Gospel means GOOD NEWS. Many think they've heared it, but have only heard 2/3 of the gospel. Once a year, maybe, they hear the other third. Sadly, a lot of Christians do not share the whole gospel: "How 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." ~I Corinthians 15:1
YES, JESUS CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD.
I was listening to a preacher the other day and he twice said, "Jesus came, and died, and he's coming again!" with great enthusiasm. Well, that's NOT the gospel. He made no reference to the Resurrection. None. That's not good news. Rising from the dead, now, that's GOOD NEWS!
Imagine how exciting the resurrection is when you know it's true! God kept His Old Testament prophecies (PROMISES) to redeem mankind from sin (aka death) by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die in our place. Why? Because God loves us. He rose Jesus from the dead to prove Jesus is Lord and we are 100% forgiven, forever.
The whole gospel was preached by the disciples in Acts to the very men that crucified Jesus Christ. Peter said to them, "I know that through ignorance ye did it. . . Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." (Acts 3:17&26) WHAT?! Yes, Peter in essence said, "I know you didn't realize what you were doing when you crucified the Son of God. The Lord allowed you to do this in your unbelief because prophecy needed to be fulfilled, so that God could save you from your sins." God offered forgiveness for the worst transgression they ever committed because of unbelief, the murder of Jesus Christ. That's a powerful message of GOOD NEWS! Some believed the gospel; some didn't.
And it's been that way for over 2,000 years. All three parts of the gospel are prophesied in numerous places in the Old Testament: "the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah" - Jesus Christ fulfilled them all. That's Good News! Jesus is ALIVE!
It's so simple to receive the gospel - BELIEVE.
And yes, of course to the unbeliever the gospel is totally absurd, totally insane; but we're talking about God here, GOD.
"Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" ~Acts 26:8.
So, if you're not hearing this amazing part of the gospel, the resurrection, then you're only hearing two-thirds of it. And we know what percentage 2/3 is...
66.6
~dkg