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There are a myriad of gospel truths in the Bible. Yet only one gospel truth is presented as the truth that people must believe in order to receive eternal life.

This is the truth that God gives eternal life to anyone who believes in Jesus for it (John 3:16; 5;24; 6:47; etc.)

But realistically, if someone knowing absolutely nothing about God, or Jesus, or sin, or eternal life, then what are the chances that someone will believe in Jesus if you tell them “Hey, you can have eternal life if you believe in Jesus for it”?

I would say the chances are close to zero.

This is one reason why there are so many other truths in the gospel. Many of the gospel truths are there, not so that people are required to believe them in order to receive eternal life, but because they help a person get to the point where they do believe in Jesus for eternal life.

I call these the Preparation Truths of the Gospel

7 Gospel Preparation Truths

There are potentially thousands of preparation truths in the gospel, but I have found that seven of these truths tend to be the most effective and necessary in helping a person come to the place where they believe in Jesus for eternal life.

Here are these seven preparation truths:

There is a God (and He looks like Jesus)
The Bible is God’s Word (so we can look to it for guidance)
God Made Humans (so we are responsible to him in some way)
God requires holiness (this is His standard)
All have sinned (and fallen short of the standard)
Sin results in separation from God (we separate from Him; not vice versa)
Jesus delivered us from sin, death, and separation (due to grace and forgiveness)

IF a person believes all seven of these truths, it is nearly certain that they will also believe in Jesus for eternal life.

Now is it possible to take a person from knowing none of this to believing in Jesus in one 5-minute conversation? I highly doubt it.

This is why evangelism often takes place over the course of months and years, through relationship building and numerous conversations. Often, these seven truths are caught, not taught, as our friends observe us living out these truths in our own lives. And usually, despite how neat and tidy that seven-pointed list is above, the conversations are never that focused or that tidy.

But that’s okay, for that is what relationship-building is all about.

But what about the rest of the gospel?

Once a person believes, this does not mean that the gospel conversations are over. There are still lots of gospel truths left. What are we to do with these? It is this question that we will look at in next week’s post.

For now, what do you think about these seven “Preparation truths”? Are there others you have found helpful when you have conversations about Jesus with other people?

Also, if you want a better explanation of those seven truths, I delve into each one a little more deeply in my course, the Gospel According to Scripture.

Want to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

[#57] Genesis 4:9-12 – From the Blood of Abel

By Jeremy Myers

The Text of Genesis 4:9-12

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

In this discussion of Genesis 4:9-12 we look at:

How Cain implies God is guilty for Abel’s death.
Why the curse upon Cain is not a curse from God.
Why it is not always true that the evil get punished and the good get blessed.
What the blood of Abel cried out from the ground.
The better word spoken by the blood of Jesus.

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

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Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

The Clear Gospel Invitation: Believe in Jesus for Eternal Life

By Jeremy Myers

33 Comments

In some previous posts, I have written that while the gospel is huge and complex, the gospel invitation is clear and simple. I have received many comments, Tweets, and Facebook messages about this, so let me try to clarify even further.

There are thousands of gospel truths in the Bible. Clearly, one cannot believe all of them, nor must one understand and believe all of them in order to receive eternal life. Thankfully, Jesus Himself (as well as the Apostles) consistently show that there is one small set of gospel truths that must be believed to receive eternal life.

I call this “the gospel invitation.”

The Gospel Invitation

The gospel invitation is one truth three parts. A person is invited to:

Believe
In Jesus
For everlasting life.

Another way to think about this is that we are to (1) believe (2) in a person (3) for a promise.

Let us briefly consider each.

Believe

First, we invite people to believe.

Since the New Testament almost universally uses the verb “believe” or the noun “faith” it is not wise to substitute other words such as trust, commit, submit, decide, repent or any other word that implies some sort of action or work on our behalf. Believing and faith are the words the Bible most often uses (which is only one word in the Greek with a verb and noun form), and so we garble the gospel when we choose to use other words.

Yes, it is important to understand what the words “believe” and “faith” mean, which in itself is a huge study, but I will walk through this study with you in a future course I will offer.

Believe in a Person

Second, we invite people to believe in a person, namely, Jesus Christ.

We do not just invite people to just believe; they are invited to believe in Jesus.

Also, since Jesus has come and revealed God to us, it is not sufficient to invite people to believe in God. Someone can believe in God (or a god) and still not believe in Jesus.

