Day 3
The
central fact of Christian preaching was the truth that the Saviour had come into
the world (Matt.
4:23; Rom. 10:15);
and the first Christian preachers who called their account of the person and
mission of Christ by the term evangelion (good
message)
were called evangelistai (evangelists)
(Eph.
4:11; Acts 21:8).
There
are four historical accounts of the person and work of Christ: “the
first by Matthew, announcing the Redeemer as the promised King of the kingdom of
God; the second by Mark, declaring him ‘a prophet, mighty in deed and word;’ the
third by Luke, of whom it might be said that the represents Christ in the
special character of the Saviour of sinners (Luke
7:36; 15:18);
the fourth by John, who represents Christ as the Son of God, in whom deity and
humanity become one.
The Gospels were all composed during the latter
part of the first century, and there is distinct historical evidence to show
that they were used and accepted by the church before the end of the second
century.
Did the writers of the gospels copy from one
another? The opinion is well founded that the Gospels were published by the
apostles orally before they were committed to writing, and that each had an
independent origin
The word gospel is an English word used to
translate the Greek word for “good news.” Christians use the word to designate
the message and story of God’s saving activity through the life, ministry,
death, and resurrection of God’s only Son, Jesus. Although “gospel” translates a
Greek word from the New Testament, the concept of good news itself finds its
roots in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament. It
denotes:
(1.)
“the
welcome intelligence of salvation to man as preached by our Lord and his
followers.
(2.)
It was afterwards applied to each of the four histories of our Lord’s life,
published by those who are therefore called ‘Evangelists’, writers of the
history of the gospel (the evangelion).
(3.)
The term is often used to express collectively the gospel doctrines; and
‘preaching the gospel’ is often used to include not only the proclaiming of the
good tidings, but the teaching men how to avail themselves of the offer of
salvation, the declaring of all the truths, precepts, and promises of
Christianity. It is termed “the
gospel of the grace of God”
(Acts
20:24),
“the
gospel of the kingdom”
(Matt.
4:23),
“the
gospel of Christ”
(Rom.
1:16),
“the
gospel of peace (Eph.
6:15),
“the
glorious gospel,”
“the
everlasting gospel,”
“the
gospel of salvation”
(Eph.
1:13).
It is clear to all Christians that the Gospels contain the message of Salvation. The message is what is need to bring the unsaved (sinners) to believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour. It doesn’t matter how different or how similar they may be, our responsibility to the Gospels is to use them to bring people to the point of Salvation.
It is our obligation today as Christians is to support those who are
called to spread the gospel through our tithes and our prayers.
The Gospels apply to us today in three different yet equally important
ways:
1. They give us an example
of how we should live our lives, Jesus.
2. They show us our
obligation to support our pastors and teachers.
And they give us the hope of the return of our
Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Daily
Bible Readings:
Read
Matthew 19
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