by believing the gospel, the following points are noted:
a.) Vs. 3:3 - This entire passage, from 3:1-4:11, is really an extension of the statement, “Fix your eyes on Jesus….Jesus had been found worthy of greater honor than Moses”; the point being thatIsrael never entered into God’s rest, but in Christ we can enter that rest.
b.) Vs. 3:7-19 – The Holy Spirit is quoted (from Psalm 95:7-11) as explaining that God got angry at those of Moses time, because out of unbelief (vs.19) they disobeyed God leading God to conclude “their hearts are always going astray and their hearts have not known my ways”. Those who “heard and rebelled” were the entire generation “whose bodies fell in the desert” (vs. 16&17). There was to be a rest for them, and that rest was to be when they entered the promised land (Vs. 11&19), but they never entered God’s rest because of unbelief manifesting itself in disobedience (Vs18&19). Again, the point is made that unbelief is what caused their disobedience and their refusal to enter God’s rest.
c.) Vs 4:1-3 “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us just as they did…Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said”. The statement is plain. The gospel was preached to the Israelites of Moses time, but it was revealed in pictures through the blood sacrifices and the promise of a Messiah. It is also plain that belief in this gospel brings a person into God’s rest, both today after Christ’s death , and in Moses time before Christ’s birth. (However, those in Moses time never claimed that rest.)
d.) Vs 4:4-6 “ ‘And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.’ And again in the passage above he says, ‘They shall never enter my rest’ “. This passage says that God’s rest is the same rest as God provided for himself on the seventh day of creation, when His work was finished.
e.) Vs. 4:7-11 Since the Israelites did not enter God’s rest, “God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts’….There remains, then a Sabbath- rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his”. God’s rest is described as the very same rest as God’s seventh day rest at creation. We enter that rest by believing the gospel, and accepting Christ’s atoning work at the cross as full and final payment for sin. We stop striving for righteousness through the Law and rest in God’s righteousness, apart from the Law, which is given to all who trust in Christ’s finished work at the cross (Romans 3:21&22). Or as one believer put it, “The Old Testament in the Law says ‘Do, do, do’! But the New Testament in Christ’s blood says, ‘Done, done, done’! “.
It’s necessary to understand the typology herein. The salvation and wanderings of the children of Israel are a picture of believers in New Testament times (I Corinthians 10:1-11, Hebrews 8:5). The Israelites (as the believers) were saved from the power of the wicked Pharaoh (Satan) by the blood of the Passover lamb (Christ’s death- I Corinthians 5:7). They went through the Red Sea (believers’ baptism), and came to Kadesh Barnea on the edge of the Jordan River. However, Israel (the believer) refused to enter the promised land due to lack of faith, as discussed above. So Israel’s refusal to enter the promised land is not a picture of lack of saving faith, because they had already been saved out of Egypt (the world), and had the Passover lamb’s blood applied (already saved). Israel’s refusal to cross Jordan is a picture of a believer’s refusal to claim the manifold promises of God. The first promise that we claim is salvation. We’re saved, and we can know that we’re saved (Romans 10:9, Titus 3:5, etc.). From there we can claim many other promises that allow Christ to do his work through us. How about the promised Holy Spirit, just for one example (Acts 2:39). What about the promise of continued overall prosperity, according to Psalm 1. (Regarding typology, also see Item#74 of the Apostleship Section, and Item#92 of the Teaching Section.)
So entering God’s promised rest is not only restful , but is actually allowing God to work through us; not by striving to do a bunch of religious works, but rather seeking and obeying God’s will in our life. This relationship with God is restful because God does the work, not us. We are merely used as his vessels. Paul did great things for Christ but was always careful to say, “Yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (I Corinthians 15:10). This whole concept of God’s rest is explained, in a nutshell, by the common Christian saying, “Let go, and let God”.
68.) Evangelism is Always by Holy Spirit Power, I Peter 1:12 “…those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven”. The gospel and those sent to preach the gospel all operate by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a stated fact. I Corinthians 12:3 states, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’, except by the Holy Spirit”. Romans 10:15 states, “And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those that bring good news!’ “.
“GOSPEL’S”
75.) “Me and the Gospel”, Mark 10:29 “No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much”. Here, and in Mark 8:35, the Lord Jesus identifies and equates work on behalf of the gospel and work on his own behalf as the same thing. Further, in Mark 8:35 the Lord Jesus is saying that taking up your cross is taking up Christ and the gospel. The Scripture explains three main facets of the Lord’s work today: the saving of souls, the manifesting of his glory in his Church on earth, and his continuing maintenance of his creation as a place for mankind to inhabit. But the Lord Jesus’ first purpose is still saving souls (Luke 19:10). Since the saving of souls through the gospel (Romans 1:16) is the Lord Jesus’ first work, that is why he is plain to identify the cause of the gospel as being inseparable from his personal will. Also see Item#28, above.
