The Gospel: Defend It!

The Gospel: Love it!  Live it!  Share it!  Defend it!

The gospel is good news!  God’s gracious love given in Jesus Christ is of central importance.  The death and resurrection of Christ which saves those who have faith in him is of such incalculable value that it must be guarded.  Precious things deserve to be defended; failure to do so is simply irresponsible.  In the book of Philippians we have seen the apostle Paul express firm words when the message of the gospel is threatened.  He urges the church:

            Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision ...     (Philippians 3.2)

Why such rhetoric?  Because false teachers take away the life-giving gospel from God’s people.  In the book of Galatians where Paul extensively interacts with and refutes these false notions of adding works to the gospel Paul is very clear why he battles so hard for the purity of the gospel.

But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.  (Galatians 2.5)

If the church should lose the gospel then we lose everything!  Those who would preach “another gospel” harm the church and the apostle Paul speaks direct and forcefully to those who preach false gospels:

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!  As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed.  (Galatians 1.8-9)

The gospel message of God’s free grace revealed in the crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ, is too precious to allow to be overthrown by inattentiveness or apathy.  The church must be ever vigilant to guard and defend this gospel message.

The Gospel: Defend it!