But what exactly do they believe about Jesus? That He was human? That He was God incarnate? That He died on the cross and rose from the dead? That He was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life? When we believe in Jesus, what about Jesus must we believe? This leads to the third gospel invitation truth.

Believe in a Person for a Promise

We invite people to believe in Jesus for everlasting life.

There is a bit more flexibility with this term than with the other two. For example, instead of everlasting life, you could also use the words eternal life, the righteousness of God, or justification. Yet since some of these latter terms may require further explanation, it seems best to use the words Jesus Himself used, and stick with “everlasting life” or “eternal life.”

But whatever terminology you use, it is important to emphasize the promise Jesus makes to those who believe in Him. We are to believe in Jesus for His promise of eternal life.

It is not sufficient (or even the same thing) to believe that Jesus was God, or to believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead, or to believe that Jesus really existed, or any of these other true facts about Jesus. If you take a look at each one of those facts, while all of them are true, none of them include a promise, and it is entirely possible for someone to believe that Jesus truly existed, that Jesus was God in the flesh, and to believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead, while at the same time, failing to believe in Jesus for everlasting life.

Even the most legalistic, works-righteousness, religious Christians believe that Jesus was God and that He died on the cross and rose again. But they do not believe that Jesus gives eternal life to those who simply and only believe in Him. Instead, such people believe that we must somehow work for, earn, and keep our eternal life through a life of good works. Such people believe a lot of good things about Jesus, but they do not believe in Jesus for everlasting life. As such, the gospel invitation is not complete if it does not mention the promise of eternal life.

The Clear Gospel Invitation

So the central invitation of the gospel is that we can believe in Jesus for everlasting life. It is that simple and that clear.

Do you believe this?

Do you believe in Jesus for eternal life? If so, you have it. Jesus guarantees it.

Can you also share this with other people? Of course you can!

Just like Jesus did, you can invite people to believe in Jesus for eternal life.

You do not need to invite them to forsake their sin, repent, confess, commit, submit, or any of the other common words and terms that are found in modern gospel presentations but are not found on the lips of Jesus.

If you want to invite people to receive eternal life, you can do no better than use the words Jesus Himself used. Simply invite people to believe in Jesus for everlasting life.

Want to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

[#56] Genesis 4:8 – The Founding Murder

By Jeremy Myers

1 Comment

Genesis 4:8 contains the account of Cain murdering his brother Abel. This is the first death in Scripture and reveals something significant about death and violence.

If you have been listening to my podcast for the past year, you may recall that as we were working our way through Genesis 3, I kept mentioning the six foundational and revolutionary truths from Genesis 2, 3, and 4. We looked at the first 5 of these, and then I haven’t really mentioned too much more about them. So maybe you were thinking, “Hey! What about the sixth?”

Well, that is what we are finally getting to today. Genesis 4:8 contains the sixth and final revolutionary and foundational truth. Understanding this will help you understand the Bible, God, yourself, your relationships, politics, economics, history, and pretty much everything else that goes on in the world.

The Text of Genesis 4:8

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

In this discussion of Genesis 4:8 we look at:

The murder of Abel by Cain
Why the first death in Scripture is a fratricide
The sixth foundational and revolutionary truth from Genesis 2–4
What Genesis 4:8 teaches us about God, ourselves, Scripture, history, politics, economics, and pretty much everything else in life.

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

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Join Us Today.

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

What are the essential Gospel truths you must share with others?

By Jeremy Myers

13 Comments

Did you know that the Gospel contains pretty much every truth taught in the Bible? It’s true. Since the Gospel is about Jesus, and since Jesus is the focus of the Bible and all Scripture points to Him, then this means that the entire Bible is “Gospel truth.”

But here’s the problem with that fact:

If the entire Bible is Gospel truth, then what are you supposed to share with others when you present the gospel to them?

Can you really tell them to just “read the Bible”? Can you tell them that they have not believed in the Gospel until they believe the entire Bible?

If so, we might as well just give up evangelizing right now. You will rarely, if ever, get a non-believer to read the entire Bible, and even then, no one ever actually believes the entire Bible (not even you).

Stop Telling People to “Believe the Gospel”

This is why I never invite people to “believe the gospel to become a Christian.” Such a statement is just too vague and too vast.

Saying, “Believe the Gospel” is akin to saying, “Believe the Bible to become a Christian.”

