What Is the True Gospel?

What was the true gospel Christ preached?

Today, all over the world, there are innumerable religious denominations, each one calling itself Christian.  They all claim to believe in the same Christ.  But they all differ about the message He preached and about the doctrines and practices He said to follow.

RELIGIOUS CONFUSION

    But in the midst of this modern Babylon of religious confusion, there is God’s one, true Church—a little flock that bears HIS name (Luke 12:32; Acts 20:28).

    The Greek word for church is ekklesia meaning “those called out.”  

    From that day of Pentecost 31 AD to our present time, the Church of God has always existed.

    Despite intimidation, persecution and even martyrdom over the centuries, God’s Church has kept the word of HIS truth.  Christ Himself said the gates of the grave shall not overpower nor prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).

    Today, that church Christ founded—and only that church—continues to preach and proclaim, boldly and gallantly, without compromise, the exact same gospel He preached.

IS THE GOSPEL ABOUT CHRIST?

    Millions have assumed they’ve heard the true gospel He preached.  

    They hear bands playing gospel music.  Gospel choirs singing gospel songs.  Every Sunday, in large meeting halls, in their churches and cathedrals, people sit and listen to their ministers and priests preaching with eloquent oratory and heart-tugging emotion about a gospel of grace, a gospel of peace or a gospel of salvation.

    Was the gospel about His death, burial and resurrection so that all who believe in Him can now have eternal life?  Millions are convinced they know the gospel Jesus Christ brought.

    They claim, “We’ve heard it all before.  And besides, it doesn’t really matter what gospel you believe in as long as you believe Christ, accept Him as your Lord and Master and give your heart to Him.”

    Does it make any difference, does it really matter what gospel we believe?  Is it important that we believe the true gospel?

    It certainly matters.  It’s vitally important.  Otherwise, why did Christ say, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).

    Since life and death are at stake, we’d better know exactly what that gospel is.

THE TRUE GOSPEL REVEALED

    What is the true gospel?  How can we know?  God didn’t leave it up to us to figure it out for ourselves.  He has provided us with an undeniable, irrefutable and indisputable source of truth that we can turn to for the answer:  the Bible, His words of truth.  The words of eternal life!

    Within its pages the Bible reveals the gospel Christ preached.  What then does God’s Word tell us about the gospel?

    Does the Bible say the message Christ brought was a message about Himself and what He did?  Here’s what the Bible says:  “And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God:  and the twelve were with him,” (Luke 8:1).

THE GOOD NEWS!

    The word gospel is from the Greek which translated in our English means “good news.”

    The message Christ brought was the good news of the Kingdom of God.  It was glad tidings and a happy message from God the Father that His government and His rule will finally bring peace, prosperity and happiness to the earth.  And that is what the true gospel actually is.  That is the gospel Christ told His Church to publish and preach unto all the world as a witness (Mark 13:10; Matt. 24:14).

    The good news of the soon-coming Kingdom of God which Christ will restore right here on the earth.

    Why restore?  What happened to the Kingdom of God?

JESUS CHRIST DEFEATS SATAN

    God’s plan required the Word to empty Himself of His divine glory and become a human being, the man Jesus Christ.

    Jesus Christ, as the “second Adam,” had to qualify to restore and rule the Kingdom of God by rejecting Satan, overcoming Satan and thereby dethroning him.

    That most titanic battle ever fought for the greatest stakes in the universe is recorded in Matthew chapter 4.

    Satan repeatedly taunted and ridiculed Christ, “If you be the Son of God;” capitalized on Jesus’ physical need for food and water; challenged Him to put God to the test; and, dangled the lure of worldly power before Him.  None of it worked.

    Christ rebuffed every single one of Satan’s temptations.  Christ proved, under the toughest and most difficult circumstances, He would faithfully keep and administer God’s laws.

    Finally, with commanding and dominant authority, Jesus rebuked Satan and summarily dismissed him, saying:  “Begone, Satan! for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (Matt. 4:10, RSV).  And Satan slunk away defeated.  Vanquished.

    Satan was now disqualified to administer God’s government over the earth.  However, it is a principle of God that a government must never be without a head.

    Consequently, Satan was to be left here on earth until Jesus Christ, who has already qualified to rule, is inducted into office.

THE GOSPEL CHRIST PREACHED

    So then, Jesus Christ came into Galilee, preaching the gospel, the good news of the coming Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15).  He went all over Galilee preaching that message (Matt. 4:23).

    Far from proclaiming a message about Himself, Christ announced the good news of the Kingdom of God.

    It is also referred to as the “gospel of Christ.”  However, Jesus Christ the person is not the gospel.  The miracles He performed are not the gospel.  The things He did are not the gospel.

    Obviously, He’s part of the gospel.  He was the key element of that gospel, and He was the messenger.  But the message He proclaimed, the awesome good news He announced, that is the gospel.

THE APOSTLES PREACHED CHRIST'S GOSPEL

    The chief apostle Peter preached the Kingdom of God to the gentile Cornelius in Caesarea (Acts 10:37).

    The apostle Paul preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the Ephesians (Acts 20:25), to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 15:50) and to all those who wanted to hear what he had to say.  While under house arrest in Rome, awaiting the verdict on his appeal, Paul preached the Kingdom of God to all those that came to him (Acts 28:31).

