Thursday, October 19, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 20 of 41




God’s work on my behalf

God raised Jesus from the dead, and God lifted Him up to His own right hand where He now reigns from on high, granting salvation and forgiveness to all who call on Him by faith. He is our Mediator.

Ephesians 1:15-21
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Acts 5:31
Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

Romans 10:13-14
 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

Acts 16:31

So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.

Friday, September 8, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 19 of 41


God’s work on My Behalf

On the third day after Jesus physically died, God raised Him from the dead.  By raising Jesus from the dead, God was making known that His death was utterly and completely sufficient to pay the price for every sin that I have committed, or will commit throughout my lifetime. 

1 Corinthians 15:3-4
 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

Acts 13:30-39
But God raised Him from the dead.  He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.  And we declare to you glad tidings—that promise which was made to the fathers.  God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm:
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.’
And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus:
‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’
 Therefore He also says in another Psalm:
‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’

 “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Thursday, September 7, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 18 of 41


God’s work on My Behalf


Jesus, God the Son, God incarnate, loved me so much that He willingly laid down His life for me. No one could love me more, or better than Jesus.

John 15:12-14

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 17 of 41



God’s work on My Behalf

God loved me so much that He was willing to not only suffer the loss of His son, but to allow His son to suffer the loss of Him while He hung on the cross and died. God, in this moment on the cross for the first time in all of eternity past, present, and future, turned his back to His son and could not look on Him for His son took the sin of mankind on himself and paid for it with His shed blood. A holy God could not look on sin, and turned His back on His own son for My sake.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Mark 15:34

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 16 of 41




God's Work on MY Behalf

Because of my sin against God and my helpless state that I am in, I can do nothing, and I am worthy of nothing. But God did it all by sending His Own Son into the world to die on the cross for my sins showing me unfathomable love. 

Romans 5:6
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 8:3
For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

Romans 5:7-8

 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 15 of 41


My sin against God (cont)



Apart from Christ I am helpless or as the New King James bible says in romans 5:6 I was without strength, I can do nothing about my status with God, my sin condemns me to judgement and I can do nothing. It is emphasizing that it is about Him, the Christ, and not about me. 


Romans 5:6

 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 

Thursday, May 18, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 14 of 41

My sin against God (cont)

And for me, apart from the work of Christ, I am judged on my own merit, my own good works, my own efforts to keep God’s laws. Because no one can keep God’s laws perfectly apart from Christ, I am guilty, bound by the power of sin, and enslaved by the lusts and temporal pleasures while waiting the judgement of God.

Romans 3:19
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

James 2:10
For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

Titus 3:3
For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

Ephesians 2:3 

…among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind…

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 13 of 41


My sin against God (cont)



Living for myself and thinking I can live for myself with no consequences, I have really shown myself to be utterly foolish. Because of my selfish arrogance God has every right as a righteous Judge to damn me to the eternal punishment of the everlasting experience of His terrifying wrath in the Lake of Fire that eternally burns with fire and brimstone. This is what I deserve because of my selfish, sinful life that I live for myself.  (How is this good news? first I have to realize why I need good news. the plight of humanity- no one is good except God)

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, (but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord).

Revelations 21:8
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. 

Ephesians 2:3
among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 


Wednesday, May 10, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 12 of 41


My sin against God (cont)

Living my life for myself and for my own pleasures while thinking I know what is best for me; I have broken the whole Law of God. I have sinned against God by breaking His laws he has set before me. 



Exodus 20- (excerpts from) 
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image-any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain...
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother....
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
You shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his or, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. 

Colossians 3:5
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 

Matthew 5:27-28
You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adulatory. But i say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 

1 John 3:15

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 

Saturday, April 29, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 11 of 41


My sin against God (cont)



I should be giving thanks to God and submitting my life to His rule as King and Lord over my life, but instead I have rebelled against Him and have been exalting myself above Him wanting to become lord of my own life making myself my own god.

Isaiah 47:10 
““For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’”


Exodus 34:14 
“(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),”

Exodus 20:3

You shall have no other gods before me.

Friday, April 28, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 10 of 41


My sin against God



Psalms 96:7-13 
Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.” Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.