“PREACH”
77.) The Anointed Ministry of the Lord Jesus- the Christ, Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-“. Of course, the Lord Jesus quoted the first part of this prophecy in Luke 4:18-21. He quoted up to and including “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”. Then he closed the book, sat down, and said, “Today is this Scripture fulfilled in your hearing”.
I worked in the legal department of a government office for 15 years and I know firsthand that terms and conditions of laws and covenants, can be partially met; and also that it is possible for a government official to easily and fairly “split the hair” as to whether such a term or condition was met. Other teachers have taught, and I agree, that The Lord Jesus split the prophecy of Isaiah in two parts, by only quoting the first part as being fulfilled at his Luke 4 proclamation. The latter part of Isaiah’s prophecy has to do with “the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion”. This latter part won’t be accomplished until the Lord Jesus sets foot upon the earth again at his second coming.
For the purpose of this study, I key in on that Greek word “euaggelisasthai”[2], rendered “preach good news” in Luke 4:18. Not all preaching is preaching of the gospel. So when we see the term “preach good news”, we know right away that evangelism is being discussed as opposed to prophecy, correction, or general teaching.
82.) Preaching Differs from Teaching, Matthew 11:1 “He went on from there to preach and teach in the towns of Galilee”. I took the time to go through the instances where the terms “preaching” and “teaching” are found together. ( These passages are: Luke 20:1, Acts 5:42, Colossians 1:28, Acts 4:2, I Timothy 2:7, II Timothy 1:11, Romans 2:21, and Acts 15:35.) After reviewing these passages the following points became clear:
a.) The preaching, in every case of a believer doing the preaching, was preaching of the gospel. These cases spanned the preaching of the Lord Jesus, the 12 apostles, and Paul and his group. This preaching was a heralding or active proclaiming of the gospel.
b.) The teaching was always a derivative of that Greek word “didasko”. The content of the teaching, usually had to be gathered from the surrounding context. In at least one spot Paul describes himself as a “teacher of the true faith” (I Timothy 2:7). The true faith then would include the gospel, but also includes Godly Christian living as evidenced in much of Paul’s letters. Paul encourages us to “command and teach these things” in I Timothy 4:11, with practically the same encouragement in Titus 2:15. (See Item#141-q&r, in the Teaching Section.)
c.) There is a definite difference between preaching and teaching. This is very clear in Romans 2:21. Preaching is the active heralding of a truth, while teaching is the causing of doctrine to be absorbed by the students.
d.) Although there’s a definite difference between preaching and teaching, we readily see that the same individuals are used to both preach and teach. In fact the routine was clearly that those traveling preachers of old were, indeed, preaching and teaching in the same sermons. Paul described himself as “a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher” in II Timothy 1:11. So, it is definitely possible to have more than one spiritual ability and to practice them even at the same time. There is a problem, though, when a supposed Christian leader claims that he’s the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher; or if a person claims that he sees clearly (cleric), while others in his local church do not. Such a claim would be in violation of the teaching of Ephesians 4:7, “To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it”. The obvious effect of such an error is that the actual work of the Spirit is never performed the local gathering. Or, in the case of those who insist on getting the Spirit’s message/ work out anyway, their work through the Spirit is rejected as being not authoritative since they’re not clergy. A clear deception of Satan! A snare laid in the early foundations of these gatherings! The organizational errors of congregations are often penned into the written church constitution, which at least makes the correction of these errors somewhat accessible (Hint! Hint!).
83.) Repentance Prepares the Way, Mark 1:4 “And so John came, baptizing in the desert and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. Repentance is part of the gospel message. Jesus cried, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). So repentance, defined as the turning away from sin, is an important part of the preaching of the gospel. Please see Item#94 below.
84.) Spreading the Gospel, Mark 1:38 “They exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’ Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else- to the nearby villages- so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.’ “ The Lord Jesus is taking the position that it is his intention to have the gospel continually spread and not just stop at some group of people. In fact he prophesied in Luke 24:47 that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem”. Paul also states that as his position in II Corinthians 10:14-16: “For we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ….Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you”. I’ve always found it interesting, that when Paul arrived in Rome for the first time, there were Christian brothers already there to meet him and encourage him (Acts 28:15). It’s almost as if the gospel is a wildfire that burns in all directions. This is, indeed, an accurate description except that the fire is not burning wildly; it is fully under the control of God’s fiery Holy Spirit.
