What is the Gospel?

 

Gospel literally means “good news” and it concerns the good news of Christ and the way to salvation.  You can find the answer in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – “...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…”  His resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith.  If He didn’t rise, His death rest has no meaning.  But He did come out of the grave and is risen.  So we can rejoice in that fact.  “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” – 1 Corinthians 15:17-18.

There is historical evidence of the Jesus’ empty tomb and eye witnesses.  The fact that Jesus was buried verified His death and the fact that He appeared to others verified His resurrection.  He offers salvation which comes through Him and His work on the cross.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 – Jesus is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (died).  Death will come to us all and it started with one man, Adam who brought sin into the world.  Resurrection comes through one man, Jesus who brought life into the world.  Everyone will die sooner or later.  That’s part of life.  If you have been born again, you will die twice.  If you have been born twice, you will die only once.

There are three resurrections:

1.      The Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

2.     The Resurrection of the saved.  That is when Jesus comes to get the believers.  All the dead believers will rise and along with them the living believers, who will skip death, will meet Jesus in the air to be with Him forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:17).  We call this the rapture but should not be confused with Jesus’ Second Coming.  Believers will get perfect resurrected bodies.  The church age will end and a seven year Tribulation period will begin.  During this time there will be the greatest revival that the world has ever seen.  There will be two witnesses (some believe this is Moses and Elijah) and 144,000 Jews who will be evangelists.  They will be witnesses to the unsaved and many people will be saved.

3.     The Resurrection of the unbelievers.  After the Tribulation ends we will see Jesus’ Second Coming.  Then all unbelievers will be raised from the dead and will be judged along with all living unbelievers.  This judgment is called The Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11).  If you are unsaved or if you die without Jesus as your Savior, it’s all over.  You get no do-overs.  Lastly death will be destroyed and Jesus will rule.

In heaven there is no more dying.  Death is not the end.  We don’t have a dead Savior.  We have a living Savior.  Have you put your trust in Him?  If you haven’t, why not?  When death comes to you, your eternal destination will be sealed.  It will either be in eternal hell or eternal heaven.  Trust in Him will take away all the guilt and the shame of your past.  He will give you peace and reassurance of His love and salvation.

To be sure you are going to heaven to be the Jesus, you must admit your area sinner, confess your sins, repent of your sins, and believe in the Gospel.  But remember you will not live a perfect sinful life, because you are not perfect.  Only Jesus is perfect.  You will sin daily, but sin will not be the controller your life.  God will be with you to forgive.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” - Matthew 18:3.  “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me” - John 14:6. “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” - John 3:3.  “… unless you repent, you too will all perish”. - Luke 13:5

Once you believe and put your faith and trust in Him, God will not condemn you.  “There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” - Romans 8:1.  “Through Him everyone who believes is justified … - Acts 13:39.  Through His love and grace you are saved.  He will protect and provide for you.  You are His and a part of His family.  He is saving a place for you in heaven.

Summary

What is the gospel?  It’s the message of the good news of salvation offered through Christ’s finished work on the cross.  It’s a message for eternal life.  It’s the total plan of God to redeem people from sin, death, and Satan.  It’s comes to you not only in words, but in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction and much assurance (1 Thess. 1:5).

Resources:

The Holy Bible – NIV

https://davidjeremiah.blog

https://bible.org

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope to see you here next time.  I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Are You Like A Pharisee?

 

What is a Pharisee?  First we need to know what a Pharisee is.  In the New Testament we learn that the Pharisees were an ancient Jewish group who laid the foundation for the Rabbinic Judaism.  They were a religious sect, a political group, and a social movement.  They were very self-righteous, legalistic and hypocritical.  They were all about the Torah, (Jewish Law), but they were missing the key instructions on how to obey God.  They believed the Law that Moses gave, but also believed he gave oral laws.  They believed Jews were supposed to practice rituals and the Law was the only way to God.

The Pharisees had a prominent position in the synagogue during Jesus’ day.  They viewed themselves as the most righteous, the holiest and the leaders of the people.  They took the laws of the Old Testament covenant and multiplied them in ridiculous ways.  Their entire lives revolved around proving to themselves, to God and to the people just how great they were because they kept the laws.  They looked like men who honored God.

