Obey the gospel
Matthew 28
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in[1]
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age."
1
Corinthians 15:2
By this gospel you are saved, if you
hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed
in vain.
(Whole Chapter: 1
Corinthians 15 In context: 1
Corinthians 15:1-3)
2
Thessalonians 1:8
He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel
of our Lord Jesus.
(Whole Chapter: 2
Thessalonians 1 In context: 2
Thessalonians 1:7-9)
Hebrews
4:2
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but
the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not
combine it with faith.[ 4:2 Many manuscripts because they did not share in the
faith of those who obeyed]
(Whole Chapter: Hebrews
4 In context: Hebrews
4:1-3)
1
Peter 4:17
For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins
with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel
of God?
(Whole Chapter: 1
Peter 4 In context: 1
Peter 4:16-18)
Clearly,
the gospel is something to be “obeyed” and not just received. The only salvific way to “respond to the gospel” is to obey it.
Matthew
19
16Now
a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to
get eternal life?"
17"Why
do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One
who is good. If you want to enter life, obey
the commandments."
Acts
26
19"So then, King
Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20First to
those in
Romans 1
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set
apart for the gospel of God-- 2the gospel he promised beforehand through
his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to
his human nature was a descendant of David, 4and who through the
Spirit[1]
of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God[2]
by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through
him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people
from among all the Gentiles to the obedience
that comes from faith.
2
Thessalonians 1
8He
will punish those who do not know God and do
not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out
from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10on the day he
comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those
who have believed.
For
more research on what the Gospel is you can read a more
scholarly debate on the matter.
This
Gospel is only truly understood if it is obeyed.
John 7
17If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my
teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
1
Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness
to those who are perishing, but to us
who are being saved it is the power of God.
(Whole Chapter: 1
Corinthians 1 In context: 1
Corinthians 1:17-19)
Who
is the message (the Gospel), saving?
1
Corinthians 1:21
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him,
God was pleased through the foolishness
of what was preached to save those who believe.
(Whole Chapter: 1
Corinthians 1 In context: 1
Corinthians 1:20-22)
The
Gospel seems foolish to those who will not obey it:
1
Corinthians 1:23
but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
(Whole Chapter: 1
Corinthians 1 In context: 1
Corinthians 1:22-24)
However,
it is not truly foolish.
1
Corinthians 1:25
For the foolishness of God is wiser
than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
(Whole Chapter: 1
Corinthians 1 In context: 1
Corinthians 1:24-26)
Man
is the foolish one, not God.
1
Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness
in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their
craftiness"[ 3:19 Job 5:13] ;
(Whole Chapter: 1
Corinthians 3 In context: 1
Corinthians 3:18-20)
However,
men who have not come to grips with their inherent foolishness think that the
Gospel is foolish, and unnecessary.
1
Corinthians 2:14
The man without the Spirit does not
accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually discerned.
(Whole Chapter: 1
Corinthians 2 In context: 1
Corinthians 2:13-15)
You may be “without the Spirit”, but you do have a
conscience.
2
Corinthians 4
2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use
deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth
the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight
of God. 3And even if our
gospel is veiled, it is veiled to
those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the
minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God.
If you follow your conscience, it will
tell you that you are sinful and need God to save you from your sin and
yourself.
Matthew
5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
(Whole Chapter: Matthew
5 In context: Matthew
5:7-9)
If you ignore your conscience, you will
not be concerned with your sin at all.
Through your conscience you can relate to God, even as an unbeliever,
who is “without the spirit”.
John 16
The Work of
the Holy Spirit
Unless I go away, the Counselor will
not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he
comes, he will convict the world
of guilt[1]
in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to
righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no
longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this
world now stands condemned.
We all need some counseling. The counselor referred to above is identified
below.
John 14
16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor
to be with you forever-- 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees [see Matthew
5:8 above] him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and
will be[1]
in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Talk to the counselor. Get some counseling. Then the Gospel will not seem so foolish, but
you might realize that it is the power of God unto salvation (1
Corinthians 1:18).
Most people will not want to hear or follow
this gospel for very long, according to the parable of the sower.
John 3
19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved
darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone
who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that
his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen
plainly that what he has done has been done through God."[1]
You can study the bible and study the
gospel, but until you obey it, you will not be able to acknowledge the truth.
2 Timothy 3
Godlessness in the Last Days
1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People
will be lovers of themselves, lovers
of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful,
unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without
self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash,
conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have
nothing to do with them.
6They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control
over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all
kinds of evil desires, 7always learning but never
able to acknowledge the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres
opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who,
as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
Most people will reject the truth and
forfeit eternal life.
Matthew 7
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and
broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find
it.
Romans 2
7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and
immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and
anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who
does evil: first for the Jew, then
for the Gentile;
Notice that this rejection of the truth
is both mentally and behavioral. On the
other hand, the saving response to the gospel
must also include both mental and behavioral belief
in the gospel.
Many
churches today teach that responding to the gospel is merely mental, and not
necessarily behavioral. This is a different gospel.