Soulful Sunday: The Gospel

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You do not have to tell me that it has been ages since I have done one of these. For those of you like my ramblings on whatever topic I chose for this series, I bring you:

 'The Gospel'

Have you ever wondered what the gospel actually is? I know I have. Countless of times. It is mentioned several times in the bible but during my perusal of the first 4 books of the New Testament, it seemed as though there was a jump. A jump between Jesus being brought into the world, being baptised and then going out to preach "the gospel". Now, it is not all that hard to come to a logical conclusion as to what the gospel is but I wanted it spelt out in the books that I was reading, telling me what it is so that there is no room for misunderstanding and no cause for assumptions to be made.

Now, this is where asking the Holy Spirit for help in understanding God's word comes in as what I have found is that most things cannot be taken at face value if you will. To get the answers you want, one has to delve deep; to actually think about what they are reading and not just skim through the chapters. One can also discuss what he/she has read with their family or friends or church fellowship group or a trusted church leader/elder/pastor to help shed light on the matter- this is where the whole " For when two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20) can help bring true understanding of what it is you are unsure of.

Anyways, back to 'The Gospel'

A couple Sundays ago, the topic of 'What Is The Gospel?' was brought by an elder and I was most pleased. I swiftly brought out my notepad and pen, eager to take notes on the answers to a question I had been asking myself. And this is what I found out:

Accepting that Jesus Christ is your one and only personal saviour, choosing to worship God alone (not material things, career success etc) and belting out the song below at the top of your voice are steps in the right direction but it does not end there. 

It is a great song right? I love it!

Once you have have come to the point in your life when you know that you are a child of God, you have simultaneously been given an imaginary not-so-top-secret file that contains a piece of paper that says 'Spread the Word/Gospel/Good News'. That is one of our "missions" in life (Hehe I think I have been watching too many episodes of NCIS).

And a successful agent has to know what the mission actually is :D

The gospel can be broken down into four parts:

1) God's Intention: We are to live our lives having a strong and ever growing relationship with God. We are to spread the message and love of God with the help of the Holy Spirit to those who are not in the know. He has always wanted rule over the earth in partnership with you and me. 

2) The Problem: The world is kind of a mess :/. We are used to having our own way (free will and all of that) e.g. the age old story of Adam and Eve. Most of us live our lives outside of a relationship with God and miss out on a life changing experience.

3) The Solution: Jesus. Simples. He came to earth and showed us that it is possible to live in a perfect relationship with God as a human being. He was then crucified and paid the price for our sins and rejection of the perfect relationship with God. But, He did not stay dead. Rather He rose up from the dead defeating the power of death and is the only way to get to know God. He has given us the opportunity to die to our old selves (repent), be restored to our original purpose and be born again in Him to have a perfect relationship with God. He is always with us in the form of the Holy Spirit.

4) The Result: It does not stop there- at Him taking away our sins. By being with us in the form of the Holy Spirit He gives us a chance to experience an amazing partnership with Him. This then empowers us with the ability to restore God's plan for us and the world by playing our parts wholeheartedly. In order for this to happen we need to be at one with the word of God so that we are equipped with what we need to share the Gospel with people we come in contact.

So in summary, the Gospel (to me) is the news that having a true relationship with God is awesome, challenging, rewarding & life changing. And can only be achieved through Jesus and repenting from your sin/old ways (Matthew 4:17-23) and embracing the true you. 

Did I learn anything new? No. But I did get confirmation what I had assumed was on the right lines and was glad that it was actually discussed in church lol.

If you managed to read all of this I hope that this helps you in some way- maybe answers any questions you may have been asking on this topic. I do not claim to be all knowing at all (!!). This is just my understanding of it. Feel free to chip in your two pence/kobo/cents/the currency of your hometown in the comments section below.

I hope you have had a relaxing Sunday. Have a blessed week guys!

Till next time!

Luv, Mo xx