With the publication of John MacArthur’s book in 1988, The Gospel According to Jesus, a very important debate amongevangelicals quickly followed, often dividing Christian communities into the so-called “Lordship Salvation” camp and the “Free Grace” camp. The concern is that many people profess to follow Christ, yet don’t display the fruit ofthat confession in their lives. Others leave the faith altogether after some years of church involvement. Were those people ever saved? That question prompts us to examine the substance of the gospel according to Jesus.
Our lesson will explore the following questions –
What truths must you know and believe to be saved?
What is the complete gospel message?
Does saving faith always produce fruit?
The issue at hand is whether, in addition to belief in the gospel, repentance from sin, obedience to God, and submission to Christ’s lordship are necessary for sinners to be saved.
This class will explore further the important question – whatis the Gospel? If we understand the Gospel as Paul definesit in 1 Cor 15:3-4 – the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ – it naturally begs the question if Jesus preached theGospel.
We know from the four gospel accounts that Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. Is the Gospel according to Paul different from the Gospel according to Jesus? Some Christian leaders would go so far as to say that “I don’t believe in the Pauline gospel, but I believe in the Kingdom gospel.”
Understanding the Gospel presupposes a certain way ofreading the Bible storyline. In this class, we will discus
how to read the synoptic gospel accounts,
the nature of the Kingdom of God, and
how to reconcile the apparent tension between the Pauline gospel and the Kingdom gospel when it comes to sharing the good news with others.
The gospel is about placing our faith and trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation. That means Christians have a personal relationship with God. How should we think of the relationship between God and humans? To answer that question and tounderstand the gospel plotline in the Bible, we must make sense of God’s promises to Abraham.
In this session, we will discuss a few important matters.
We will examine how Christians typically relate to God.
We will discuss the promises and terms God made with Abraham as the basis for Christian faith and living.
We will talk about the significance of Abraham, as he is the root figure for three major world religions.
The gospel in the larger context of thebiblical narrative begins with the claim that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Although Christians cannot prove the existence of God,there are many cogent reasons why creationism is still the most valid worldview.
This lesson will introduce a few of the standard arguments—philosophical,moral, and historical—for the existenceof a Creator God. If you want to learn how to answer objections and defend the truth of the Christian faith, this lesson is for you.
As evangelical Christians, it is critical for us to understand the core or fundamental belief of Christian faith. The Apostle Paul explains the “gospel” as the doctrine by which the Corinthians were saved as “of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture…” (1 Cor 15:3). Thus, the gospel refers to the person and work of Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of OT messianic promises, and constitutes the main storyline of the entire Bible.
Our 2023 SoCM adult Sunday School class has three main learning objectives to support our initiative to build a disciple-making church. We seek to:
understand the “gospel” content in its multi-dimensional facets;
consider how the gospel can transform our lives, and
be trained to share the gospel with non-believers.
The first session is introductory in nature and will cover the “Biblical Gospel” in its concise and broader contexts.