85.) Apostle Merely Means Sent, Mark 3:14 “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and he might send them forth to preach”. This is an important verse in that it’s got some controversy to it. You see, the phrase “might send them forth” is the non-lofty, Greek word “apostle”[3], used in its correct context, and with its simple meaning clear. Some manuscripts have it, “he appointed twelve- designating them apostles- that they might be with him…”. The addition of the phrase “designating them apostles” doesn’t really make a difference in the meaning of the verse. It does raise a flag, however, at an important point. This point is that the historical worship of the apostles has changed the meaning of the word “apostle”, and therefore has changed the teaching from the Holy Spirit’s correct interpretation of God’s Word (II Peter 1:20&21). The word “apostle” merely means a person sent by God. An apostle is obviously ordained or designated by God at the point when that person is sent by God. Such ordination is noticeably and directly by God, and has little to do with the ordination rituals that many religions and Bible colleges practice. If the Lord is sending you somewhere to preach or work for him, then go now and don’t wait for agreement from others, even Christians around you (although you certainly should seek their support and commendation, but don’t tarry, Acts 13:3). Ordination by God has nothing to do with the agreement of others around you. On the contrary, the flesh wars against the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:17), and “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear”. Ordination, or God’s calling/ sending in your life, is God offering you the riches of heaven. He’s giving you a stack of blank checks already signed and saying, “Take these and cash them in, as you will, for the glories of heaven. Each of these checks will not only make you rich in eternity, but will also glorify Me and my Son in eternity!”. “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal….Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear….But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:19-33).
86.) Great Commission, Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation”. This is Christ’s great commission, first of all to the eleven that he had trained and sent into the world to do this, and thenceforth representatively to his entire Church. Chuck Missler, in his DVD presentation “Home Fellowships- The Once and Future Church”[4], stated that the Great Commission obviously had two prongs, evangelism and discipleship. We must agree with Chuck Missler’s conclusion since Matthew’s account (Matthew 28:19&20) of the Great Commission cites discipleship as the principle element. I strongly feel that serious service through discipleship and study is what God wants from each of us, to present us as trophies of his grace- Ephesians 2:7. That being said, we should never be tricked into speaking against the gospel or its power to save, or any other person’s evangelistic work. Consider how much discipleship the Ethiopian eunuch had out in the desert in Acts 8. Not much! Yet, we cannot deny that the Holy Spirit was at work there. We should be very careful when we speak about other Christians, lest we find ourselves inadvertently speaking against the Holy Spirit of God. “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (I Corinthians 12:3).
94.) Repentance is Part of the Gospel, Acts 14:15 “We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God”. This verse succinctly describes repentance as part of the gospel message. This is important to understand. I spoke at a street mission once, giving the gospel, and I made sure that the hearers understood their need to repent. I explained that repentance was turning from sin, and that while some sin would take a while to fall away, eventually Christ could separate us from all sin. After the meeting one of the leaders tried to correct me saying that a person could be saved without ever repenting. He said he knew several alcoholics who drank regularly, but he knew that they were saved because they came to the meetings regularly and loved the Lord. Well I know many people struggling with sin, and some don’t seem to be struggling much, and they each profess salvation. Regarding these types of situations there are a few things that we can conclude:
a.) Thankfully we don’t have to judge these people, the Lord will do that. So, we don’t have to take a position on their salvation. An older preacher once told me that in such situations, “If a person isn’t acting like a Christian, I would never act as if they were a Christian”. Another Christian lady said that when her children acted in obvious disobedience, she would warn them that they were lost and heading for hell. Myself, I try to rely on Christ and the truth of each person’s situation, but I tend to take a position similar to my old preacher friend. So, I never assure a person of their salvation when they’re walking by the flesh.
b.) Here are two relevant passages. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. While Galatians 5:21 says, “Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God”. Since “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35) both these verses must be true. Most teachers will tell you, and I agree, that people with a continuing, unrepentant, fleshly lifestyle have not believed in Jesus in their heart. Therefore, the promise of Romans 10:9, while still true, doesn’t apply in their case. But it’s still not up to us to judge any such person, I’m merely trying to explain that repentance is important for salvation.
c.) From Acts 14:15, no matter how one feels concerning the need for repentance in salvation, it’s abundantly clear that the one true gospel message contains a call for personal repentance.
d.) Whether such people are saved or unsaved, the only actions that will change such situations are prayer and the reality of truth in their lives, particularly the reality of Christ’s truth. Other realities, such as jail or living on the street, can also lead a person to repentance.
97.) Holy Spirit Direction- Who to Evangelize, Acts 16:10 It’s been said that the book known as The Acts of the Apostles would better have been titled The Acts of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the book of Acts, and this verse is a good example, we see the Christians constantly looking for the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is so because they became conscious of the Spirit’s presence. As an example, consider Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:4&33) and later before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8). Peter remembers being filled with the Holy Spirit, because he said so in Acts 11:15-17. Actually, I also say this from my own experience; and if you can’t remember ever being filled with the Holy Spirit, then you should really pray concerning that. We can discern both the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life, and being filled with the Spirit at certain times. One preacher said that he could recognize the difference between the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the presence of Jesus in his life. I agree with him. The question from this passage that must be asked is: “Does God direct who to evangelize?”. The Scripture says “Yes”: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5). Also, from studies of the Sequence of Salvation (Item#21), we see that in salvation, step one is that a person is sent by God to give out the gospel. The call to be an evangelist, as well as the call for individual lifestyle evangelism, is necessarily work which is a direct extension of the Lord’s “right hand”. As such it is a “pure gold” work of God (See Item #16 , in the Prophecy Section). Consider Paul’s leading according to this passage. He’s called to evangelize in Macedonia in this specific situation, but in Acts 13:2 he was directed generally to the Lord’s apostolic work (which includes evangelism) that he was doing. So, yes, the Lord either generally or specifically directs who to evangelize. A serious evangelist will be in serious prayer seeking to whom the Lord will send them. From this mindset comes the often heard expression, “There’s no accidents in the life of a Christian”. All of our steps are carefully put in order by the Lord.
