OceanSide church of Christ

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A GOSPEL OF THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Victor M. Eskew

 

            Recently, I was reading a book that included a section on sales.  There was an article that stated one of the best ways to make a sale is to have a product that ties people to the past, present, and future.  As Christians, we have such a product.  It is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I realize that the gospel is not just a product we are peddling.  Yet, it does have to be “sold” to those who are caught up in sin.  Jesus said:  “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).  Let’ look at the past, present, and future components of the precious gospel of Jesus Christ.

First, the gospel of Christ Anchors Us to the Past.  Initially, when we think of the past, we want to go back to Pentecost when the gospel was preached for the first time.  But, the gospel goes back much farther than that.  It takes us back to the Garden of Eden and the fall of man.  A promise was made at that time as God confronted the subtle serpent.  “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed, and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15).  The death of Jesus is found in the words, “thou shalt bruise his heel.”  The resurrection of the Christ is contained in the words, “it shall bruise thy head.”  That is gospel.  In addition, to these words spoken by the Almighty, we have a seed promise made to a great man of faith named Abraham.  Numerous times we read these words:  “and in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; see also Gen. 12:1-3).  The seed that was promised was Jesus.  Through His sacrificial death all families of the earth would be blessed.  That is gospel.  We could also go back to Isaiah 53, the chapter that prophesies of “The Suffering Servant.”  In verse 10, we read:  “…thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.”  Then, in verse 11, these words are found:  “He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.”  Jesus would be sacrificed as a sin offering on Calvary.  God would see this precious Lamb and the blood that He shed and the demands of the law of God regarding sin would be satisfied.  That is gospel.  Yes, the gospel anchors us to the past.

Second, the gospel Activates Us in the Present.  The message of the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:1-4).  In this event, the love of God is manifested (Rom. 5:6-8).  This love activates man.  It causes him to love God (I John 4:19).  Our love obeys God’s commandments (John 14:15), which includes hearing the Word of God (James 1:19), believing in the Christ as the Son of God (John 8:24), repenting of sins (Acts 17:30-31), confessing the precious name of our Lord (Rom. 10:9-10), and being baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16; I Pet. 3:21).  When a person rises from that watery grave, he is a new creature in Christ (Rom. 6:3-4; II Cor. 5:17).  From that point onward, the Word of God is prevalent and relevant to his life.  He desires it like a newborn babe (I Pet. 2:2).  He lets the Word develop him into a mature Christian (Heb. 5:12-14).  He allows the word of God teach him, reprove him, correct him, and instruct him in all his ways (II Tim. 3:16-17).  He loves the Word and defends it against all enemies (Phil 1:17).  The child of God continues in the word (James 1:12) because he knows that it will judge him in the last day (John 12:48; Rev. 20:11-15).  Yes, the gospel activates us in the present.

Third, the gospel Assures Us for the Future.  On his own, man cannot know the future.  On his own, man cannot know what transpires after death.  For those who trust its teachings, the gospel assures us of what is to come in the future.  We know that all will die (Heb. 9:27).  The gospel says that is not the end.  Jesus will come again (John 14:1-3).  When He does, the graves will be emptied:  “Marvel not at this:  for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28-28).  When all have been raised, they will all gather before the judgment seat of Christ.  “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:  and before him shall be gathered all nations:  and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:  and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left…” (Mat. 25:31-33).  The righteous will be given eternal life.  The wicked will be cast into hell, a place prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 7:13-14).  For those who enter into the eternal abode of heaven, they have this promise:  “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:  for the former things are passed away” (Rev. 21:4).  Yes, the gospel assures us for the future.

If a salesman were looking for a product that anchors his customers to the past, activates them in the present, and assures them of a bright future, he would definitely love the gospel of Christ.  In fact, he would be extremely excited about it.  He has his talking points within the product itself.  He does not have to make up anything.  Dear readers, we need to be as excited about the gospel as a salesman would be.  We have a gospel of the past, present, and future.  Another selling point for us is that it is free.  And, who does not like free?  Let’s start letting more people know the truth about the gospel of the past, present, and future.