The Meaning Of The Gospel Of Christ

Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses… Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.     Acts 13:38,39,46

Preaching the gospel to people who had never heard it before, the apostle Paul, declares that Jesus is the Savior, and that He is the One who brings humanity forgiveness of sins. He is the One who justifies human beings and makes them right with God. The religious law of Moses or any other religious law in the entire world cannot justify any individual in God’s sight because if taken at face value laws show that each human being is a sinner in need of forgiveness. You cannot get forgiveness through those religious laws. Through Jesus and Jesus alone there is true forgiveness for your sins, and by that a right relationship with the living God.

As is always the case some who heard that message reacted with unbelief. Luke (Acts 13:45) says that some were filled with envy, and spake against those things… contradicting and blaspheming. They refused to accept this straightforward message of salvation even though Paul had linked it with all that had gone before in the Old Testament. They refused to believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior. At that point Paul makes this amazing statement: seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life… (Acts 13:46). They decided that the gospel was not for them. They decided that! They had another way, true as far as it went, but they refused to follow it to its logical conclusion that God had kept His promise given in the Old Testament and actually sent the Savior. It is this Jesus through whom forgiveness of sins was being preached.

In essence, they had said we will not have this Man to be our Savior. We will not cast ourselves upon the gospel being declared by God in the modern world. We do not feel this is for us. We will take another way. Thus they cut themselves off from eternal life. This is true, as well, of all those in today’s world, the 21^st century, who will not believe that true forgiveness by God comes only through Jesus Christ. Don’t blame the gospel or the Christian church. We declare that all people can be forgiven, that all people are welcomed by God, that Jesus died for the sins of every man woman and child, but if they refuse Him they have made their own determination of what their relationship with Him will be. They judged themselves as unworthy of eternal life in the One in Whom they will not believe.