The Gospel Message

The purpose of this message is to present the gospel, the good news, and to explain what one needs to believe in order to be saved.

The other question is, saved from what? The key element  to be saved “from what” in the scriptures, happens to be saved from hell, saved from the Lake of Fire. And that is the ultimate reason to receive eternal life.  But there is a specific thing that needs to be believed for us to be truly saved; and saved from the eternal damnation for those who choose not to believe.

Let’s begin, then, with salvation.  And the basic meaning of salvation is impartation of eternal life. Therefore, no longer under eternal judgment…  Furthermore, it will lead to assurance of salvation.

I. Salvation

The basic meaning of salvation is impartation of eternal life.It means one is no longer under eternal judgment.Therefore, as a result, assurance of salvation.And salvation always comes by grace through faith. And what do we mean by faith,  exactly what do we mean to believe?  So to believe… another word could be to trust; to believe or to trust, that is the biblical meaning of faith.Salvation always comes by grace through faith.To have faith means “to believe,” “to trust,” (“to be persuaded of,” “to place confidence in.”It means “to trust in the sense of relying upon.”The content of faith is what changes in the course of Biblical history.That is, what do you have to believe to be saved?

And that was not always the same.

It was based on what God had revealed up to that point of time.The other question is, saved from what?

The key element  to be saved “from what” in the scriptures happens to be saved from hell, saved from the Lake of Fire. And that is the ultimate reason to receive eternal life.  But there is a specific thing that needs to be believed for us to be truly saved; and saved from the eternal damnation, for those who choose not to believe.

Let’s begin, then, with salvation.  And the basic meaning of salvation is impartation of eternal life. Therefore, one is no longer under eternal judgment…  Furthermore, it will lead to assurance of salvation.

II. The Content of Faith

A basic simplification that one often hears is, “in the Old Testament people looked forward to Messiah’s death, and now, in New Testament times we look back at His death.” 

That sounds good but it is not really biblically accurate because that is reading New Testament knowledge back into the Old Testament, and assuming the Old Testament believer had knowledge that he could not possibly have had.It is important not to assume biblical knowledge before the Bible presents that knowledge as being possible.

So let’s talk about the content of faith at different points of time.

In Genesis chapter 3 we have the account of the fall of man to sin. So it would be natural in the same chapter that God will make a promise, and the first Messianic promise, of the Messiah, coming to deal with the problem of sin.

So in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 we read,
“I will put enmity between [you] and the woman, and between [your] seed and her seed, he shall bruise [your] head, and [you] shall bruise His heel.”

Now this first Messianic prophecy of Genesis 3:15 was not given to Adam or to Eve, but to Satan, directly to Satan. And, now Satan knows that the descendant of the woman that he tempted will someday come to defeat him.  And so, he will target the seed of the woman trying to avoid the seed of Messiah from arriving.

“and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, ASV 1901)

The prophecy was given directly to Satan

Satan knows that the descendant of the woman that he tempted will someday come to defeat him.  And so, he will target the seed of the woman.

The Patriarchal Period – What is the Content of Faith?

Genesis chapter 15 verse 6,

“[and he believed in YHVH] And he believed in Jehovah, and he reckoned it to him for righteousness.”(Genesis 15:6, ASV 1901)And what is it that Abraham had to believe? 

That is found right in the first five verses.

Abraham had to believe in the promises of God as was revealed to him in what is called the Abrahamic Covenant. And that was the content of Abraham’s faith, in that he believed, the promises of God would ultimately be fulfilled.Now when we come to the time of the role of the Mosaic Law, the Torah, the content of faith is spelled out in Isaiah 43 verses 10 through 12.We read,“Ye are my witnesses, saith [Yahweh] Jehovah,  and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”“I, even I, am [Yahweh] Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour.  I have declared, and I have saved, and I have showed; and there was no strangegodamong you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and I am God.”(Isaiah 43:10–12, ASV 1901)And the witnesses here are the people of Israel.

And here he spells out what the content of faith is.

Two things, number one, that the God of Israel, is the only God, and number two, He is the only saviour. This is what you had to believe.

The Content of Faith

1. That the God of Israel is the only God

Rules out polytheism

Rules out idolatry

2. He is the only Savior

Rules out trusting any one’s work, or trusting one’s own works to earn salvationBut also notice that the Saviour has to be God. This is what the text clearly teaches.

“besides Me there is no Saviour.”

And, therefore the Saviour would have to be God Himself.Now for a Gentile to believe in these two things he would then receive eternal life.Notice that the Saviour has to be God. This is what the text clearly teaches.

I, even I, am Jehovah; and besides me there is no Saviour

He would then ask,

“Well, now how do I live?”
And the answer is,

“You live in accordance with the Adamic and Noahic Covenant.”
If a Jew believed these two things, then he would also receive eternal life.

And, when he, the Jew, asks,
“How do I now live?”

For him the answer is
“You live in accordance with the Mosaic law, the 613 commandments of the Mosaic Law. And when there is failure, there is a blood sacrifice available to restore the fellowship.

So this was the content of faith until the time of Messiah’s death and resurrection.

Now what is the content of faith in this current age? 

This is given in 1st Corinthians 15 verses 1-4.
“Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you received, wherein also you stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Messiah (Christ) died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried; and that He hath been raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”.

Now between the Messiah’s public ministry, and His death and resurrection, this is not what you had to believe, because His death and resurrection had not yet occurred.
What you had to believe was that He was the Messianic King.

And those who believed Him to be the Messianic King, like the apostles and Nicodemus, that was what they needed to believe to receive eternal life.  And in fact at that time the disciples did not even realize Messiah would die and be resurrected.

What you had to believe was that He was the Messianic King.

Those who believed Him to be the Messianic King received eternal life.

The disciples did not realize Messiah would die and be resurrected.

But now that those events have occurred the content of what we must now believe are the three things in this passage.

The Content of Faith Now (1 Cor. 15:1-4)

1. Messiah died for our sins. And this was in keeping with the Scriptures (Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12, Psalm 16:1-11, Psalm 22, Daniel 9:24-27).

2. He was buried, and, that was the evidence of His death (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)

3. He was resurrected on the third day, also, according to the Scriptures (Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 16:1-11; Psalm 22).

So what does one now have to believe to be saved?

Number one, Messiah died for our sins.Secondly, He was buried.And thirdly, He rose again on the third day.

That’s the simple gospel. That is all one has to believe to be truly saved and to truly receive eternal life and to be truly saved from any eternal damnation.

What does one have to believe to be saved?

1. Messiah died for our sins.

2. He was buried.

3. He rose again on the third day.

That’s the simple gospel. That is all one has to believe to be truly saved and to truly receive eternal life and to be truly saved from any eternal damnation.