- 2 Corinthians 11:3- Paul writes to the church in Corinth " But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
What do we learn here from Paul?
#1- Satan [serpent] is crafty. The devil doesn't walk up and openly expose who he is to people. He masquerades as an angel of light but is actually and angel of darkness.
#2- The more important point is that to believe in the gospel is Simple. In order for Paul to even write this something must have happened in Corinth that had drawn the people away and twisted their way of thinking. Their new way of thinking must have been that to believe in Christ and to become a Christian was a complex happening.
What happened in Corinth?
Verse 4- gives us a glimpse. For he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not receive, or a different gospel which you have not accepted--you may well put up with it! -
Paul is speaking at the end of this verse in a very sarcastic tone.
He later restates this in a very warning tone in Galatians 1:8-
Galatians 1:8 - But even if we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
Question- Is there more than one gospel? Is there more than one Jesus?
According to these verses it would seem so. There are many gospels and many Jesus'. However there is only one "true and right" gospel. There is only one "true and right" Jesus. These other gospels and Jesus' are fakes, imitators, they have been twisted by peoples minds, added to or taken away from.
So, What is the gospel? The real gospel.
I want to be very clear when writing this as to not make this unclear for anyone.
#1- Judging by what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:3 [NKJ] the gospel must be simple right. The gospel is simple. Read the words of Jesus in His conversation with Nicodemus in John Chapter 3.
Verse 3- Must be born again. Why? You were born wrong the first time.
Verse 15- so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.
After reading verses 1-21, there is no way you could say that this is hard, complex, confusing, or bewildering. It may be hard to believe that God is so loving He would come, take on flesh, die for you in your place, but it's not complex.
If someone ask you, what is the gospel? What would you say...? I don't mean this as a convicting statement, but have you [Christian] ever wondered what you would say if you had to share the gospel?
If you have shared the gospel was it simple?
If I wanted to give a theological statement about what the gospel was I could write you a ten page paper about the symantics behind it but....no one would take the time to read that cumbersome of a paper.
I could tell you that to read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and decide for yourself.
The real gospel.... simple
Acts Chapter 2:14
Peter preaches all of a ten minute sermon. Verses 14 - 21 he explains the Holy Spirits presence on the people. Verses 22-36 Peter explains the gospel.
Verse 37- The people were "cut" to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles "Men and brethren what shall we do?"
Verse 38- Here's the best part- Peter said to them, "Repent, and let everyone one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This is simple.... repent and let everyone of you be baptized. Peter preaches the gospel, they accept [believe] the gospel, repent, and are baptized.
Acts Chapter 10: 34
However I have found in Acts Chapter 10 starting at verse 34 and ending at verse 48, that Peter sums up the gospel pretty well. Peter yet again lays out the gospel and in verse 44 something happens.
What happens in verse 44? Salvation
People are saved. The Holy Spirit falls upon ALL those who heard the word.
I love this verse... it shows the simplicity of the gospel message and faith. There's no ceremony, there's no come forward and pray, there's no baptism, there's no raise you hand, they simply heard the message of the gospel, they believed it and embraced it, and in that moment the Holy Spirit fell on them.
That happened to some of you [believers] who are reading this, that once while in church, listening to a sermon or podcast. You heard the message and in that instance you believed. Conversion is believing that Jesus died for you, conversion is believing that Jesus is the Lord, and there comes a moment when it doesn't take a prayer, a ceremony, you walking down an aisle, raising your hand, or getting in a baptismal pool. You embrace Jesus sacrifice as your own, you surrender to Him as your Lord, and in that moment the Holy Spirit falls on you.
Read the accounts of conversion in the Bible and see if this doesn't match up. Baptism is usually to follow because it was one of Jesus first commands following believing. [Whole different blog]
Read Luke 23:32-43 -
42- Dying thief on the cross, says one line to Jesus. Remember me when You come into Your kingdom.
43- Jesus assures dying thief, Assuredly I tell you this day, you will be with Me in paradise.
This thief did not raise his hand, say a long prayer, walk an aisle, use magic words, get baptized, or any other traditional method. He simply believed.
Read John 5:24
I assure you anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgement but has passed from death to life.
The Gospel is Jesus plus NOTHING.....
What is so amazing to me is that we as believers want to make the gospel and believing in faith so much more complicated than it is. We love simple in all aspects of our lives except this. God provided and incredibly simple way for us and we typically want to add to it. Eternal life is not Faith in Christ plus good works. It is not Faith in Christ plus obedience. You cannot add anything to salvation because when you do, you have diminished the importance of Christ sacrifice. Our default mechanism when our faith is feeble typically becomes good works or obedience.
Many times I believe we forget that after becoming a believer, we forget that the process of sanctification [becoming more like Christ] is not completely and totally up to us. We are co-laborers with God. According to John 15 our part is to abide in Christ, and guess what He does the rest supernaturally through us. All we can do is stay connected to the vine. Jesus produces the fruit in our lives, we are just the branches that hold the fruit. Would the gospel really be good news if Jesus had said "Believe in Me and after that you need to straighten up your life." That's not good news, that's only good advice, that's a recipe for trying and failing many times over which leads to resentment, spiritual burnout, and eventually completely falling apart. We can do nothing of eternal value without Him who told us to believe in Him in the first place. If you had faith enough in Jesus to save your wretched soul from hell why wouldn't you have enough faith to let Him produce the fruit in your life. Which is harder? Saving a soul or producing fruit in a believer with whom the Holy Spirit resides?
Lastly ...Why is the message of Jesus, Good News?
The word gospel is mostly translated from the Greek word evangelion [meaning good news].
Why is the message of Jesus Christ good news then?
#1- The God of the universe, who hung the stars, created the world by His word alone desired to reconcile you to Himself bad enough that He sent His only Son in Jesus Christ to die for your sins.
#2- Without the gospel you have no hope of entering into heaven after this life. Why? Answer: John 14:6
#3- Your sins separated you from God. Those sins had to be paid for. By believing in and accepting the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, your sins are paid for, in full, no more need be done.
#4- Every other world religion teaches that to enter Heaven through your good works, upstanding moral condition, devotion, and commitment to certain ideals. Accepting Jesus Christ is good news because you can stop working, trying to earn God's favor, trying to earn your spot. Your place in Heaven with God was determined when Jesus Christ hung on a cross naked for you. The work is done, just accept it. That my friend is good news!