Tune in a television set any Sunday morning in the United States to so-called “gospel programs” and you'll hear and see preachers telling you about Christ – urging you to believe on Christ – to accept Christ – telling you what a wonderful person He was. They will talk about “getting out the gospel,” meaning the message about Christ. Thus every Sunday morning, millions of viewers assume they are hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Believe it or not, preaching Christ and belief on Him is not preaching Christ's gospel!
Christ was a messenger. He brought the gospel – the message God sent by Him for all mankind. That message is good news. The very word “gospel” means good news.
True, Jesus Christ, the person, is the most important individual ever to walk this earth. True, He is the Savior of all mankind. But Christ, the
person, is not the gospel! The miracles He performed are not the gospel. The things Jesus did are not the gospel. What He preached – the tremendous good news He announced – is the “gospel”!
What people have accepted without question as the gospel offers no solution to humanity's sufferings, frustrations and indescribable evils. The true gospel Jesus brought proclaims the solution to the world's troubles. But men rejected that gospel and crucified Jesus for preaching it!
There were those in Christ's day who “believed on Him,” just as millions do today. These same people were influenced on occasion to want to kill Him! Notice the astounding truth in your Bible. It's an eye-opener, for the Bible does not say what most people have been taught.
Jesus was speaking in the Temple at Jerusalem: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31). Jesus' “word” was His message – the gospel He was teaching. He was saying, in other words: “If you continue doing what the gospel teaches, you will be my disciples.”
But they refused to believe what He taught – His gospel – and to do what He taught. They believed on Him. They liked Him. They believed in His identity. They believed He was the Messiah, the Christ, but they did not believe HIM – or what He said! They called Him a liar.
Continuing, Jesus said, "… but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father…" (verses 37-38). These very people who “believed on him” sought to kill Him because they hated what He said – His gospel – the very solution to mankind's troubles that will usher in peace, prosperity and happiness in all the earth!
These who believed on Him continued to argue. Then Christ said: “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God… I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me… And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not” (verses 40, 42, 45).
Millions today also believe on Christ, but do not believe His gospel because most have never heard it! They have heard of Christ – of what He did – but not His message of the solution to all man's troubles and how to receive eternal life in joyful happiness, abundance and accomplishment! So millions today have been deceived into believing a false gospel which does not lead to salvation! Strong words, but backed up by the Word of God, as we shall see.
This lesson of the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course will show you what the gospel of Jesus Christ really is, why it is so vital for your salvation, exactly when and where it was first preached, and who is preaching it today.
So be sure to get your Bible before you read another word. Look up every scripture given in answer to the questions as you study the truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We hope you are also taking the time to copy these verses in a notebook. This will not only help you to concentrate on your studies, it will also help to implant the truth of God's Word more firmly in your memory. Writing down the scriptures will also enable you to easily review this study material at any time in the future.
