Finding the Gospel

Tom Knobel

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781098010645
• eBook ISBN: 9781098010652
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Education

The central Christian message, the Gospel, is not what you'd call standardized. It seems to have all sorts of different definitions. Do you have to be baptized? Do you have to repent of all your sins to be redeemed? What words would you use to tell someone about the good news? The answers to these and other questions are answered in very simple terms in this short description of how God has reconciled sinners to Himself. If what you hear on this subject has always confused you or left you asking questions, then read this easily understood explanation of the most important topic of our lifetime. You will be surprised, as I was, by what the Bible really says about salvation. God bless you richly on your journey!

Finding the Gospel

Tom Knobel

Copyright © 2019 by Tom Knobel

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

God Saves Us, Period

Initially, We Were Not Interested in Christ

God Works a Change in Us

God Gives Us Repentance that Leads to Life

We Are Not Required to Repent of All Our Sin for Salvation

Only Two

God Finishes What He Starts

The Spoken Gospel

The Gospel in the Old Testament

Saved from What?

What Now?

Thank you to Jim and Steve who read and responded with wisdom.
I appreciate your counsel very much.

Introduction

When I became a Christian, I was hungry to learn about the salvation process. It was all so new and strange and fascinating. Eventually, I could identify with what it was I was so intrigued: the gospel message. But it was unclear to me from what I was hearing in Christendom. What I was hearing was not consistent. I wanted to know exactly what the message was that I was supposed to share with others so they too could be reconciled to God. I took training and watched videos. I listened to recorded messages I bought or the radio. Each one was different; many had elements I couldn’t justify or find in the Scriptures. It seemed the easy thing to do would be to leave this to the professionals. The message seemed to be complex. Maybe it changed depending on who you were talking to. And there was this so-called sinner’s prayer that you had to master so you could lead someone in it. It was frustrating. I was taking on so much guilt with regard to “getting people saved.” At one point I believed that if I just explained everything well enough, the message could not be refused. Getting someone saved was all on me.

Christians are commanded by Jesus to go into all the nations and teach them. Should not the message be easily understood and standardized by now? How is it that most say they do not share the message because it is too complicated or hard to understand? I knew this was not just the pastor’s job, yet it didn’t seem like the message was being presented by the masses, nor was the message uniform as it went out.

The first training I took said if someone didn’t pray with you, they weren’t saved. Another course was polished, step by step walking someone through a series of concepts. Then, after seemingly painting them into a corner where the answer was obvious, you asked if they want to accept Christ. After you led them in prayer, you pronounced them saved and welcomed them to the family of God.

There was an open-air preacher I watched on video who did a wonderful job of making the people aware of their sin and their need for Christ. Then he told them they need to repent of all their sin to be saved.

I’m not alone in this experience. Just search the Internet on the percentage of Christians that share the gospel. You will find research that shows anywhere from 50 to 99 percent of people never share the gospel. How would you like it if your car ran on 50 percent of its cylinders? I believe there are several reasons for this failure. People don’t really understand the message because they haven’t spent time trying to articulate it and the common use of contemporary jargon confuses the message. People think their job is to “win souls,” which puts more responsibility on them than is reasonable based on Scriptures. Many will believe they can’t do it because it’s too complicated. It is the pastor’s job.

This book is the fruit of my journey through this maze of information. The Bible is the best place for us to find answers. I want to spend most of my time presenting Scriptures that relate to the message and process of salvation. I want to show how God saves sinners, the importance of understanding the meaning of repentance when it is directly related to salvation, and that our salvation is the work of our God alone. I hope that when you finish this short book, you will be able to articulate the gospel easily and confidently and understand your role in delivering it.

Brief Outline of Chapter Topics

Chapter 1 God Saves Us, Period

This chapter explores the fact that not only is God the One who saves people, He is the only one who is able to save. A clear understanding of this is critical to our understanding of our security in Christ.

Chapter 2 Initially, We Are Not Interested in Christ

The Bible describes unregenerate man as unable to please God and not interested in God’s free gift of salvation. People are born into sin and live as children of wrath unless and until God calls them to Himself and regenerates them. Prior to being reconciled to God, people are His enemies.

Chapter 3 God Works a Change in Us

The state of people prior to salvation is hopeless. There is nothing they themselves can do to “fix it” because it is impossible for them to remove their own sin and become righteous. In order for someone to be declared righteous, God first does a work in them that Jesus describes as being born again. Jesus also declares that no one comes to Him except the Father draws them.

Chapter 4 God Grants Us Repentance that Leads to Life

The initial state of a person is hostile to God. God gifts someone with repentance, a change of mind, so that they can respond favorably to the gospel message.

Chapter 5 We Are Not Required to Repent of All Our Sin for Salvation

Since repentance is a very misunderstood term, its definition regarding its role in the salvation process is discussed here.

Chapter 6 Only Two

There are two religions on earth: one says you earn your way into God’s favo...

Table of contents

• God Saves Us, Period
• Initially, We Were Not Interested in Christ
• God Works a Change in Us
• God Gives Us Repentance that Leads to Life
• We Are Not Required to Repent of All Our Sin for Salvation
• Only Two
• God Finishes What He Starts
• The Spoken Gospel
• The Gospel in the Old Testament
• Saved from What?
• What Now?