Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. (Luke 1:1-4 KJV)
As we begin a long series on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we will first look at the purpose of the first four books of the New Testament. Even though the first four verses in Luke 1 relates to Luke’s writing, it also tells the main reason for the books of Gospel.
In Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, the word “gospel” means a reward for good tidings or good tiding. The New Century Version dismisses the word “gospel” and has been replaced with “good news” for at least 102 times. The gospel means: “1) the glad tidings of the kingdom of God soon to be set up, and subsequently also of Jesus the Messiah, the founder of this kingdom. After the death of Christ, the term comprises also the preaching of (concerning) Jesus Christ as having suffered death on the cross to procure eternal salvation for the men in the kingdom of God, but as restored to life and exalted to the right hand of God in heaven, thence to return in majesty to consummate the kingdom of God; 2) the glad tidings of salvation through Christ; 3) the proclamation of the grace of God manifest and pledged in Christ; and 3) as the messianic rank of Jesus was proved by his words, his deeds, and his death, the narrative of the sayings, deeds, and death of Jesus Christ came to be called the gospel or glad tidings.”
Many today’s churches have lost the truth of the words of God, because some of us may have decided to apart from the faith and gives ears to the doctrines of devils (see I Timothy 4:1). As we see, many churches are celebrating Easter Sunday and Christmas as the part of Christian heritage. Truly, these two holidays arrived from the pagan religion and have nothing to do with our Lord Jesus Christ.
In this new study series, we will search carefully through the Scriptures to learn the true aspect of the Christianity. There are many preachers in the world today, who proclaim to be the true churches of Jesus Christ, but may have misled by the church doctrines. There aren’t certain doctrines we should or shouldn’t have in order to be followers of Jesus Christ. We are not separated by any church denominations. We all belong to one Lord, one Savior, one King, who is Jesus Christ. There are no Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, and Pentecostal churches in Heaven. The reason why many churches are corrupted, because we have decided to create several doctrines in order for us to be children of God.
In order for us to become children of God, we need to obey Him fully without changing His words. We need to search the Scripture carefully in order for us to understand God’s purpose.