They were Jesus’ greatest human enemies.  They misjudged him but they really misjudged God and themselves.  They thought Jesus was a false teacher and were constantly trying to entrap Him.  The Pharisees didn’t like who Jesus hung out with.  They didn’t like that Jesus did miracles on the Sabbath.  They were simply jealous of Jesus.  They were rule keepers and didn’t like it when Jesus broke the rules.  They had 613 rules and commandments.    

The Pharisees didn’t get along with Jesus at all.  Jesus said they missed the big picture.  They neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  Jesus said they abused the Law.  He criticized them and gave them seven woes in Matthew 23.   He called them hypocrites six times.  He called them children of the blind, “whitewashed tombs”, and a “brood of vipers”.  He accused them of leading people astray, straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel, and cleaning the outside of a cup and dish while the inside is full of greed and self-indulgence.

Jesus criticized the Pharisees many times.  It’s very clear as to why the Pharisees wanted to get rid of Jesus.  In their minds by Jesus publicly criticizing them.  They thought He was drawing the Jewish people away from the true Judaism.  So they wanted to get rid of Him by any means necessary.  They followed the law to the letter and wanted to keep people in a right relationship with God, but unfortunately they didn’t recognize that He was God standing right in front of them.

They had lots of faults and Jesus called them out on them:

They were all about long prayers pretending that they were righteous (Matt. 23:14; Mark 12:40). 

They didn’t want people to be healed on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:2). 

They loved the highest seats and public greeting in the market so as to be seen by people (Matt. 23:5-10). 

They threw aside God’s commandments and made the commandments of men and turned traditions into doctrines (Mark 7:7-9).

They did a lot of talking, but didn’t practice what they preached (Matt. 23:3).

They praised God with their lips and their hearts was far from Him (Matt. 15:8).

They were fools, blind guides and hypocrites (Matt. 15:16, 23:15).

They loved to tempt, accuse and oppose Jesus (Matt. 16:1; 19:3; Mark 8:11; 10:2; 12:14; Luke 6:7).

They asked for a sign to believe when many signs had already been given, but would not believe (Matt. 12:38-42).

Are you like a Pharisee?  You might want to ask yourself these questions:

Are you prideful? 

Are you self-righteous? 

Do you do good works just for others to see? 

Do you care more about appearances than reality?

Do you see what’s wrong with others, but not what’s wrong with yourself? 

Has your heart drifted far from God like a Pharisee? 

Are you a hypocrite? 

Do you practice what you preach?

Does your life line up with biblical doctrine?

Does your life match your convictions?

Do you judge people for what they wear, what they drive, where they go to church, or how often they pray?

Do you practice your faith to be seen by others?

Do you just look like you honor God or do you actually honor Him?

Do you take pride in your knowledge of the Bible?

Do you like praise and recognition?

Do you add your convictions or traditions to the Word of God?

Do you lack love and compassion for people in need?

Do you cover your sin instead of confessing and repenting?

Do you refuse to believe? 

Do you give God only partial obedience?

Do you always need to justify yourself?

Do you tend to look down on those you think are worse sinners than you?

Do you compare your spirituality to others to see if you how well you’re doing?

Is it hard for you to be happy for others when they are honored and praised?

Do you recognize any of these symptoms in yourself?  Knowledge is not the key to reviving your heart.  God is.  Knowledge is good but doesn’t open eyes and hearts.  God does.  Humble yourself like a child and come to Jesus.  Tell Him you’re willing to change your life.  Pray that He opens your heart.  Ask Him to help you see your sin clearly and to see others as He sees them.  Allow His Word to soften your hardened heart.  Serve without seeking applause or thanks from others.  Bless someone anonymously. 

Resources

The Holy Bible – NIV

Overviewbible.com

Revelantbibleteaching.com

Reviveourhearts.com

 Join me here next time -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Can a Christian get a tattoo?

 

Tattoos have gone mainstream and are not found on just sailors and bikers.  They are now found on all kinds of people - moms, police officers, doctors, students, and even pastors.  Just because they are popular doesn’t mean they are good.

What does the Bible say about tattoos?