    The Bible is clear and straightforward.  The scriptures prove this is the gospel God’s true Church has been commissioned to preach.  This is the gospel everyone is commanded to believe in order to be saved:  the good news of the Kingdom of God!

THE GOSPEL MISREPRESENTED

    The time is coming when Christ will triumphantly return to restore the government of God over all the earth, and the world will enjoy the lasting peace and real prosperity they have yet to experience in their entire lives.

    A new civilization, a new age is coming when Christ returns and establishes His rule, His government, the glorious Kingdom of God, right here on this earth.

    Sadly, this good news was suppressed!  Christ’s true message of the Kingdom of God has been misrepresented, counterfeited and rejected.

    The traditional, widespread belief is that the Kingdom of God is or will be in heaven.  Bible scholars and religious teachers base their claim on 32 verses in the book of Matthew that refer to the Kingdom of heaven.  They may be sincere, but they’re sincerely wrong.

    The word of denotes ownership, not location.  God owns the Kingdom.  Since the Kingdom of God is presently in heaven where God is, Matthew used the term “Kingdom of heaven.”

    Some have represented the Kingdom of God as the Church.  Any church.  Whatever church.  Just join the church of your choosing, and you are now in God’s Kingdom.

    Others maintain that since it involves God, it might be something spiritual instead of physical.  So, they believe it’s in people’s hearts.  Some kind of sentimental, emotional, feel-good, indescribable something.

WHAT IS A KINGDOM?

    The scriptures plainly say that it will be a real kingdom.  What exactly is a kingdom?

    There are 4 essential elements that are necessary to make up a kingdom:  a ruler or king; territory; laws; and lastly, subjects or citizens.  Without any one of these basic requirements, there is no kingdom.  And a careful study from the scriptures reveals that the Kingdom of God has each of these 4 parts in the fullest and perfect sense.  Moreover, there’s good news in each and every one of them.

    Christ will be King over all the earth (Zech. 14:9).  He will be the Perfect Ruler, not a dictatorial tyrant (Isa. 11:1-5).

    He’s going to put an end to this polluted world and its systems; its way of life; its governments and human institutions.

    In the Kingdom of God, under the leadership of Jesus Christ, all of the pain and the misery and the heartache mankind is experiencing will be swept away, replaced by lasting peace, fullness of joy and overflowing prosperity.

    The territory of the Kingdom will be here on the earth (Dan. 7:27). Today, many cities are plagued with violent crimes, wretchedness, misery and despair.  Many are disaster areas of congestion, pollution and squalor.  We live in an extremely perilous and dangerous time of fear and anxiety.

    All of that is going to change!  The God of beauty and perfection will transform the earth into a place of stunning beauty and magnificent splendor like unto the garden of Eden (Ezek. 36:35).

    The cities of tomorrow will sparkle like glittering jewels, reflecting God’s way of beauty and harmony!

    The laws will be based on the Ten Commandments which ensure peace and joy throughout all the land (Isa. 2:3; 32:17-18).

    When Christ returns and ushers in His 1000-year reign, the citizens of the Kingdom will be millions and millions of people, growing into the billions during the millennium (Mic. 4:1-4).

THE TRUE GOSPEL

    And this gospel is undoubtedly the most wonderful news that this sin-afflicted world needs to hear.

    The true gospel Christ preached is the announcement of the ultimate solution to all the gargantuan problems plaguing mankind today!

    Jesus Christ will put an end to war (Ps. 46:9; Mic. 4:3).  In the Kingdom of God, there will only be peace.  Peace among nations.  Peace in the family.  Peace everywhere (Isa. 32:17).

    Instead of violence and rampant crime, there will be safety and security.  Even the elderly and young boys and girls will no longer be victimized (Jer. 31:13; Zech. 8:4-5).

    Instead of competition that breeds hostility and envy, there will be cooperation, harmony and unity (Ps. 133:1).

    Instead of poverty, there will be overflowing abundance (Amos 9:13).

    Instead of crippling disease, people will enjoy the blessings of robust, vigorous health (Isa. 58:8).

    For the very first time, all of mankind will learn the right way to live which is God’s way of life!  And God will pour out tremendous showers of blessing that result in happy, satisfying, sparkling lives (Ezek. 34:26).

THE WONDERFUL WORLD TOMORROW

    A better, newer, cleaner, happier, more beautiful world is coming.

    Imagine what a wonderful world that will be!  This isn’t some fantasy or fairy tale.  This is REAL!  It is going to happen.

    The Supreme Creator God Himself said, “I have spoken it:  it shall come to pass, and I will do it” (Ezek. 24:14).

    Despite Satan’s relentless and continuing efforts to subvert God’s one, true gospel with a false gospel about Jesus Christ, the good news of the Kingdom of God is going out with increasing power to the whole world.

    Only God’s Church is proclaiming and publishing the truth about the coming wonderful world tomorrow under the rulership of Jesus Christ the King in the Kingdom of God.

    “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matt. 24:14).

    That is the true gospel Christ preached:  The good news of the soon-coming Kingdom of God.

    It is the best news ever, and you are reading it!