106.) Subsidizing Evangelists and Apostles- a Commandment, I Corinthians 9:14 “The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should make their living from the gospel.” This verse and the passage surrounding it bring out an important point, and also a dysfunctional aspect of today’s Church. Evangelists and apostles have the right to a “material harvest” and a “right of support”. Christians today extend this right beyond missionaries to the so-called pastors of the church. This is wrong, and not what’s taught, or demonstrated, in Scripture. The term “preach the gospel” is the Greek word “kataggello”, which means announce particularly the gospel. So, this commandment doesn’t apply to all preachers, and certainly not to pastors, elders, and deacons, but rather to gospel preachers who make their living from the gospel. Since money is a measure of the Church’s time and effort, we are hereby pointing out the actual focus of the Church’s work. The Lord Jesus’ first work, still today, is saving souls (John 3:17, Luke 19:10, I Corinthians 15:3). Bad spending practices obviously stifles the provision for the Lord’s evangelists and apostles to the mission fields. This also harms the local gathering. The true pastors, which Christ raises up from elders in the local gathering, are resisted in their shepherding. (I Peter 5:1). Such bad teaching is still proliferated through “Dark Ages” Christianity even today. (Please see Item nos. 1-d, 25-c, 40-d, 75-c, and 312 in the Shepherding Section of this study.) I conclude that, other than full time evangelism, or apostleship/ church building, there are, indeed, other full time callings to the Lord’s work. These other full time callings will not be callings within a local gathering such as pastors, elders, or deacons. I mean full time traveling preachers, bible camp administrators, Christian halfway house managers, etc.. However, funding for these other full time callings must be secondary to evangelism and apostleship, from the perspective of funding by a local gathering. Please also see Item #55 in the Apostleship Section.
107.) Compelled to Evangelize, I Corinthians 9:16 “Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” Paul is also describing the plight of each Christian in his urging to practice his Spirit manifested gift. “Do you think Scripture says without reason that the Spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely” (James 4:5)? The very concept of a spirit contains the notion of motivation and attitude. So, the Holy Spirit’s motivation will be like a fire, burning inside of us, urging us to do God’s will which will be the practice of our principal gifts from God. So Paul is not the only one compelled to evangelize, but rather every evangelist who ever lived. Evangelism is not the only gift which the Holy Spirit compels to be practiced. Consider the apostleship of Peter and John, who said, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we’ve seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19&20). Further, those reasons which Paul lists as his compelling motive to evangelize are not the only forces that the Spirit will use to compel a person to the obedient use of their grace gifts. What does, or what will, the Holy Spirit use to compel you to practice your gift?
109.) Holy Spirit Direction- Open and Closed doors, II Corinthians 2:12 “Found that the Lord had opened a door for me”. The account of this opened and closed door can be found in detail in Acts 16:7-12. The door was shut for them to go to Bithynia by the Spirit. The door was then opened for them to go to Macedonia by “a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’ “. We hear of many Christians telling of how their paths were directed by the Lord opening and closing doors for them, and thus forcing them to follow the Master’s prepared path. In Revelation 3:7 the Lord explains such doors: “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open”. The Lord, in that passage describes a door that generally is open for Christians that practice love. The Lord proclaims to the Church of brotherly love, Philadelphia, “See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut”. Not much detail is specifically given regarding this door. However, in Revelation 4:1 the Lord opens a similar door to the apostle John. I believe, though, that this is the same door as is still today offered to any, either by group, or individually, who practice Christian, brotherly love. I say this because through the door comes the voice of the Lord Jesus saying, “Come up here”. When John heard the voice immediately he was “in the Spirit” and before the Lord Jesus’ throne in heaven. Without becoming too verbose about what is before the Lord Jesus’ throne, consider the seven spirits of God which are the seven blazing lamps. These represent the complete (sevenfold) power of the Holy Spirit, to enlighten, to emblazon people’s hearts, and to empower believers; and these lamps are not just burning, they are blazing. The Greek word “lampas” is being used, and is used with the same typology in the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, who are urged to carefully keep their lamps trimmed and full of oil until the Bridegroom comes back.
The Lord’s opportunity for the Church of brotherly love in our age is still, “Come up here”. To John the Revelator this was a call to walk with his mind in heaven while his body was still on the island of Patmos. To us, this is a similar call: to “live by the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:16); “to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10); and to live out and practice “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power to us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18&19). We do this by manifesting God’s great power in us, the Church of the Living God, performing in all its facets that “glorious…ministry that brings righteousness” (II Corinthians 3:9). (Also see Item#47f3 of the Healings Section- blindness to gifts.) This grace is given to each of us by Christ (Ephesians 4:7). We can do this because God has already “raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).