Besides, when someone starts reading the Bible, they quickly come across statements that are hard to believe, such as the idea that Methulselah lived to be 969 years old (Gen 5:27), that Joshua got the sun to stand still for a day (Joshua 10:13), or that Elisha got an ax head to float (2 Kings 6:6).

If they think they have to believe the entire Bible to become a Christian and they read those hard to believe ideas and think, “Well, I just cannot believe that!” they will then think, “I guess I cannot be a Christian.”

But they can become a Christian, even if they don’t (yet) believe these things! The problem is not with their lack of faith, but with our failure to clearly present the gospel.

We need to present the gospel like Jesus

People don’t need to believe the entire Bible, or the entire Gospel, in order to become a Christian. They just need to believe in Jesus.

Though the entire Bible is gospel truth, there are some gospel truths which consistently appear whenever someone is inviting others to become a Christian.

Jesus is the best guide and example of this. In the Gospel of John (which is the only book of the Bible written with the express purpose that those who read it will believe and have life–John 20:31), Jesus shows us over and over and over how to simply, clearly, and succinctly invite people to gain eternal life.

While the entire Bible contains Gospel truths, there are some central gospel truths which I call the gospel invitation. This gospel invitation is what Jesus consistently used (as did Peter, Paul, and the other apostles) to invite non-believers to receive eternal life from Jesus.

Here is what they said:

Believe in Jesus for eternal life.

That’s it.

Jesus used versions of this statement over and over and over in the Gospel of John (cf. John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47). In my course, The Gospel According to Scripture, I include a resource which shows where this gospel invitation is used 185 times in the New Testament. It is used consistently by Peter, Paul, and the other apostles.

Best of all, this gospel invitation is used consistently by Jesus. If this gospel invitation was good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for me.

So the next time you are talking with someone about the gospel or how to receive eternal life, don’t use unclear and muddled statements. Instead, follow the example of Jesus and Scripture, and simply invite people to believe in Jesus for eternal life. This is the best, clearest, and most biblical way of inviting people to receive eternal life.

so stop telling people to believe the gospel. This is like telling people to believe the Bible. This is not wrong, it is just not helpful. Such an invitation is too vast and too vague. Instead, let us follow the example of Jesus and use His gospel invitation.

Invite people to believe in Jesus for eternal life.

Want to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

[#55] Genesis 4:6-7 – The First Sin in the Bible

By Jeremy Myers

15 Comments

If I were to ask you when the first sin in the Bible occurs, you might point to Genesis 2 when Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yet did you know that their actions in Genesis 2 are not referred to as “sin”?

Sin is not actually mentioned until Genesis 4:7, which is one of the verses we look at in this study.

The Text of Genesis 4:6-7

So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

In this discussion of Genesis 4:6-7 we look at:

Why Cain becomes Angry
The nature and source of sin
The causes and consequences of sin
The truth about sin

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

Have you heard this misleading Gospel message?

By Jeremy Myers

105 Comments

The basic gospel message heard in many churches and found in many books in the United States can be summarized this way:

God is good. You’re not. Try harder.

Those who teach this sort of gospel message often use different words and different ideas, but the overall idea is usually along those lines.

A Misleading Gospel Message

Let me share a few phrases which you might have heard from pulpits, read in books, or even taught to others.

Jesus gave His life for you; you need to give your life to Him.

Salvation is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.

It’s not enough just to believe. After all, even the demons believe.

While salvation is by faith alone, true faith is not just a mental assent to a bunch of facts. True faith will result in a life of obedience to God.

To truly be a Christian, it’s not enough to just believe in your heart, you need to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.

To really be saved, you need to repent of your sin and submit your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Unless you commit your life to Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ will not commit His life to you.

And on, and on, and on it goes.

These are the sorts of ideas and gospel messages that you often hear in many popular versions of Christianity.

Are Good Works Required for Eternal Life?

If you look over each of those statements, you see that all of them have something in common. Each one mentions or implies that there is more to receiving eternal life than just faith. Each one teaches that faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is not enough, but some form of good works or additional commitment to God is needed above and beyond simple faith alone in Jesus.

Isn’t it strange that while most Christians talk about how eternal life is by faith alone, when it actually comes down to what they believe and how they present the gospel, they somehow incorporate good works into the mix?

Most gospel messages today include works and commitment as part of the requirement for becoming a Christian, staying a Christian, or proving that you really are a Christian.

