What Was Christ's Gospel?

[PJM]

=Mailman;5180276]During a mass, we hear these words at the end of a Scriptural reading: “A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John” – or St. Matthew, or St. Luke, or whoever wrote the particular passage being read.

Now, what about the Gospel according to Jesus? Jesus Himself preached some “gospel.” Once, when in a synagogue in Nazareth, He read from the book of Isaiah and declared that the particular passage He just read (a prophecy) has been fulfilled by His coming. One of the things prophesied there was that He was to be the Anointed One to preach THE Gospel.

“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, 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, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:17-19).

If Jesus was to “preach the gospel to the poor,” what was this gospel that Jesus was prophesied to preach?

I would like to get your ideas on the subject and see if we are on the same page on this one.

Thanks.

In precise summary I offer the following:

Luke Chapter 10:

"He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 27And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “**You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” **

Love and prayer’s

 

[avflf]

We call certain books of the Bible “gospels” but this is only to distinguish them from “epistles” (letters) which were sent to individual persons or churches, either to augment their oral teaching of the faith, or to encourage and/or admonish; and also to instruct some of them for a specific role in leadership. The four Gospels chronicle the life of Christ in written form whereas the Epistles do not chronicle the life of Christ.

Paul’s “gospel” is the same as Jesus’ gospel. It is no different than the other apostles’ gospels. They all taught the same things, each using his own personal style, to fit the intended audience and the circumstances which made the teaching necessary. Jesus’ gospel was proclaimed to the world, by His apostles and disciples, through oral teaching. (Matthew 28:19-20) Paul did not actually “write” a gospel manuscript like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did.

The “good news” (gospel) is everything that Jesus taught and commanded, and this good news is passed down through His Church by word (orally) and by epistle (letter). These teachings of Jesus and His apostles/disciples are called traditions.

1 Corinthians 11:2 “Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.”

Paul explains the gospel of Jesus:
2 Thessalonians 2:15 “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.”

Some of Jesus’ gospel was written down, but not all of His gospel was put into the book we now call the Bible. Some of Jesus’ gospel was shown by Jesus to the Church such as the Holy Mass and the Sacraments, and these things were passed down from bishop to bishop. These things were not included in the Bible and it was not necessary to do so.

John 21:25 “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.”

The difference between Gospels and Epistles is that the former were written to present the “historical” aspect of the man Christ Jesus in response to the need of the early Christians for some background to the source of their faith and were written after the Epistles of Paul (50 to 65 AD) The Epistles or letters were meant to instruct, extol or rebuke a defined group of believers and to address any problem they may have regarding the teachings of the church.
The first Gospel to appear was that of Mark, between 60 and 70 AD. It appears, however, that Mark’s Gospel fell short of the expectations of its readers and so another Gospel was commissioned, that of Matthew (75 to 90 AD) and then Luke wrote his Gospel where he reveals more details of the life of Jesus. But even then believers wanted to know more about their hero, more details of his personal life, his friends, etc. so the 4th Gospel appeared at the end of the first century.
The Gospels were not meant to be read as we do today, alongside each other. Both Matthew and Luke’s Gospels were written to supersede that of Mark’s (where the least information of the life of Jesus is given) and were made use of in different quarters, where one or the other was not known.
The Gospel of John is a more philosophical work and thus more prone to exaggeration such as the one in Jn 21:25.

 

[DLClark]

The gospel that Jesus gave to us is found in 1 Cor. 15:1-4.

 

[fbl9]

During a mass, we hear these words at the end of a Scriptural reading: “A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John” – or St. Matthew, or St. Luke, or whoever wrote the particular passage being read.

Now, what about the Gospel according to Jesus? Jesus Himself preached some “gospel.” Once, when in a synagogue in Nazareth, He read from the book of Isaiah and declared that the particular passage He just read (a prophecy) has been fulfilled by His coming. One of the things prophesied there was that He was to be the Anointed One to preach THE Gospel.

“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, 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, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:17-19).

If Jesus was to “preach the gospel to the poor,” what was this gospel that Jesus was prophesied to preach?

I would like to get your ideas on the subject and see if we are on the same page on this one.

Thanks.