To those who practice Christian love, this door is always open to them. There is something about true Christian love that opens this door. Romans 5:5 says that “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit”. So, which came first, the love or the Holy Spirit? I can’t answer that except to say conclusively that “God is love” (I John 4:7&8).
So, to each of us the Lord Jesus is saying, “Come up here”. He’s urging us to use our new nature and position in Christ, and, since we’re already seated at his throne, do great things through Christ “who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). But our work must be motivated by true Christian love, else are we not merely a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (I Corinthians 13:1)?
112.) Only One Gospel, Galatians 1:8&9 The gospel, as the power of God for salvation, has been well defined in Items # 23 & 35 above. However, in this passage Paul goes to great lengths to protect the integrity of the gospel. He gives a stern warning to any that would preach an altered gospel, “Let him be eternally condemned” (vs. 9). There’s an old saying regarding the gospel, “The best way to recognize counterfeit currency is by studying and recognizing the legal currency”. So, with that mindset, the following are points that Paul emphasizes in Galatians, which will help each of us to discern that one, true gospel (and also recognize a false gospel when we see it):
a.) Galatians 1:7&8- First we must consider that there’s only one gospel. You can’t just make up your own gospel, as was actually once suggested to me. The power of God for salvation comes through the one, true gospel. The false gospels that I’ve heard in my life have fine logical rings to them. However, they all have the same major flaw: they are not “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Through the gospel we are introduced to the one, New Covenant between God and Man, and the one Mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
b.) 2:3 The gospel is not based on compelling religious practices. Circumcision, though mandated in Judaism, was not compelled in the New Covenant.
c.) 2:4&5 Through the gospel we have freedom in Christ. This freedom is the ability to know what is right (God’s will for us), and the ability to do what is right.
d.) 2:14 The gospel brings inclusion and fellowship amongst all believers.
e.) 2:16 The gospel teaches that a man is justified by faith in Christ, not by observing the law.
f.) 2:17 The gospel does not promote sin.
g.) 2:21 Grace, being the intercession of God from his throne, is the operative ingredient in the gospel, not the law; else Christ died for nothing.
h.) 3:1 In the gospel Christ is clearly portrayed as crucified, and as such is our only payment for sin.
i.) 3:2 We begin our walk with the Holy Spirit by believing the gospel, not by observing laws.
j.) 3:6&7 As in the case of Abraham, God’s righteousness is credited to a person by faith.
k.) 3:18 A believer’s righteousness, and inheritance with the saints in Christ, was given by God in his grace through a promise to Abraham.
l.) 3:5-7 Through God’s Son we believers are God’s sons, with full rights as heirs, including the Holy Spirit.
m.) 5:1The purpose of the gospel, and Christ’s ministry, is to set us free from the Law so we can walk by the Spirit.
116.) Preaching Christ out of Selfish Ambition, Philippians 1:15-18 “Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill….the former preach Christ out of selfish ambition.” These passages show Paul’s ultimate focus, and the Lord’s as well: “What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice”. Paul alludes to rivalry within the Christian community. In I Corinthians 9:1-3, he cites that some doubt his apostleship, and even sit in judgment on him. Where do these false motives come from? Well, since I’m already well past the point of being repetitive, I must cite that the flesh wars against the Spirit of God. Galatians 5: 19-21 lists envy, discord, factions, and selfish ambition as being manifestations of the flesh. So we can understand that Paul, and we ourselves, needn’t count such preaching as false merely because the preaching was done out of false motives. I’ve heard that Ghandi was once asked, “What is the largest impediment to the growth of Christianity in India?” He answered, “The Christians themselves”.
Paul and our Lord, however, rejoice that the gospel is preached, even from false motives. From that I would point out two things that transcend circumstance:
a.) There is victory and glory for Christ merely in the fact that the gospel is preached. He came to earth and victoriously lived and died and even rose again, so that the gospel could be preached.
b.) There is Holy Spirit power in the gospel itself, regardless of how it is communicated. It is truly the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). There are so many people saved totally through the gospel, without access to the Christians who brought the gospel, that I couldn’t begin to tell these stories. Actually my salvation is such a story. I was saved two years after I heard the gospel, through Romans 10:9, by myself in the cab of a truck. I couldn’t remember much about the preacher, only that he briefly had the audience memorize and ponder Romans 10:9. So, the gospel, being the “sword of the Spirit”, effectively, has life and death power in and of itself.
“PREACHED”
135.) Taking the Kingdom by Force- The Power of the Gospel, Luke 16:16 “The law and the prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it”. This has always been an interesting verse. Matthew 11:12(KJV) renders the same teaching as, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force”. I suppose that, without understanding the gospel, a person could mistakenly conclude that the kingdom of heaven is spread through violence. Well violence, at the time the King James version was written, meant any forceful or energetic critical activity. So, in the early modern English of William Tyndale (1534 a.d.) and King James (1611 a.d.), the word “violent” needn’t contain savagery or bloodshed.
