The Gospel of Christ

Theme: The Gospel of Your Salvation
“Him you also trusted, after you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation…” (Ephesians 1:13)
Date: October 18, 2003 - Saturday P.M. - (During a Gospel Meeting October 17 Through 19, 2003, at the Northeast church of Christ, Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Speaker: Mack Lyon, Speaker on the In Search of the Lord’s Way Television Program
Main Scripture: Matthew 5; Romans 1:13-16; 1 Corinthians

I love the little children. I tell you, they are so sincere, and they’re honest. The observations they make and some of the things they do and say are just absolutely remarkable.

A young man, who attended last night, drew a picture of me. I expect Brother George Bailey and Brother John Phillis [both Gospel preachers and in the audience] both have had this happen to them. While I was here in the pulpit, the young man sat there and drew a picture. I thought it was good, and I wanted it, but he wanted to take it home. I wanted to put in a collection of some pictures, like this, that I have.

And somebody came along and told me, then, about their child, saying something about my preaching, and how so attentive to the TV program their child was when I’m on the air.

That reminded me of an incident that occurred over in Atlanta, Georgia. I was beginning a meeting over there a few years ago. I was staying with one of the elders, and that particular elder was the one that was assigned to open the building on Sunday morning. So, when we got there, we were the first ones there.

Among the very first people who came in was a woman, a young mother. She came right down the aisle to me and said, “I have a little pre-school daughter. She’s in there in one of the pre-school classes right now.” She said, “She watches your program intently, as though you have her mesmerized, or maybe you have her hypnotized, or something. She sits in front of that television program, in front of that television, and watches you and never moves until you go off the air.” The young mother said, “She has two programs like that, that she watches. She watches yours and Mr. Rogers, both, that way. On Sunday morning, when you’re on the air, my husband and I,” she said, “eat breakfast together, but my little girl does not move from in front of the TV. Now, after you’ve gone off the air, she’ll come to the table and eat breakfast, but she doesn’t move from in front of the TV until you’re off the air.”

Well, I’d heard of that before. I’d had other people tell me that about the little children. So, I wasn’t too amazed about it. But between Bible class and worship, here the young mother came down the aisle leading this little girl. And she led the little girl up to me and she turned to her and said, “Honey, do you know who this man is?” And the little girl said, “Of course I do! It’s Mr. Rogers!” So, a little case of misunderstanding or false identification. But the little children are so that way.

I was sitting in the Edmond [Oklahoma] church one day, and we had a cross aisle, an aisle that went crossways, about middle way back. I usually sat right on that aisle. There were doors coming in from the side this way, and came across.

I was sitting there on one of those front seats. This woman came in when it was right time to start. Ken Helterbrand [song leader] just insisted that you be there in time to start, and don’t disturb the worship in song. So, everybody tried to get in their seat before worship started. Ken was up [to lead singing], and he was waiting for her to find a seat. She was dragging this little girl; poor little thing—the woman was literally dragging her across there. You know, one step for that mother meant three or four steps for that little girl. And that mother was hurrying across to get over there to her seat where she usually sat. And the little girl, as she went by me, said, “How’s show biz?”

Let’s turn our minds to things more serious now.

The apostle Paul, in preaching the Gospel to the Gentile people, wanted to go to Rome to have some fruit among the people—the members of the church there—some spiritual results, or some spiritual blessings bestowed upon them through his work in the ministry of Lord to the Gentile people. He had attempted to do so in times past; he had been prevented each time, and some of the Christians had begun to think that Paul was merely deceiving them, that he really didn’t intend ever to come, and he was just trying to be friendly toward them.

So, in this book of Romans, the first chapter, I’m going to begin at verse 13 [KJV]: “Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto [but was hindered],) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. ¹⁴I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. ¹⁵So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also. ¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek,” [Romans 1:13-16]. And the Message continues, but that’s enough to give us the basis for our study tonight.

We’re studying about the Gospel. The word, “Gospel,” literally means “Good News” or “Glad Tidings.” We mentioned that last night, and we mentioned that we use this word strictly religiously. We don’t apply it to other things that may be a good message or glad tidings. We just reserve it for religious purposes, like: Gospel meetings, Gospel literature, Gospel songs, Gospel music, and all that sort of thing.

But we only use it with reference to the religion of Christ. It’s a word that isn’t even found in Judaism back in the Old Testament. Not once is the word, “Gospel,” found in the Old Testament. The Bible does say that the Gospel was first preached to Abraham, but, of course, that’s a reference to the promise that was made to Abraham of being the seed from whom the Messiah would come into the world [Galatians 3:8 - KJV: “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” ]. And, so, we understand about that. But the word, “Gospel,” itself, does not appear at all in the Old Testament.