Preaching the Gospel

By: Dan Bailey

The Bible clearly teaches us to preach and teach the gospel of Christ. The gospel is the truth, the word of God, the word of salvation. Paul stated some of the major facts concerning the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:

"1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"

We read in Colossians 1:3-5: "3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, 5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;" This passage affirms that our hope of heaven is promised in "the word of the truth of the gospel." When you preach the gospel you also teach lost souls about the church or the kingdom of God and you teach them that they are to be baptized. We read in Acts 8:12, "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." The gospel is the word of the kingdom. "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side" (Matthew 13:19). That word or seed must be planted in the hearts of lost sinners in order for them to be saved. Jesus commanded His apostles to preach the gospel. "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Matthew 16:15-16). Paul taught that the gospel was the power of God unto salvation. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16).

Let us never be ashamed of the word of truth of the gospel. Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels"(Mark 8:38). We are so blessed if we know and understand the truth. May God help us to teach the glad tidings to a lost and dying world. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them"(2 Corinthians 4:3-4).