Since “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), we must conclude that heaven is taken by force. But, what kind of force can force God to let us into heaven? The answer is obviously the promise of eternal life given through his Word. Since his unbreakable Word does not stand alone, but is backed up by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not to mention his seat at the right hand of God’s throne, God’s promise becomes an absolutely enforceable covenant between God and man (I Corinthians 15:2-4). This is exactly what was expressed in Romans 1:16, when Paul defined the gospel as “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”. So we can be forced into heaven by the undeniable enforcement of God’s Word, that same forceful Word by which the heavens were made (Psalm 33:6). “Now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:21). (Also see Item#385e2 of the Prophecy Section.)
143.) The Sequence of Salvation, Acts 8:35 Studied eyes have observed and taught that, when the Lord saves someone, salvation always occurs in the same sequence of events.
These events always happen in the same sequence:
a.) A person is sent to give out the gospel.
b.) The gospel is given out.
c.) Some hear the gospel and believe.
d.) Those who believe are immersed (baptized) in the Holy Spirit.
e.) Later occurs water baptism and Christian growth.
These events always occur in that order, as shown in the following examples of salvation: the Ethiopian eunuch of Acts 8, Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, the Gentile believers in Cornelius’ house in Acts 10 and 11, the Philippian jailer of Acts 16, also Lydia in Acts 16, and the Ephesian believers according to Ephesians 1:12-14. Now, when reading these accounts, consider that all of the necessary events aren’t chronicled in each account. (The seven sayings of the cross aren’t entirely contained in any one of the four gospel books either, but none of Christendom questions that the Lord said each of those seven sayings.) The one account, that does chronicle all of the sequence of events in salvation, is the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house chronicled in Acts 10, and then retold by Peter in Acts 11. Also, I’ve found the Acts 10 & 11 account to be invaluable in clearly proving that water baptism is to occur after the Holy Spirit’s baptism (Acts 10:47, and 11:16).
145.) Water Baptism ASAP, Acts 9:18 Here we see Paul, after being struck blind at his conversion, immediately after receiving his sight he was baptized in water. While it is abundantly clear that salvation is by grace through faith, it is also abundantly clear that water baptism is to soon follow such faith. Consider not just Paul’s baptism, but also: the believers in Cornelius house (Acts 10:48), the believers in the Phillipian jailer’s house (Acts 16:33), the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:38), and the baptism of Lydia and the believers in her household (Acts 16:15).
The point that I see here is not just that water baptism is to be obeyed after a person believes the gospel, but that it is to be done as soon as possible (ASAP) after believing. To see more clearly what the benefits of immediate water baptism are, do this experiment. List those around you who have professed salvation but that you feel aren’t walking very close to the Lord. Now check off how many were never water baptized since they believed. I just did the survey and I come up with 92%.
The following are what I see as the benefits to believer’s baptism:
a.) Obedience to God (Acts 2:38).
b.) You’re making a public statement to the spiritual realms that you are Christ’s. The above experiment shows that there are still many temptations and trials even after believing. That part of the Spiritual armor known as the “breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6:14) needs obedience to God, particularly in essentials such as baptism.
c.) You’re making a public statement to those people who witness your water baptism that you’ve already been immersed in the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:16).
d.) Your soul is refreshed and edified by understanding the symbolism of water baptism and then going through with the public act. Colossians 2:12 cites, “Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead”. You know, you can appreciate and understand this passage much more when viewed from the perspective of this grace study. This passage accentuates the fact that we’re already “raised with Him”, and seated “with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace… Created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:6). The Lord Jesus was dead, then resurrected, then seated at God’s right hand. We were dead in sin, then given new life, and now we’re already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms.
149.) Chronicling the Gospel Message, Acts 13:16-41 In Scripture, there are relatively few accounts of a whole gospel message being delivered. We have Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40), Peter at Cornelius’ house (Acts 10:27-48), Paul on Mars Hill (Acts 17:22-34), and we also have this historical account. There have been some who would use this fact to distort the gospel. Such would start their distortion by insisting that we can only go to the historical account of Peter at Pentecost in order to obtain the one true gospel. However, let’s stop that false notion in it’s tracts by clearly showing that we have all the above accounts immediately available to us.
Typical distortions which I’ve heard use syllogistic logic to obtain the wrong conclusion. Here’s an example:
a.) We must rightly divide the Word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).
b.) There is only one gospel (Galatians 1:6&7).
c.) If you want to know what that one gospel is, you must go to the book of Acts which is a history book.
d.) In the book of Acts the best account of the gospel is given by Peter at Pentecost.
e.) Some, then, wrongly conclude that we must be baptized only using the name of Jesus in order to receive the promised Holy Spirit, or even to be saved.
