Galatians 1:6-7
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
Since the very beginning, there have been false teachers – those not in line with the Truth of Jesus – who have sought to lead others away from the true teaching of and about Jesus. We must be on the lookout for these types of people and the “false gospels” they proclaim.
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1 Timothy 2:5-6
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, Himself human, who gave Himself—a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.”
Throughout history, there have been many “additions” and “subtractions” made to the one true Gospel. This week, we want to explore two of the “roots” of these false teachings so that you can discern these false gospels when they appear.
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To finish out the week, we return to a key topic: The Reliable Pattern of Transformation. We have been talking about our response to the Good News of the Gospel. Saying “yes” to Father God in Christ is the way we enter into this life-long process of following Christ.
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1 Timothy 2:4
[God our Savior] wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Today, we discuss how the ways we can respond to the “Good News!” of the Gospel. Father God sent Jesus so that we can have life – new spiritual life now and forever life in His Kingdom. Father God desires that we say “yes” to His gracious gift!
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Today we discuss one of the most important truths: How the Message of the Gospel has the power to transform us. Not only is the Power of the Gospel a profoundly important truth, it is also one that gives us great insight into what Father God does for us and to us because of His great love for us.
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2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not want any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
The love, mercy, and grace of Father God revealed to us requires a response from us. Just as Adam (and Eve) had the power of contrary choice—the ability to say “no” to God’s truth, goodness, and beauty—so also do we. It is our ability to say “no” to God that makes our “yes” so meaningful. When we say “yes” to the Father’s offer of new life in Christ, we are saying “no” to our old way of life that was ruled by sin, death, and condemnation.
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Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope. {NET}
We want to end this week’s session by talking about hope. As Paul tells us above, the Scriptures were given to us to encourage us so that we may have hope. This week we have been considering some very heavy and somewhat difficult truths. But these truths are given to us so that we may hope. Since we have been thinking about the end of things, the end of our present life and the world to come, let’s end by thinking on some of the most incredible truths that are reality for all those who are “in Christ.”
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