GOSPEL PREACHING: The Means and Message of Salvation

GOSPEL PREACHING: 
THE MEANS AND MESSAGE OF SALVATION
  by: Ron Halbrook     

Churches of Christ put great emphasis upon gospel preaching as the God-given means and message of salvation.  God made man in His image as an intelligent being and words are the means of communication between intelligent beings.  God communicates His love and will for man through the medium of words which men can understand.

   God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past 

unto the fathers by the prophets,

   Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, 

whom he hath appointed heir of all things, 

by whom also he made the worlds (Heb. 1:1-2).

First, God spoke directly to the patriarchs of old:  Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Then, He spoke to His people through prophets such as Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.  These revelations are found in the Old Testament Scriptures.  Finally, the fullness of God's grace and truth was revealed through Jesus Christ, His own divine Son.  That final revelation was given during the earthly ministry of Christ and the work of his Apostles.  This revelation is found in the New Testament Scriptures.  

Gospel preaching proclaims salvation from sin through God's Son, Jesus Christ.  Christ said,

   For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Lk. 19:10).

   I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (Jn. 14:6).

His Apostles preached this same salvation through Christ alone:  "Neither is there salvation in any other:  for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).  Churches of Christ are preaching this same salvation in Christ today!

Like the first preachers Christ sent out, we are preaching the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as real events in history and as the basis of salvation.  These events are not "cunningly devised fables" but were confirmed by "eyewitnesses" (2 Pet. 1:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-4).  Like those early preachers, we are proclaiming that men accept or reject God's grace by accepting or rejecting the conditions of pardon:  faith in Christ, repentance from sin, confession of Christ's deity, and immersion in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2:36-38; 8:35-40).  We plead with all men to accept God's grace:  "Save yourselves from this untoward [wicked] generation."

In order to save, gospel preaching must first convict men of their sins.  When Paul preached to people of humble station or to the highest dignitaries such as Felix, "he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come" (Acts 24:25).  Felix married Drusilla, who left her husband to enter this adulterous marriage.  When Paul confronted their sin and appealed to them to end their adulterous relationship, "Felix trembled."  The first preaching was not flattery, entertainment, or pop psychology, but confronted the sinner with his sin and the Savior, forcing him to choose between the two. 

In calling the sinner to a new way of life, gospel preaching proclaims "the kingdom of God," which is the church of Christ (Acts 8:12).  We are added to that kingdom or church when we obey the gospel.  We serve God in a local church which is scriptural in name, doctrine, work, worship, and organization.  We wear the name "Christian" without any denominational name such as Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, or Pentecostal.  The Bible itself is our standard of authority without the creeds, doctrines, and commandments of men.

"The churches of Christ salute you" and invite you to hear real Bible based preaching, true gospel preaching, which can save your soul.  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:  for it is the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 16:16; 1:16).