In Deuteronomy you can almost feel the anguish in the words:
Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! (Deuteronomy 5:29)

But I have horribly and utterly failed the the Creator, the Alfa and Omega, the I Am. Just like I have, every persons has utterly failed miserably. Paul says in 

Romans 1: 20-25
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

And Romans 3:23 Paul explains:

Romans 3:23
....for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,....


Just like me, every single person since man Adam and Eve have been born with a sinful nature and fall far short of God's glory separating us from a perfect and holy God. 

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 9 of 41


The Glory of God 

God created me so that I might Glorify Him by finding my very delight in Him, and by joyfully obeying Him in everything i do, and think. 


Romans 11:36
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 10:31
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Deuteronomy 5:28-29

Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!


Saturday, April 22, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 8 of 41


The Glory of God (cont)

This Glorious, most wonderful, most Supreme God is the only One worthy of all admiration, honor, delight, and worship in all of the universe He created.

Revelations 4:11
You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist[b] and were created.”

Psalm 96
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved;
He shall judge the peoples righteously.”
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.
For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.


Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 7 of 41


The Glory of God (cont)


Every second of my life, from the moment of conception to my last heartbeat, is totally and utterly dependent on God.


Acts 17:28
…for in Him we live and move and have our being….

Paul was preaching and sharing the Gospel in the marketplace in Athens when certain philosophers heard him and brought him to what is known as the Areopagus (which means Mars Hill) for other men of learning to hear what he had to say. (To read the whole sermon and what happened, it can be found in Acts 17 of the Bible, or follow this link and read it … Acts 17  ).
Here in verse 28 Paul says that God brought all people into being and they only exist for His providence. 

Job 12:9-10
Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, In whose hand is the life of  
        every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?

Colossians 1:16-17
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether  
        thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is  
        before all things, and in Him all things consist. 

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 6 of 41


The Glory of God (cont)

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights,                            with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
       (paraphrased NLT) 
Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all        
                the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

1 Chronicles 29:10-14
Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said:
        Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O LORD,
And You are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.
Now therefore, our God,
We thank You
And praise Your glorious name.
But who am I, and who are my people,
That we should be able to offer so willingly as this?
For all things come from You,
And of Your own we have given You.

Romans 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who has become His counselor?
Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.
Amen.

When I take time to ponder God and His glory I can only praise Him for all that I am, all that I have. It is only because of the goodness of God that I am who I am, and I have all that I have. 

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
-David Psalm 100


Download a Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent

Monday, April 17, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 5 of 41


The Glory of God (cont)

1 Tim. 6:17
Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the  
        living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

Acts 14:17
Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and 
        fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. 


Ecclesiastes 3:9-13
What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can  
        find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,
and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

The book of Ecclesiastes shows that this life on earth is full of pain, tragedy and sufereing, but yet at the same time are to take pleasure in everyday life. There is a theme within this book that tells us to enjoy everyday life. In verse 13 the author shares with us….that every man should eat and drink adn enjoy the good of all his labor-it is the gift of God. The author explains how we are to live our lives in this present age. Amidst the pain and suffering of this age, every good and right pleasure I experience in this life is a gift from God to me to enjoy. 

Friday, April 14, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 4 of 41


The Glory of God (cont)

 Psalm 139
A Psalm of David. 
O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.
 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.
 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
 You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.
 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. 
 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall[fn] on me," Even the night shall be light about me;
 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.
 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;[fn] Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 
 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You. 
 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
 For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain.[fn]
 Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. 
 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

 Job 33:4 
The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.


Every breath I breathe, every single pulse of my heart, every moment I have been granted to live is a gift from God to me. 

Thursday, April 13, 2017

The Gospel, The Good News 3 of 41


Glory of God (cont.)

Psalm 100
 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: 
come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God: 
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; 
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, 
and into his courts with praise: 
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; 
his mercy is everlasting; 
and his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalms 107:1 
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

 Philipians 4:19 
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:16-17  
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

God is perfectly good and unbelievably merciful as my Creator. He sustains me, he holds me up, and takes care of all my needs. Everything I have comes from my God- a God who is good all the time (even in my darkest times, He is there for me). 


Lamentations 3:20-26
My soul still remembers
And sinks within me. 
This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not. 
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should hope and wait quietly

For the salvation of the Lord.