The Gospels, Foundations Week – audio transcript
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WB = Wendy Blight
EG = Eric Gagnon
Wendy Blight: Happy weekend! Welcome to Foundations Week for our harmony of the Gospels study, Good News: How the Four Gospels Point Us to One Person We Can Trust. Today, we have a special treat, because we have the author of our study and our Proverbs 31 theologian extraordinaire and my friend, Eric Gagnon, joining us. And this week, Eric not only lays the foundation for our next study, but he asks an important foundational question that I truly believe is essential to our study of harmonizing the Gospels. We have to first actually know what the gospel is and what it isn’t, and what it means to share the gospel in our own words and in our lives. So, Eric, can’t wait for you and to hear what you have to say.
Eric Gagnon: All right. Thank you so much, Wendy. Yeah, I’m gonna start out with a quick question, just to get us thinking. Is there a difference between sharing the gospel and sharing your testimony?
Well yes, I think there is a difference. I think they often overlap, but I think that there still is a difference between them. And yet, I also think that we often confuse the two. So, Wendy, help me out. Am I on the right track with this? Have you ever confused those things? Or is it just me that’s confused them?
WB: So I want to say yes. In fact, until you brought this up, I never really thought about there being a difference. So your teaching on this is going to be incredibly valuable and helpful for us all as we move forward in this study but also just in our own personal lives.
EG: Thank you. I’m glad to hear that. Yeah. Because sharing the gospel really means telling about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, which saves us from sin and death. So as a simple way, just a quick sentence, and sharing our testimony often means identifying ourselves with that gospel message, because our testimony involves how it is we came to faith in Christ and His message. So our stories, or our testimonies, really are important. In fact, when I think of the word “testimony,” I think about the verse in Revelation 12:11, which says that in these last days, the people of God will conquer our enemies. And it says we do that “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11, ESV). And that word that we translate into testimony in English comes from the Greek word marturia, which can mean testimony in a court of law or just evidence of any kind. And it means a witness to something, an attestation to the truth of something.
Now, New Testament scholars G.K. Beale and David H. Campbell write in their commentary on Revelation, “Just as both Satan’s and the world’s guilty verdict on Christ was overturned through His resurrection, so His followers have their verdict reversed in the same manner through their identification with that resurrection.” So in other words, the world condemned Jesus as a guilty criminal by killing Him on the cross, but Jesus reversed that when He rose from the dead.
So similarly, before coming to faith in Christ, we all stand condemned as sinners. That’s John 3:18. It says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18, ESV). Yet, like Jesus, we also reverse that sentence when we identify ourselves with Jesus and His resurrection.
So that brings us to our study, which we’ve titled Good News: How the Four Gospels Point Us to One Person We Can Trust, A Study of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And in its basic form, we’ve just chosen 30 passages of Scripture from the biblical books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John that trace the story of the gospel, which is the life, the ministry, the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. In the study, we’re going to look closely at similarities and differences between the Gospel accounts, which show different perspectives but also match each other on some very important details.
But really, the inspiration for this study comes from 1 Corinthians 1:18. Before I read that though, I’d like to illustrate it. So for anybody who’s ever bought a car or a piece of property or home, they know that it’s a process. So, Wendy, have you ever been in the process of buying or owning something?
WB: Aha. Two times we’ve bought a house since I’ve been married. And all I can say is it’s long and detailed and frustrating. But I think that’s because I really didn’t understand what I was reading and doing.
EG: Right. Yeah. There’s so many details. Especially with a home. And buying and owning something is sometimes such a process that unless you’re paying it all in cash, even after you’ve supposedly bought a car — or a house is really a better example — you can simultaneously say: 1) I’ve bought, and I now own a house. Look, I’ve got the deed to prove it. It’s done. 2) I’m in the process of owning my house still, because you can see the bank has loaned me the money. And then, 3) One day, on such and such a day in the future, I will fully and finally own my home. So it’s like three things at the same time: I own it, I’m in the process of owning it, and then one day we’ll fully own it.
And being a Christian is similar. That’s because salvation, which is being saved from sin and being saved from death, it happened for those who believe, but it’s also a process. And in theology, sometimes we call this “sanctification.”
God’s Word in 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the message of the cross” — that’s the gospel — “is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (NIV).
And 1 Corinthians, this is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church that he planted in Corinth, a city in what is today the country of Greece. And one of the problems being addressed by this verse is that the people of Corinth were arguing about who they liked more: Paul, Peter, or this guy named Apollos who was apparently a really great speaker, great motivator. And it seems many of the Corinthians were actually more impressed with Apollos than they were with Paul, even though Paul was the one who started their church. But Paul tells them to stop arguing about what man they follow and instead begin thinking spiritually, not earthly. So he tells them, “If you’re looking for power, you’re looking for it in the wrong place if you’re looking for it in any man, because the power of God, it’s not in eloquence; it’s not in wise or persuasive words.”
I’ll read verse 17, and then 18 again here. This is the Apostle Paul speaking, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18, NIV).
And the power of God is in this gospel message we see here. And lest we think this is just an isolated incident in the Bible, we can also see it in Romans 1:16, where it says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God” (NIV). The word “power” here in Greek is dunamis. And that’s where we get the word “dynamite.” The gospel message is like that. It’s not just powerful because it’s inspiring, but it really is explosive. It does what it’s meant to do. Even if there’s a mountain ahead, dynamite makes a path where there’s no path.
