Personally if I had way to make this happen I’d have everyone read Mike Ratliff’s post from the other day. Mike explains the Gospel in very clear terms.
The book I’m reading in my Zoom Bible Study group is very extensive in commenting on God’s Grace, which Mike also emphasizes a most critical aspect of the Gospel.
The Grace of Christ: Sinners Saved by Unmerited Kindness (eBook)
AUTHOR: WILLIAM S. PLUMER
AVAILABLE EDITIONS:
EPUB | .MOBI | .PDF
I’ve highlight in the KJV the verses and a few more that Mike mentions. He goes into length in the article about what many of these are saying. His words are simple and clear. But he highlights the depth of misunderstanding people have with this message. After the verses I’ve copied a few of Mike’s comments…I found useful. I could not Reblog his post so I am including it below. Please read it.
Passages from the King James Version (KJV).
Galatians 1:8–12 (KJV)
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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Ephesians 2:1–10 (KJV)
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
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Romans 3:27 (KJV)
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
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Ephesians 1:3–12 (KJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
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Romans 8:29–30 (KJV)
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
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John 6:44 (KJV)
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:44
Jhn 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
One last thought…..
Luk 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luk 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
The actual passage Jesus quotes goes on a bit longer, but God’s ending has not yet been fulfilled.
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
A few of Mike’s comments:
The title of this article may surprise many. I have been in “conversation” on this topic for last several days with many who disagree that there is only one gospel. Their stance is that no one can know everything about the gospel. We must be tolerant of others views of salvation because the gospel is inherently unknowable. Before our Lord saved me I may have bought that argument, but not anymore. Our God is a very precise God who does things His way in His timing and always for His glory.
With this in mind, what was the gospel that Paul gave the Galatians? Paul preached the same gospel to everyone. It was unchangeable as far as Paul was concerned. Let’s look at a passage from his letter to the Ephesians.
Here we see that Paul preached and taught that all people are born dead in trespasses and sins. That means that before salvation we are spiritually dead. We are spiritually helpless. We cannot even choose to seek or obey God. There are no seekers of God outside of the grace of God. However, God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were spiritually dead, made us alive together with Christ. He made spiritually dead people alive in Christ. This is regeneration. This is God resurrecting His people from spiritual death unto a new life in Christ by making them Born Again. How did He do it? It was by Grace through faith. The faith is not the believer’s own faith. Instead, this faith is gift of God. The next passage is crucial. This salvation is not a result of works, so that no one may boast. This is vital for us to understand. Our salvation must be understood to occur in a way that excludes our ability to boast. That eliminates the possibility of any “decision” on our part. The saved person is God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that they should walk in them.
Did you notice that good works follow salvation? They never come first. The faith that we exercise in belief is the faith that is a gift of God. It is not our faith.
This is the effectual call of God. This call or rebirth transforms a depraved, sinful, God-resisting person into a Born Again believer who loves and believes God. At the moment of rebirth, the believer sees their sin and how it separates them from God. They believe the gospel. They turn away from their sin in repentance as they turn to Jesus Christ for salvation through the faith God gives them. Those who are Born Again believe then are justified by God. This is a legal term. It is an act of God where He imputes the Righteousness of Jesus Christ to the believer. Their new righteousness “justifies” them in God’s sight. After justification, God adopts the new believer into His family. They are now Jesus Christ’s sibling. The last act of God in this passage states that God glorifies the believer. This is the culmination of predestination.
Lastly, no one is saved because they have the right doctrine nor are they damned if they happen to be in the wrong church. God saves His people by grace through faith. No one deserves it and no one can earn it. If you are monergistic in your doctrine then you should be humble and cooperating with God in becoming Christlike. If you are synergistic or simply inconsistent in your doctrine that does not mean you are not a believer. It does not mean that you will not or cannot grow in grace. However, the more we submit to the sovereignty of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ the more God is glorified in us. If we are living like that then we will also be actively uprooting pride from our hearts while cultivating humility there. Inconsistencies exist in us all, but Christ’s grace is greater.
The full article:
Rainbow Trout 