In my course on the Gospel, I present the exact opposite idea. I present the idea that good works are not required to earn, keep, or prove a person’s eternal life.

Let me state it more clearly: I believe that not even a commitment to obedience and faithful living is required.

Eternal life is by God’s grace from first to last, and God does not require a person to earn eternal life, keep eternal life, or prove that they have eternal life by obedience, commitment, or dedication.

If you look at all those statements in that list above (and the myriad of others that I did not list), they all require some sort of obedience, commitment, or faithful living in order to earn, keep, or prove your eternal life. I believe the Bible teaches the opposite. I believe the Bible teaches that while there is a place for good works in the life of the believer, good works have no place in earning, keeping, or proving our eternal life.

What do you think of this idea? What do you think of the misleading gospel messages above that are often found in books and sermons about the Gospel? What role, if any, do you think good works play in gaining, keeping, or proving your eternal life? Share your ideas in the comment section below!

Want to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

[#54] Genesis 4:4-5 – Why Did God Reject Cain’s Offering?

By Jeremy Myers

61 Comments

Have you ever wondered why God did not accept Cain’s offering in Genesis 4? You have probably heard some sermons on this or have read about it in books. In this study of Genesis 4:4-5, we look at some of the theories of why God rejected Cain’s offering, and then seek an answer to this question by looking at why God accepted Abel’s offering, and what this tells us about Cain’s offering.

The Text of Genesis 4:4-5

Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

In this discussion of Genesis 4:4-5 we look at:

The three theories about why God did not respect Cain’s offering
Why Abel brought an offering in the first place
Why Abel’s offering was not a blood sacrifice
Why God respected Abel’s offering
Why God did not respect Cain’s offering

Resources:

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Buy The Atonement of God on Amazon
Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

What is the Definition of the Gospel?

By Jeremy Myers

29 Comments

Have you ever thought about the definition of the gospel?

I find it surprising that while all of us Christians like to talk about the gospel, few of us actually agree on how to define the gospel.

This is one reason I made my course, The Gospel According to Scripture, available here on this site.

I wanted to help people know what the Scriptural definition of the Gospel was so that they could properly know that they have eternal life, and also how the gospel calls them to live in this life.

I basically define the gospel this way:

The good news in Scripture is that God has done everything that needs doing as far as your eternal life is concerned.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that once you have eternal life, you can just go live however you want. The gospel contains all sorts of truths and teachings about how to live our lives now once we have the free gift of eternal life.

I unpack my definition of the gospel in my course, but I am curious about your definition of the gospel.

Please let me know in the comment section below, or, better yet, take the first couple lessons of the course for free (by becoming a member), and in those lessons you are invited to provide your definition of the gospel there.

Here are some other posts I have written about the biblical definition of the Gospel:

Want to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

[#53] Genesis 4:1-3 – Raising Cain

By Jeremy Myers

22 Comments

Have you ever wondered why Cain brought an offering of fruit to God in Genesis 4? Have you wondered what was wrong with Cain’s offering so that God did not accept it?

In Episode 53 of the One Verse Podcast, we look at Genesis 4:1-3 for answers to these questions.

The Text of Genesis 4:1-3

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord.

In this discussion of Genesis 4:1-3 we look at:

The birth of Cain and Abel shows that Adam and Eve were still serving as the Image of God
The story that Cain and Abel grew up hearing
The reason Cain brought an offering of fruit to God

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

7 Gospel Preparation Truths

But what about the rest of the gospel?

The Text of Genesis 4:9-12

In this discussion of Genesis 4:9-12 we look at:

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

The Gospel Invitation

Believe

Believe in a Person

Believe in a Person for a Promise

The Clear Gospel Invitation

Do you believe this?

The Text of Genesis 4:8

In this discussion of Genesis 4:8 we look at:

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Stop Telling People to “Believe the Gospel”

We need to present the gospel like Jesus

The Text of Genesis 4:6-7

In this discussion of Genesis 4:6-7 we look at:

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

A Misleading Gospel Message

Are Good Works Required for Eternal Life?

The Text of Genesis 4:4-5

In this discussion of Genesis 4:4-5 we look at:

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Here are some other posts I have written about the biblical definition of the Gospel:

The Text of Genesis 4:1-3

In this discussion of Genesis 4:1-3 we look at:

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Theological Study Archives

Bible Study Archives

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