DEITY OF CHRIST

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Evangelism - Part 1

WHAT IS EVANGELISM? 

Evangelism is derived from the greek word, Euangelion meaning ‘Good News’. It refers to the Good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Evangelism is therefore the proclamation of the Good news of Jesus Christ or ‘Good news of the Kingdom of God’ as Jesus put it.

WHAT IS THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM?
 
It refers specifically to the work of Christ on the cross. 
 
15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 


5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 

9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

This alone is the Gospel, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”
Now which Christ is it and why he did it are things to be elaborated from other parts of Scripture.
This Jesus is not the human Jesus, this is not the divine Jesus. This is not the islamic Isa, this is not Jesus, the avatar, the guru of Hinduism and Buddhism, this is not secular, sage Jesus, of the liberals, who taught the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Not the Jesus of the Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons, not the Jesus of the Gnostics.

This is the Jesus who is both God and man. It is the logos of God who became flesh and died on the cross for us, because of his great love for us.

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Galatians 2:20 The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 
Therefore, Gospel is the proclamation of the love of God for sinful humans which was demonstrated by the death of Christ and the proclamation of the victory of God which he effected through his resurrection of Christ from the dead.

Gospel is the message of Love and victory. Love of God and the victory of God which he has demonstrated to us and made available for us.

God commands that every human who hears the Gospel accepts his own sinfulness and receives the solution of God provided through Jesus Christ, through which God delivers the recipient of the Gospel from the penalty of sin, power of sin and the presence of sin.

God adopts the recipient of his love through Christ as his Child, and pours out his Holy Spirit on him to indwell him with his presence. The consequence of sin, which is the alienation from a Holy God is reversed and reconciliation, adoption and relationship are achieved.

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to son ship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father". Romans 8:15

Evangelism is proclaiming and communicating this message of love of God, of forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God and adoption as Children of God, through the finished work of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection and ascension and exaltation and glorification to the right hand of power authority and glory.