So let’s set off some dynamite by letting me share the gospel. So the gospel is good news. It’s that God made the world good, that He made mankind really good, and that He made mankind upright. And yet all of us have gone astray. We’ve broken God’s commands. We’ve committed cosmic crimes against the holy God. And like a good judge, God can’t simply overlook our evil. So as a good judge, He has sentenced us to eternal death. But He loved us so much that without ceasing to be God, He was born a man — Jesus Christ — lived a sinless life and was a perfect sacrifice for our sin. He died on a cross as a payment for our sin, and He was buried, and He was raised to life and ascended into heaven so that all of us who turn and trust in Him wouldn’t die but have eternal life.
And I know that as I spoke that message, the power of God moved somewhere in some listener somewhere. I can say that with confidence partly because of this verse because it says the gospel message is not just to get people saved. It’s not just for evangelism. Hearing the gospel is for Christians who’ve been Christians a long time, because it says, “To us who are being saved” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Remember that illustration of the car-owning process? That Greek word translated into English as “being saved” is sōzomenois. In English, we need two words to describe that, but it’s just one word in Greek. It’s not simply something that happened in the past. It’s a present, ongoing, continuous verb. Being saved is a process. It’s ongoing. So, Wendy, was there ever a time when you grew bored of hearing or sharing the gospel? Maybe because you thought it was something for other people or something for evangelism.
WB: Well, you know, it’s interesting, Eric, because I wouldn’t say I was so much bored. But I confess that I … like, when I’m in church and our pastor gives the gospel message, I feel like I’m saved already, so that isn’t for me. And this makes me feel so bad now, hearing your teaching, but I feel like I find myself tuning it out. But what I do do sometimes — and now I think I’m going to do even more — is I really want to pray for those the Lord is drawing — that they would have ears to hear and a heart to receive it, but at the same time, maybe pray also that the Lord would remind me of what He did for me and that I’ve been saved. And also, then allow me … Really, I’ve never thought of this before: God, give me the opportunity to now go out and share the gospel.
EG: Yeah, right. Thank you so much. You’re always so candid and honest and open, Wendy. I appreciate that. And, yeah, it’s … you’re right. It’s, like, you know, I’ve found myself in the same spot, because we know when we heard it first … We heard the gospel and believed it. We knew, you know, an event happened in the past where we’re justified, it says in Romans 8. We’re saved! It’s something that happened. But because of verses like this, we know even as Christians who’ve believed the gospel a long time, we do need to hear it daily. You know, multiple times a day. We need to be reminded of that. And God is still saving us by it, just as those in Scripture.
In this verse, it says they are “perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18). This is really, really fascinating, because perishing is also a process. And those who hear the gospel message, they think it’s foolish. They think it’s foolish because they are still dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1). Before we come to Christ, all of us are dead in sin spiritually. But also, here, it says they are perishing. So they are in the process of dying as well. And final death hasn’t come yet either.
So today, if you’re a believing Christian, we can celebrate. You are being saved; you were saved, and you’re being saved. And one day, you will be finally saved. And we can celebrate by committing to hearing and sharing this gospel message every day, with ourselves and also with other Christians and not just nonbelievers. If you’re undecided about the gospel and you’re listening to this, let me just encourage you. There truly is a cost to following Christ. The cost of following Jesus, though, is far less than the cost of not following Jesus.
Put more positively, following and trusting Christ is like finding a treasure in a field. But you can’t take the treasure unless you buy the whole field. But really, it’s so much better to sell everything you own and buy that field than hold on to anything else that we think we need. Jesus is worth it.
And if you’re listening today, and maybe this is the first time you’ve heard and believe the gospel, today’s a good day. But please tell somebody about that. That faith in Christ, it means eternal life. So don’t keep that moment to yourself.
Well, that’s all I have, Wendy. I hope this has blessed our listeners today.
WB: Eric, you know, I … Once again, thank you for a unique teaching. And it’s one we don’t often hear taught. But my heart was so moved when I read through your message the first time. And I truly believe that there is someone in particular — and I know the Lord knows who it is — who for the first time just heard the gospel. And I just want to say to that person — and there may be more [than one person] — I want to say what a glorious day it is. And we want to celebrate with you, as Eric said, because from this day forward, my friend, you have a new name and a new identity. You are a lavishly loved child of God. You are saved and redeemed and a new creation, and you have a plan and a purpose that’s bigger than yourself and the promise of eternity forever with your Father in heaven. So if you’re that person, or persons, will you leave a note in the comments. We will look for that, and we celebrate with you.
And, Father, as we close, I want to just pray for those of us who know the gospel message, who believe the gospel message. And, Lord, I pray that we would take this to heart and that we will remind ourselves every day what a beautiful gift it is. What a treasure we have in our hearts! That we would hold it close. That we would be grateful every day when we wake up that we are saved — sons and daughters of the one true God. And, Father, I also pray, now that we’ve been taught the gospel, that each of us would have the opportunity … that You would put someone across our path. Whether it’s in our own home, whether it’s in our neighborhood, whether it’s a stranger we might meet … it’s the person at the grocery store or at a restaurant … that You would open doors for us to share this gospel, share this hope that we have. And we thank You for that, Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Adorn the Gospel 