Part #3 of #3 – Continued from CRUMB 0060 – “WHAT GOSPEL”
“Better” is the word that Scripture uses as the chief difference, between the old and the new.
The theme of Scripture today is, “what we had was good”, but this now is “better”.
It is the deepest hope and desire of every man on the planet, to see better days ahead.
And the shed blood of Jesus Christ ‘does’ speak of better things [Hebrews 12:24].
It speaks of a wonderful eternity.
“The old has gone with the wind and the new is here to stay. The Gospel of our salvation that we have today is not just ‘best’, IT IS THE ONLY ONE.
This transitional change for the better took place two thousand years ago.
Now that may seem like an awful long time for us but not when you consider eternity.
Peter the apostle tells us “not to be ignorant of this one thing” in [2 Peter 3:8]:
“That one day is with the LORD as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day”.
Looking Back In Time
When we look back in time, be it ten, twenty, forty or sixty years, it realistically seems just like yesterday. Does it not?
Many of us are left wondering where it’s gone and we will die wondering.
“We were teenagers just the other day”, some of us old people sometimes think when looking in the mirror.
But that is time my friend and it blows away with the wind in the blink of an eye.
And when we look at it in this light, which we should, securing our eternal future becomes of prime importance.
It takes preeminence far above everything else.
We do so in the natural, by catering for our latter years, much more should we do so in the spiritual.
It’s not worth ignoring what Christ Jesus told us in [Mark 8:36].
“For what does it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul”
This is not to be taken lightly for that day is soon coming and it will inevitably come.
All who have willfully rejected Paul’s Gospel of salvation shall stand in the courts of judgment “without excuse” [Romans 1:20].
An Infallible, Better And Glorious Hope
We have an infallible and better hope which goes far beyond the confines of our human imagination.
If we truly believe and focus on the Truth of God’s Word, we are all heading for a youthful longevity that will last for eternity.
And we “know” that is true, even though we cannot comprehend it with our natural minds.
And this is why we know it’s incomprehensibly and unexplainably true:
Because God has set eternity in the heart of man [CRUMB 0009]
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts” [Ecclesiastes 3:11].
No one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. We will know only when we get there.
Eternity is real and is not of this current realm that we live in. What we are living in today is temporal and we will all, without exception, transit one day into the eternal.
Our sincere prayer and hope is that all of us will end up on the right side of eternity.
That is God’s perfect will and desire for us too in [1 Timothy 2:4].
“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth”.
And here is an unshakeable, infallible and timeless Truth.
We Can Know For Sure
WE “CAN” KNOW FOR SURE without question and we can know ‘NOW’…… AT THIS MOMENT!”
This is what the Gospel of Grace is all about.
This is what the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is all about.
For it gives us a far better and sure hope.
For when we truly believe it, we know for sure that our eternal security is in safe Hands.
This is a far better place to be in. It is in fact, the best place to be in.
And we pleafully urge you NOT to turn your back on it.
Christ And His Kingdom Rejected
Picking up from [CRUMB 0060], we saw how the nation of Israel rejected their wonderful “Kingdom Gospel”.
Their Glorious promised Kingdom was at hand. It was near.
The stoning to death of Stephen, God’s faithful servant, was the pinnacle of their rejection.
God had given them every opportunity. But they would not take it.
“We will not have this man to reign over us”, was their response [Luke 19:14].
So God set Israel aside. NOT CAST AWAY [Romans 11:1]. Never forget that!
God Has Not Given Up On Israel
God has by no means given up on Israel.
The Kingdom agenda with all its Glory, benefits and benevolence has been temporarily shelved for a future date.
It will be fulfilled by Israel and the Church has no business coveting that.
Honestly! We need to pay a lot more heed to our designated apostle Paul.
He alone is Christ’s Hand-picked appointee for us.
Once again we stress that we are ‘not’ the ‘spiritual Israel’ as taught by many.
There is no Scriptural backing or even a remote suggestion for that whatsoever.
Israel is Israel and The Body Of Christ is the Body Of Christ. Period!
Israel is the “earthly body” and the Church, which is the Body of Christ, is the “heavenly body”.
