There is
so much confusion in Christendom
By Bill
Wittpenn
Dispensational Chart
PDF
Download of Full Brochure Click HereThe problem is that people read their Bible too superstitiously, thinking that "wherever" they read and "whatever" they read is what God is saying to them; but that is not so. Confusion begins by not paying attention to "Who" is being addressed in a passage of the Bible; and then, not believing that when God addresses "Israel," He means Israel.
There is a portion of the Bible that specifically addresses US - Gentiles and Jews of this age. It is the books of Romans through Philemon. Now let's see how knowing this fact clears up much confusion.
It is commonly taught that there is only one gospel in the Bible. (I'm not speaking of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John which are sometimes called the four Gospels.) I'm talking about the proclamation of the gospel in the Bible. Many--in fact most--believe that all the New Testament preachers (John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, the Twelve Apostles, and the Apostle Paul) preached the same gospel. This is totally unscriptural! The Bible speaks of several gospels: "THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM," "THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD," THE GOSPEL OF PEACE," "THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL," "THE GOSPEL OF THE CIRCUMCISION," "THE GOSPEL OF THE UNCIRCUMCISION," etc. These are not all synonymous terms for the gospel.
The "GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM" is what our Lord Jesus Christ preached during his earthly ministry, according to Matthew 4:23. By comparing this verse with Matthew 4:17, we know that the "GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM" is the preaching of the good news that the "KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND." This was the "Kingdom" Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray for in Matthew 6:10:
"THY KINGDOM COME. THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN."
God promised in the Old Testament to set up a Kingdom here on Earth through the nation Israel, in which Jesus Christ would reign as King! Christ was here; and the good news proclaimed was that the Kingdom was at hand. In Matthew 10:7 we find this to be the same gospel the Twelve Apostles were sent to preach. Also, in Matthew 10:5,6 we learn that this gospel was good news for the Nation of Israel. It is amazing, yet true, that even after the Twelve Apostles had been preaching this gospel for some time, they still did not know about Christ's purpose to go to the cross and die for their sins. We know this is true because when Jesus Christ began later to tell his Apostles that he was going to Jerusalem to die, they did not believe him, nor did they understand hat he was talking about. The reason they didn't understand was because they were preaching the good news about the Kingdom and to take the throne as their King - see Matthew 16:21,22; Luke 18:31-34; and Luke 19:11.
How, then, could the Twelve Apostles have been preaching the same gospel as the Apostle Paul later preached, when they did not know nor understand anything about the Cross at that time? Yet Paul says he preached (I Corinthians 1:18,23)
"THE CROSS" and "CHRIST CRUCIFIED"!
The point is this: the gospel that the Twelve Apostles preached during the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ is not the same gospel the Apostle Paul was sent to preach later. According to I Corinthians 15:1-4, the gospel Paul preached was the GOOD NEWS of the DEATH, BURIAL, and RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ FOR OUR SINS.
Paul tells us where his gospel originated in Galatians 1:11,12. It was after the resurrection and ascension that the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to the Apostle Paul all that was accomplished on the Cross. In Acts 20:24, Paul calls this message "THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD." In Galatians 2:1,2, we see that this gospel is intended for the Gentiles as well as Jews; and in Galatians 2:6-10 we find that the Twelve Apostles learned of this gospel from Paul.
In this present age of "GRACE," God has set Israel as a nation aside, and the Kingdom promised them has been postponed until a future time. Therefore the "GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM" is NOT God's message of good news for today, but rather the good news of how the Cross saves Sinners of all nationalities. This is God's message for today!
This is why the first epistle of Paul, set forth in our Bible, is the book of Romans. The book of Romans teaches precisely how God saves sinners. Therefore the following is God's message of good news for YOU today!
Read:
HE
PROVED HE WAS GOD - Connie (Ashlock) Spivey 1997
Grace Bible Church (Click Here)
(A 10 Minute Video)
How
God Saves Men
Believing
Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing
Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read
Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
(A 10 Minute Video)
E-mail
this BIBLE STUDY to all your friends
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