“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.” (Matthew 4:23-24 NKJV)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor…” (Luke 4:18a NKJV)
“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” (Galatians 3:8 NKJV)
The foundation on which all of my life and ministry is built is the “Gospel.” According to Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, Gospel (evangelion) “originally denoted a reward for good tidings.” This reminds me of Hebrews 11:6 “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” God is a “rewarder.” Receiving His rewards begins with receiving His gift of salvation. The “Gospel” is the “good news” of the salvation that is available through the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of His Son Jesus Christ.
Vine’s Expository Dictionary goes on to say, “In the New Testament it denotes the ‘good tidings’ of the Kingdom of God and of salvation through Christ.” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible defines “Gospel” as “glad tidings” or “a good message.”
The word “Gospel” appears 101 times in the Bible. It is referred to as…
…Gospel of Christ 15 times
…Gospel of God 7 times
…Gospel of the Kingdom 5 times
…Gospel of Peace 2 times
…Gospel to the poor 2 times
In all 101 uses the word Gospel is used in a positive context offering “good news” about what our Heavenly Father has made available to us by bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth through His Son Jesus Christ.
The birth of Christ was announced as “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14 NKJV). From the beginning of creation it has been the Creator’s desire to live in peace and harmony with His creation. Through the “Gospel” that desire can be realized.
Accept His gift of salvation today, experience His peace, and enter into all of the benefits of His Kingdom. Enjoy the glad tidings of…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 97: “Gospel”