Leviticus 19:28 – “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourself.  I am the Lord”.  This verse is in the Bible because God wanted to protect the Israelites and keep His people different from the other nations surrounding them.  He wanted them to be set apart from other religious practices, like pagan worship and sorcery.  Tattooing was a pagan practice connected with idolatry and superstition.

Isaiah 49:16 – “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”  God is assuring His people that He will not forget them.

Revelation 19:16 says that Jesus has a tattoo on His thigh – “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:  KINGS OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”.

2 Corinthians 6:17 – “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.”

Some use 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 as an argument.  “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are no you own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.”  Paul is talking about fleeing from sexual immorality.  He is saying that other sins that a person commits are outside the body, but the sexual sin is against his own body.  Your body is a temp that was bought with a price so you are to glorify God in your body.

God doesn’t condemn tattoos outright.  These kinds of marks when associated with pagan worship were forbidden.  Just because tattoos are gaining in popularity, doesn’t mean they are accepted as godly practice.   You need to ask yourself what is your motivations.  Is it based on vanity?  Is it because of rebellion?  Will it risk my health?  Is it the wisest use of my money?  Will it hurt my witness?  Will it portray hatred, violence, or something evil that is against God’s standards?  The final question to ask yourself is, will the tattoo honor God?  It all comes down to personal conviction.  The decision is between you and God.

Since Scripture doesn’t condemn tattoos themselves, doesn’t a person should get one.  You should think long and hard before heading to a tattoo parlor.  Christians are not under the Law, but under grace. It seems that Christians can do what they want as long as it honors God.  Just because others are getting tattoos doesn’t justify it.  You should ask yourself, “What am I identifying with?”

It seems whatever God desires us to do, Satan encourages us to do the opposite.  We are made in the image of God and Satan wants to change that image.  He wants us to confuse it so all sexes to look alike and confuse their sexuality.  He wants us to do whatever does not please God.  God wants us to live a clean and holy life.  God wants us to serve only Him, but the enemy wants us to serve other things.  Getting a tattoo can identify us with the world.  It can harm our testimony.  It is one more thing the world is offering from which we should be separate.

Before you get a tattoo consider these things:

Tattoos are permanent.

Consider the placement.

Know it hurts.

Health issues could interfere with your ability to heal – diabetes, heart problems, and circulation issues.

Tattoos breach the skin, meaning skin infections are possible.

Tattoos change with age.

Tattoos can fade.

Removal is expensive and not always completely effective and can leave scars.

It may hurt my testimony.

Others things to consider:

Know your tattoo artist.  States require that artists abide by certain health and safety standards. But there's no requirement that an artist have talent.  It leaves people exposed to contracting HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C.

Research shows that having visible tattoos makes is harder to get hired for a job.

Know that a tattoo could change the way you're perceived.  If you are a sensitive person, that could play into your decision.

While there is not a direct link between tattoos and skin cancer, there is enough concerning information about a possible connection to make you think twice.

Because the needles penetrate your skin, you will be exposed to potential infections.  

It seems that tattooing your partner's name on your body is a red flag that you're about to break up.

Make sure the tattoo shop is clean

Make sure the water is sterile or it could contaminate the entire ink supply, spreading infection.

You should get to know the artist and ask lots of questions.  

Watch out for misspelled tattooing.

You could face some discrimination for a visible tattoo.

Make sure your artist is experienced.  Check it out on Yelp.  If you can't find the shop's website or there doesn't seem to be any helpful information on it, that's a bad sign.

Make sure you can see examples of the artist’s work.

In Summary - Tattooing falls into “disputable matters”.  It is a controversial issue so you need to examine your motives before making that decision.  It can harm your testimony.  It is one more thing the world is offering from which we should be separate.

Principle:  Think before you ink.

Join me here next week.  -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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If you have enjoyed my post and have found if helpful, please leave a comment or share this post with the buttons below.  You still need to think before you ink, especially if you’re a Christian.  Study the Bible, pray and ask God for wisdom, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Resources

The Holy Bible – New International Version

thelist.com/85191/big-reasons-never-get-tattoo/

huffpost.com/entry/is-it-a-sin-to-get-a-tattoo_b_4263807

independentbaptist.com/should-a-christian-get-tattoos/