If you’ve taken a college class in logic, which I have, you’ve probably been reminded that this type of distorted syllogistic logic is what Hitler used to justify and motivate people to kill the Jews. Slight, and sometimes obvious, distortions are placed in the beginning or middle statements, thus forcing the conclusion to be wrong. In the above example, Items a.) & b.) are true. However, since Items c.) & d.) are twisted, the conclusion in Item e.) must be logically false. We don’t have to go to the book of Acts to obtain the one true gospel (Items#23, 35, & 112, above, explain this.). Further, all of the gospel accounts must be true, not just Peter’s account at Pentecost, or some other favorite account, because Jesus said “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). So, all the Scripture must be true, not just some of it. Even further, the conclusion of Item# e.) is, indeed, false as chronicled in Acts 10, where souls were saved and even were baptized in the Holy Spirit without ever having gone through any water baptism (let alone water baptism only in Jesus’ name).
So, we see why these gospel accounts are important in protecting the integrity of that one true gospel, which “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
153.) Church Building (a.k.a. apostleship)- Evangelism, Organization, and Continuing Edification, Acts 14:21-23 In this passage and in Acts 15:36&41, we see the basic elements of church building and church strengthening. In these passages these tasks are done by Paul and his staff, while in our age these tasks are done by other apostles (missionaries), as well as evangelists, teachers, and prophets (preachers) of God. These basic elements, then and now, helped these gatherings to flourish. Here are these simple elements:
a.) Acts 14:21, “They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples”. Evangelism is the starting point in each culture.
b.) Acts 14:22, “They returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith”. It’s hard to say how much time had passed before Paul and Barnabus had returned to these towns. However, Paul was stoned in Lystra, then went on to preach in Derbe before returning to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. The point to be observed here is that the apostles followed up their evangelistic efforts, with strengthening and encouragement.
c.) Acts 14:23, “Appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting committed them to the Lord”. These were undoubtedly home churches, but every local gathering (large or small) should be overseen by elders. The Scripture points out that the local church organization, with its accountability and structure is set up by God in that manner. (My own experience is that, over time, moral failures of the leaders and schisms will result in those local gatherings who are not keeping with the organizational structure which allows elders to govern the affairs of the local church.) More of this topic obviously must be addressed in the Section of this Grace Study entitled “Shepherding”. However, please understand that local church organization does matter; and improper organization structure allows Satan to take “pot shots” at leaders and doctrine.
d.) Acts 14:27, “On arriving there (Antioch where they had begun), they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them”. It’s important to report to the commending church (Acts 13:3) the work of the Lord. The Antioch gathering obviously had prayed and financially assisted them, and therefore shared in the apostles’ work, and joy.
e.) Acts 15:36&41, “Let us go back and visit the brothers…and see how they are doing. … Barnabus took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord”. So, the apostles split up and revisited the churches that they had built through God’s grace. And, we are reminded that all this church building work, whether evangelism or edification and strengthening, is only by the grace of God. This grace is the intercession from God into otherwise failed lives, and the empowerment from God’s throne to otherwise weak people, which allowed them to do great things for God (I Corinthians 3:10, I Corinthians 15:9&10).
158.) Thoroughly Preach the Gospel, Acts 20:7 It seems to me that this passage is overshadowed by Paul raising Eutychus from the dead. However, it is well worth considering Paul’s manner of preaching. He preached from the breaking of bread until midnight. The Greek word for preaching, as used here, is “dielegeto”[5], which is rendered “lectured” by Marshall, the author of my Greek interlinear. Strong’s[6] (No. 1256) renders the meaning as to “say thoroughly”.
The point that’s coming out here is that, ideally, the gospel is to be thoroughly preached, and more importantly thoroughly communicated. If you time Billy Graham, he thoroughly communicates the gospel in 15 minutes. Sometimes, as the Spirit leads us to share the gospel, we can only get out a brief couple sentences. However, ideally, when we get the opportunity, we should thoroughly preach the gospel. I say this from my own experience, because there’ve been times, at funerals or other critical times, when The Lord’s Spirit has prepared an opportunity for me to give out the Good News, but I only give out a brief basic gospel message. Then when I’ve finished, I, and others realize that I should have pressed home the message even further. This is why it’s important to understand God’s grace and his gifts to us. Grace is God at work, and we shouldn’t be in fear of social or even governmental forces, if we know that we’re doing the Lord’s will.
An account which brings out this same concept is Peter at Pentecost: “With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation’ “. So Peter preached using “many words” at that occasion, and about three thousand souls were saved that day. So, the gospel message is to contain not only the basics of Christ’s work at the cross, but also a wrestling for souls with warnings and pleadings. I believe Paul also tried to thoroughly present the Lord Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy and Scriptural typology (Acts 13:23-39). I also believe that each of these preachers spoke as they were led by the Holy Ghost, which should be our aim. Again, though, the point being brought out here is that the gospel needs to be thoroughly preached in order to be communicated.
