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REVIEW 7 weeks in 60 seconds A new identity: Ambassadors for Christ (all Christians) Because God is sovereign & we’re responsible: Talk with God about our friends before talking with friends about God 7 Principles of Evangelism / “Listening to Hear” 5 Thresholds of Faith: Trust, Curiosity, Open to Change, Seeking, Entering Kingdom Role of hospitality in being an ambassador

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP Purpose: To better understand the Gospel ourselves To see how & where we fall short in communicating it To be equipped to communicate it to anyone, in any setting, in a way that they can understand Pop Quiz!

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? What’s Jesus say about the Gospel? Mark 1:15 – “Repent & Believe the Gospel.” It’s something to believe & connected with repentance Jesus was always proclaiming it in different ways What’s Paul says about the Gospel? There’s only 1 Gospel (Galatians 1:6-9) How do we reconcile these 2 truths?

Irreducibly Complex Mouse Trap

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? What’s an irreducibly simplistic Gospel? Galatians 1:12-13 – Paul says he received directly from Christ the message of the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 – “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? He summarizes it in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4… …For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.... Let’s break that down…

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? The various concepts seen here: “the gospel I preached to you, which you received” “in which you stand, and by which you are being saved” “Christ” “died” “for our sins” “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day”

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? “the gospel I preached to you, which you received” Preaching presumes not just information shared, but an INVITATION they responded to “in which you stand, and by which you are being saved” A standing & salvation based on their believing/receiving this Gospel. “Being saved” (passive voice) contrary to what most assume and try to do: accomplish salvation by their own WORKS

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? “Christ” Who is he? What’s it mean for Jesus to be the CHRIST? What did he do? Accomplished the mission GOD sent him to do. “died” Why did he have to die? Why does anyone die? DEATH

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? “for our sins” What do we mean by SIN? Do they understand the separation it causes? “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day” The cross was intended be the end for Jesus, but was just the beginning. Why does that matter? What does that tell us about the CROSS that makes it so central to the Gospel?

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? All those statements are true, but there’s a natural order to them Put these 3 statements in their most logical order: “Put your head in the sink” “The sink is full of water” “Your hair is on fire” Why that order? (Invitation) (Good News) (Bad News)

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? The Bad News – where the Bible starts the story, after the account of creation SIN – Sin is the problem, what it is and where it comes from DEATH – Death is the penalty for sin mandated by God’s justice WORKS – Our own works can never rescue us from the problem of death. Only Christ’s death can pay the penalty for our sins.

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? The Good News – only understood in light of the Bad News GOD – He loves us and devised a plan to take care of our problems of sin and death without violating his righteous standard. CHRIST – He is God the Son who became man. He took on human form in order to be our substitute and bear the penalty for us. CROSS - Jesus paid the total penalty for our sins when he died and this was proved by his resurrection on the third day.

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? The Invitation – only makes sense if we know what we’re responding to INVITATION – Paul preached and the people received when they had heard the good news in light of the bad news Case study: Romans. Only New Testament letter to a church Paul hadn’t already visited – likely shows us how Paul would have presented the Gospel Bad News (Ch. 1-4) before Good News (Ch. 4-8), where last chapters invite them to respond to grace

GOSPEL BOOT CAMP What is the Gospel? SIN – our real problem, which because of God’s holiness and justice always leads to… DEATH – a problem we think we can solve through… WORKS – Yet good works don’t work. But… GOD – Provided a solution – a substitute who is… CHRIST – Fully God/Man to be our substitute on the… CROSS – Satisfying God’s Justice and offering us an… INVITATION – To trust in Him rather than ourselves.

Bad News Good News Invitation The Bad News is the story of how God’s children were seduced (by the evil one) The Good News (Gospel) is the story of the infinite degree to which God went to rescue his children The Invitation is the offer extended by God to those he is calling into his family (through his ambassadors)