Mailman if you actually attended Mass you wouldn’t have to ask …the words " a reading form the gospel according to N" are heard at the begining of the reading… after the reading of the gospel the priest concludes with these words…"the good news, or gospel, of Jesus Christ.
I find your use of the word “we” in your post rather deceptive of you,for you would not attend that which you consider a pagan ritual…

 

[DLClark]

The mass has nothing to do with the gospel Jesus gave us. His gospel is found in 1 Cor. 15:1-4.

 

[fbl9]

The mass has nothing to do with the gospel Jesus gave us. His gospel is found in 1 Cor. 15:1-4.

sorry you are so totally wrong on that one.

and it took Him about 3.5 yrs to say/do only that?

 

[DLClark]

sorry you are so totally wrong on that one.

and it took Him about 3.5 yrs to say/do only that?

The Bible says that there is no saving benefit to works. The mass is a work of righteousness man does trying to make himself righteous before God. Titus 3:5 says we are not saved by works of righteousness. Anything added to faith for salvation then becomes a work of righteousness. Is. 64:6 says that all our rightousness are as filthy rags. Eph. 2:8-9 saya we are saved by grace through faith and not of works.

Q. Do you know for sure that when you die that you will be in heaven?

 

[Chesster]

Matt. 4:23 – “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom….”

Matt. 9:35 – “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom….”

Luke 8:1 – “And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God….”

Jesus’ message or good news was about the coming Kingdom of God. But it would not be possible for man to enter into this Kingdom without first being reconciled to God (man’s sin caused him to be separated from God), thus His message of reconciliation. Jesus’ death made possible this reconciliation: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son…” (Rom. 5:10). But it is by His life – by His resurrection from the dead – that we shall be able to enter into the glorious Kingdom: “…much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Are you telling me that the gospel of the kingdom does not include reconciliation?

What exactly does the gospel of the kingdom entail?

 

[SHW]

The Bible says that there is no saving benefit to works. The mass is a work of righteousness man does trying to make himself righteous before God. Titus 3:5 says we are not saved by works of righteousness. Anything added to faith for salvation then becomes a work of righteousness. Is. 64:6 says that all our rightousness are as filthy rags. Eph. 2:8-9 saya we are saved by grace through faith and not of works.

Q. Do you know for sure that when you die that you will be in heaven?

Eph 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

We are first saved by grace. After we are saved by grace, we stand in this grace (continue in this grace) by fearing God (obeying His commandments) and doing righteous works according to the will of God, for which we were created. (Acts 10:34-35)

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

God prepared good works for us to do and we must do them or we will not inherit eternal life.

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

After Jesus saves us, then we must do the will of His Father in heaven in order to inherit eternal life. His will for us is that we obey His commandments and do righteous works. If we do not do these things, then we will not continue to be saved. (Acts 10:34-35)

Your question, “Do you know for sure that when you die that you will be in heaven?” Here is my answer:

I “hope” to be in heaven after I die. This is what Christians have: “hope” of eternal life until God judges them after they die.

Titus 3:7 “that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Paul did not judge himself worthy of eternal life and we are not to judge ourselves either. Premature judgment claiming eternal life for oneself is called “presumption.”

1 Corinthians 4:2-5 “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”

James 2:24 “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.”

 

[avflf]

James 2:24 “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.”

And you could add (Rev 20:12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.(Rev 20:13) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

 

[PJM]

=avflf;5225086]Fair enough, but your explanation does not answer the proposition that Paul, in his letters, kept referring to “his Gospel” in a way that leads to the conclusion that he had written one and that such gospel was known to the folks he directed the Epistles to. That one can glimmer Christ’s message from the other Gospels is not the point here. Did he write a good news parchment or did he simply preached by word of mouth his understanding of the Christ, as summarized in 1Co 15:I]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:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Was this then the sum total of his good news?

Paul’s “personal Gospel” if we may call it that was to preach “Christ Crucified!”

1 Cor. 1:23 “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Gal. 1: 6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel–** 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8* But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed**”

1 Thess. 2: 9 " For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God."

There are many more evidences of this, but the point is made.