They are two separate programmes and at some point in eternity future God will bring them together.”
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times” Paul tells us in [Ephesians 1:10], pointing to eternity future.
“He (God) might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him”.
Take your time! Let that Truth sink in.
The “covenants” belong to Israel [Romans 9:4], not the Church, The Body of Christ. There is no covenant with the Church.
God “will” pick up where He left off to finish dealing with the nation of Israel.
And that will happen the moment this current “Age Of Grace” comes to an end.
It will happen!
The Mystery Gospel Revealed
After Israel totally rejects their Gospel, God starts something totally different and new.
It was the hidden mystery programme, which was “kept secret since the world began” [Romans 16:25].
God had Saul of Tarsus marked [CRUMB 0051].
JESUS CHRIST saves him gloriously on the road to Damascus and then changes his name to Paul [Acts 13:9].
HE then knocks all the religious Judaism out of Paul on a “One to one” three-year seminary training stint in Arabia.
And then commissions him to go out to the Gentile world with the Gospel of Grace, which today is our Gospel of Salvation.
Here is that ‘mystery hidden Gospel”, now revealed by the Ascended LORD JESUS CHRIST in Glory through Paul for us:
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you THE GOSPEL”, says Paul, specifying that there is now only “ONE”.
“…..which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand”.
“By which (this exclusive mystery Gospel) also ye are saved”. THIS IS THE ONLY GOSPEL THAT SAVES TODAY.
“…..If ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain”.
“For I (exclusively Paul) delivered unto you first of all that which I also received”.
OK, let’s question this right here!
Paul, talking about “the Gospel”, says, “which I also received”.
Well, how did he receive it? That’s a valid question.
The answer is found in [Galatians 1:11-12]:
“But I certify you (Paul is declaring), brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man”.
“For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ”.
You see that!
Paul got his Gospel for us by direct revelation from the Ascended Lord Jesus Christ in Glory.
Now here is that glorious Gospel:
Paul continues in [1 Corinthians 15:3-4], “how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures”.
Christ’s death was foretold in the Old Testament Scriptures [Psalm 22:12-16], as was His burial and resurrection [Psalm 16:9-11].
“And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures”.
By Faith Alone
THE MOMENT we put our heart faith in this Gospel, God instantly moves in.
HE saves and seals us “irrevocably” for an eternity in heaven.
This is the Gospel of Grace for us today and the only one that saves.
This Gospel is totally void of any kind of works be it religious or non-religious.
The language of the cross has no religious tone or tune to it.
Just believe! That’s it!
SALVATION = FAITH + NOTHING
God is not offering a Kingdom today!
HE is offering personal salvation to “whomsoever” will believe with their heart in the finished works of the cross.
The Kingdom will inevitably come, but only and after the “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” [Romans 11:25].
That is also when God will pick up where HE left off with the nation of Israel.
The moment that last believer steps into the Body of Christ through Paul’s Gospel, the Israeli clock will start to tick again.
The Transition
As Paul’s Gospel started to come into the limelight, the Gospel of the Kingdom started to fade away.
It was a gradual process and did not happen overnight.
Archeology has actually determined that by the turn of the first century, all the Messiah believing Jews had passed away.
This Gospel of Grace stands. This is what we place our faith in today. It has withstood the storms and the tests of time for the last two thousand years.
Satan our adversary has tried and continues to try his best to blot it out.
He uses all the armoury he can lay his hands on, which includes governments, leaders of nations and religion.
But Paul’s Gospel will just not blot out. With every attack it shines ever brighter.
So the devil tries to subtly twist and pervert it.
But Jesus Christ gave us Paul the apostle to put us wise and discern those subtle twists.
The Only Question That Remains
The only question that remains is, “what are we going to do with this Gospel?”
Do we accept it by faith or do we reject it. The choice is ours. We are responsible for making that choice.
For after its all been said and done, we will without doubt, end up being a product of our choices.
Pontius Pilate put the question to the Jews in [Matthew 27:22].
“What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?”
This was their response, “Let him be crucified”.
“What would you say today?”
“The Answer My Friend Is Blowing In The Wind
The Answer Is Blowing In The Wind”