170.) The Lord Jesus as an Evangelist, Ephesians 2:17 “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” This passage opens the topic of The Lord Jesus Christ as an evangelist. Of course, at this juncture of this grace study , I won’t have enough time to consider this mega-topic. The following are some good categories to consider, though:
a.) Anointing- See Item #77 above.
b.) Purpose- ‘The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).
c.) Style- “He taught as one who had authority” (Matthew 7:29, I Peter 4:11).
d.) Method- “Then he told them many things in parables” (Matthew 7:13, 13:3, and Mark 4:34).
e.) Timing & message development- See Item #23 above.
f.) His Use of Scripture- “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).
g.) Christ as Fulfillment of Prophecy- “If then David calls him ‘Lord”, how can he be his son?” (Matthew 22:43-46, 26:31).
h.) Prayer- “One of those days Jesus went up to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God” (Luke 6:12).
i.) By Power- “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” (Matthew 9:35). Also please see #58, above.
174.) Evangelism is a Witness of God’s Presence, I Timothy 3:16 “The mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory”. This verse connects the mystery of godliness with the preaching of the gospel. The point that’s brought out here is that God, who was separated from mankind by the sin of Adam, and reconnected somewhat to us through the nation of Israel, is now brought near again through heralding of the gospel. So, a world full of darkness, is now lit up by the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. Verse 16 ends with the Lord Jesus ascension into glory, but his presence is still here through the Spirit filled Church, and His witness is still here through evangelism. This concept is the same as was voiced in Psalm 68:18, where the Scripture explains why the gifts of Ephesians 4 were given. Psalm 68:18 says the gifts were given “that you, O Lord God, might dwell there”. So God indwells the Church, and his witness is present in this world through the gifts; and evangelism is definitely a gift of God. Also, it hasn’t escaped my perusal that this “mystery of godliness” could easily be replaced by one word: “grace”.
“PREACHING”
198.) Heralding the Good News, Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilea, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people”. The Greek phrase for “preaching the gospel’ used herein is “kerusson ro euaggellion”[7], which means “heralding the gospel”. Strong’s[8] (No. 2784) renders “kerrusso” as “to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth”. The concept that’s being conveyed, then, is that the gospel is to be heralded as critical, authoritative news that’s communicated in a public fashion, to people who haven’t heard it or need to have it publicly repeated. The word “herald” brings to mind a trumpet blast followed by the king’s courtier reading a proclamation to a crowd of citizens. This is one of the most often used Greek words for “preaching” seen in the New Testament. So this concept, even by repetition is worthy of note. Paul proliferates this concept when he writes in Romans 15:20, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ is not known”. So, the public heralding of the gospel, as an important message from The King, is an important means of evangelization. I note that the private repeating of the King’s public gospel message also falls within the concept of the heralding the good news. (Also see Matthew 4:2 and Luke 8:1, and many other passages.)
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT POINTS
Lest someone misconstrue, or even deliberately twist, the results of what’s being concluded from this study, the following summary points are noted:
1.) A person can be known as an evangelist; and the definition of an evangelist is one who has the spiritual ability of giving out the gospel, this being his principal work for the Lord. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1, & 3.)
2.) There is only one true gospel. It is defined in Scripture, and this one true gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. (The above items reference this: Nos. 9, 18, 21, 23, 26, 31, 32, 35, 42, 58, 112, 116, 135, 149, 174, &198.)
3.) It is important, and victorious, for the gospel to be spread and publicly proclaimed. (The above items reference this: Nos. 3, 21, 22, 26, 36, 75, 84, 116, 153, 174, &198.)
4.) There is a difference between evangelism and teaching, preaching, and apostleship. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1, 3, 17, 18, 26, 36, 58, 68, 82, 106, 153, 174, &198.)
5.) Evangelists are still called by God today, and evangelism is still necessary for the Church today. There are many who name themselves as Christians today who claim evangelism is obsolete, since people can be added to their gatherings through water baptism or religious rituals. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1, 3, 21, 22, 28, 32, 68, 75, 84, 97, 106, 112, 135, 143, 153, 174, &198.)
6.) Evangelism, especially the call to be an evangelist, is a manifestation of God’s grace. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1, 3, 18, 36, 58, 68, 116, &174.)
7.) The “how to’s” of evangelism can be studied and are contained in the scripture. (The above items reference this: Nos. 17, 18, 21, 26, 27, 28, 32, 37, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 97, 106, 107, 109, 116, 135, 143, 145, 153, 158, 170, &198.)
END HOME
[1] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company) p. 73 of his Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.
[2] Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear KJV-NIV Parallel New Testament In Greek And English (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975) p. 177.
[3] Ibid p. 111.
[4] Chuck Missler, “Home fellowships- The Once and Future Church” (Coeur J’Alene, ID: Koinania House, 2003)
[5] Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear KJV-NIV Parallel New Testament In Greek And English (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975) p. 413.
[6] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company) p. 22 of his Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.
[7] Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear KJV-NIV Parallel New Testament In Greek And English (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975) p. 11.
[8] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company) p. 42 of his Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.