Love and prayers,

 

[Jerry_Marino]

Very interesting point!!
the good news of Jesus is not centered around His death and crucifixion… Paul also points to this in Acts 17… the idea is that the crucifixion and resurrection was “proof” of Jesus’ authority as a messenger of the gospel.

whaaaaat!

if not centered on the cross then what good news is there?

c’mon people wake up and smell the coffee!

 

[swplan76]

whaaaaat!

if not centered on the cross then what good news is there?

c’mon people wake up and smell the coffee!

I know, when I started to process the ideas presented earlier in this post I was surprised too! But think about what the other people have presented in a logical way. The Bible says that Jesus was sending out the disciples to share the gospel, but they didn’t know that Jesus was the son of God, or that He was going to die. They were surprised by all these things.

The question that has been posed was, what were the disciples preaching if they weren’t talking to people about the death and resurrection of Jesus for the remission of our sins? It seems to me that God is calling us to return to Him… and does this through Jesus.

In Acts 17:19-31 Paul presents the Gospel Message to a bunch of Greeks. Paul doesn’t begin with talking about the death and resurrection of Jesus. He tells them about who God is and what He is calling us to. The cross is the evidence of what God is doing and has done.

19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” 21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28’For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

29"Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. 30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

The good news is that we are part of this huge story that started with Adam and Eve in the garden where God wants us to be close to Him, to walk with Him. Part of the story is that we always walk away from Him, yet He always calls us back and always wants us to be close to Him. Jesus makes it possible for us to be as close to God as possible both now and in the here after.

The main thing, what the message is centered on, is that God wants us to return/repent and know Him/walk with Him/join Him in what He is doing. The prophets spoke of the coming of Jesus - God was leading up to what He was going to do through Jesus. The life, death and resurrection of Christ is how God draws us to Him.

 

[PJM]

Originally Posted by DLClark
The mass has nothing to do with the gospel Jesus gave us. His gospel is found in 1 Cor. 15:1-4.

the reply

sorry you are so totally wrong on that one.

and it took Him about 3.5 yrs to say/do only that?

---

…i am just a rainbow in the dark…

my comments

Dear friend DLCLARKE,

1 Cor. 15: 1-4 "Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, 2 by which you are saved, if you hold it fast–unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve

I’m taking a stab in the dark here and guessing you’re speaking of OSAS? Right?

Friend the word “Gospel” means “good-news” and indeed what you’re presenting as the “Gospel of Jesus” id the greates possible “good news” for all of Christanty.

But if you’re leading to OSAS you need more information.

Research and read the following:

Jn. 3:16
Jn.3: 5
Mt. 19:16
Mt. 25:31-45 (works)
James Ch. 2
Jn. 20: 23-24
1 Jn. Ch. 5

These are only the tip of the entire TRUTH.

Friend, Jesus did not have “a personal Gospel”; JESUS IS THEE GOSPEL!

Love and prayers

 

[fbl9]

The Bible says that there is no saving benefit to works. The mass is a work of righteousness man does trying to make himself righteous before God. Titus 3:5 says we are not saved by works of righteousness. Anything added to faith for salvation then becomes a work of righteousness. Is. 64:6 says that all our rightousness are as filthy rags. Eph. 2:8-9 saya we are saved by grace through faith and not of works.

Q. Do you know for sure that when you die that you will be in heaven?

You (DLClark) fail to see that without Christ all the rightous works in the world will be of no avail…it through Him ,with Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit that rightous works have any value.

all i can say is if i were die at this very moment i would have hope for purgatory.

 

[BRB1]

The Bible says that there is no saving benefit to works. The mass is a work of righteousness man does trying to make himself righteous before God. Titus 3:5 says we are not saved by works of righteousness. Anything added to faith for salvation then becomes a work of righteousness. Is. 64:6 says that all our rightousness are as filthy rags. Eph. 2:8-9 saya we are saved by grace through faith and not of works.

?

DLC …

Did Christ every criticize good works or righteousness ? On the contrary !!!

You are confusing one’s conversion justification by faith, apart from works … with ones postconversion calling to righteousness & gracious works. Paul specifically calls the Christian converts to imitate his life of righteousness … just as he imitates Christ’s Law of Love.

The Mass is not as you describe. You are misinformed … and need to attend Mass to learn the fuller truth, on how to ABIDE in Christ.

