The Preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
What God has accomplished in Christ is so large, so wonderful, that the best of us tend to undervalue it. If it is to be enjoyed, the magnitude of salvation requires the abandonment of casual effort. The reason for this is obvious. God has undertaken the redemptive enterprise at great personal cost. His investment in our reconciliation is staggering. An enterprise of this nature cannot be appropriated with minimal effort or deficient understanding. The condition is by Divine design.
The Person of Christ is the central theme of scripture. He is the heartbeat of revelation and the appointed means of the fulfillment of divine objective. In the words of John, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev 19:10) At least eleven times, Jesus is called the believers High Priest. Each reference is foundational and is unequivocally associated with salvation. This situation requires that those in Christ achieve a satisfactory level of understanding in this area.
Hope is central in the life of faith. Without it, believers would echo the words of the Apostle Paul and become “of all men most miserable” (1 Cor 15:19). The person of Christ and the words of the gospel promote hope and confidence when they are received.
Our relationship to God through Jesus Christ is a spiritual one. It is not realized in the flesh, and does not consist of merely external procedures. In fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy, God has written His law upon the hearts of the regenerate (Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10). Those that have been reconciled to God serve the law of God with their mind (Rom. 7:25). Their thoughts are centered upon things "pertaining to life and godliness," and their affection is set "on things above" (2 Pet. 1:3; Col. 3:2). In confirmation of their acceptance, the Holy Spirit has been sent into their hearts (Gal. 4:6). He brings intimacy between the Father and His children, denoted by the expression "Abba, Father." These things take place within the individual.
(by Given O. Blakely 1998)
What God has accomplished in Christ is so large, so wonderful, that the best of us tend to undervalue it. If it is to be enjoyed, the magnitude of salvation requires the abandonment of casual effort. The reason for this is obvious. God has undertaken the redemptive enterprise at great personal cost. His investment in our reconciliation is staggering. An enterprise of this nature cannot be appropriated with minimal effort or deficient understanding. The condition is by Divine design.
The Person of Christ is the central theme of scripture. He is the heartbeat of revelation and the appointed means of the fulfillment of divine objective. In the words of John, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev 19:10) At least eleven times, Jesus is called the believers High Priest. Each reference is foundational and is unequivocally associated with salvation. This situation requires that those in Christ achieve a satisfactory level of understanding in this area.
Hope is central in the life of faith. Without it, believers would echo the words of the Apostle Paul and become “of all men most miserable” (1 Cor 15:19). The person of Christ and the words of the gospel promote hope and confidence when they are received.
Our relationship to God through Jesus Christ is a spiritual one. It is not realized in the flesh, and does not consist of merely external procedures. In fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy, God has written His law upon the hearts of the regenerate (Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10). Those that have been reconciled to God serve the law of God with their mind (Rom. 7:25). Their thoughts are centered upon things "pertaining to life and godliness," and their affection is set "on things above" (2 Pet. 1:3; Col. 3:2). In confirmation of their acceptance, the Holy Spirit has been sent into their hearts (Gal. 4:6). He brings intimacy between the Father and His children, denoted by the expression "Abba, Father." These things take place within the individual.
(by Given O. Blakely 1998)