 

[DLClark]

Are you telling me that the gospel of the kingdom does not include reconciliation?

What exactly does the gospel of the kingdom entail?

The Bible does not tell us that we will be at the right or the left station of christ. It does say for sure that we will be in heaven with Him though.

the gospel that Jesus gave to us is found in 1 Cor. 15:1-4. Have you read this plan of salvation and dhave you believed this message? If not then you are not saved. If you have added anything to it then you are not saved.

 

[PJM]

Originally Posted by DLClark
The Bible says that there is no saving benefit to works. The mass is a work of righteousness man does trying to make himself righteous before God. Titus 3:5 says we are not saved by works of righteousness. Anything added to faith for salvation then becomes a work of righteousness. Is. 64:6 says that all our rightousness are as filthy rags. Eph. 2:8-9 saya we are saved by grace through faith and not of works.

Dear friend in Christ,

Re: “The Mass”

Friend are you saying Jesus **[who too is God is wrong?] ** about the Mass.

Please look up the following:

Luke 22: 19 and you will find the words of Jesus “Do this in memory of Me.” Friend, that is a MANDATE, not a suggestion.

Look also at 1 Cor.11:25 repeates the identical message. Mandate, not option. God’s plan, not something “invented by the RCC!.”

FYI… All of the following speak to the topic of the Catholic Mass and Holy Communion.

Mt. 26: 26-28, Mk.14: 224-24, Lk. 22: 19-21, 1 Cor. 11:23-26, and John Chapter 6.

Now lets talk about Ephesians

You mention Eph. 2: 8-9 " 8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God not because of works, lest any man should boast.”

Then what about these? Also from Eph.

Eph. 2:10 ** 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
** Cleary Jesus [not only Paul] tells us we ARE TO DO GOOD WORKS!

Gal. 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no man is justified before God by the law; for “He who through faith is righteous shall live”;

**Romans 2: 5 “But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.For he will render to every man according to his works”/**B]

10 For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

And of course all of James Chapter 2

Question: Which teaching is correct? Answer BOTH! How can this be?

Because their are two DIFFERENT “works” being spoken about and taught.

You’re Eph. 8-9 [and many other verses] speak about the “OT Torah law’s” which Christ did not do away with, but explained that adgerence to them does not effect ones Salvation.

Good works [James Ch. 2 for example] as well as required adherence of the Ten -Commandments, which too ARE WORKS, do have an effect on our potential Salvation.

So care is essential in understanding just what “works” are being spoken about.

God’s GRACE is required for Salvation, and Catholic Mass wherein Jesus Himself is made [now in His risen Glorifed Body] really and trutly Present in Person, in Catholic Holy Communion. Not a mere sign or symbol, NO! Jesus HIMSELF!

By our Blessed Lords Death, Jesus “Redeemed us” BUT did not “save us” as Salvation is a process requireing obedience to the Commandments, good works, and charity.

Catholics know and believe that nothing we can do ON OUR OWN, no matter how Good, can “earn us” Salvation, which is a FREE unmerited Gift from God through the merits of Jesus; that being said, nevertheless, we do have an active and obediently cooperative role to perfrom and do.

Freewill, minds, intellects are also free unmerited Gifts from God, granted to us precisely so we may not only choose for ourselves, our damination or Salvation, by our personal choices, where we spend Eterinity, because it is US, NOT GOD, passing Fair and Just Judgement upon ourselves, and Jesus simply affirms the choice we make!

**
God who is “all and only all good thingd perfectly” could not be God, if he did not permit us to use the GIFTS that he gave us precisly for this reason!**

Q. Do you know for sure that when you die that you will be in heaven??QUOTE]
**

No, and friend, neither do you!**

We live and hope and pray and obey, and trust in God’s Mercy, BUT we do not know with certitude.

Love and prayer’s,

Pat

 

[DLClark]

No I am not asying that Jesus is wrong. Jesus never said that Mass saves us. Jesus did say though that we were saved by faith in Him , John 3:15-18.

 

[DLClark]

Q. for all who thinks that the Mass saves. Where in the Bible does it say that if you do not take part in the Mass you are not saved?