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<2018.11> The Gospel that God Promised before through His Prophets

2005 North American Bible Study Meeting
December 24, 2005, evening
And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.  Genesis 5:3
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, 
called to be an apostle, 
separated to the gospel of God
which He promised before through His prophets in the 
Holy Scriptures, 
concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, 
who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 
and declared to be the Son of God 
with power according to the Spirit of holiness, 
by the resurrection from the dead.
Romans 1:1-4
The Savior Promised in the Old Testament
People of this world say December 25th is Jesus birthday, and they put up Christmas trees in many places in celebration of the event. Yet for Christians, every day should be Christmas. No one can know from the Bible exactly when Jesus was born. Jesus’ birth was a joyous event, but from a biblical point of view, His death is even more precious for born-again Christians. But that day is not as widely acclaimed as is Christmas.
It is as a result of Jesus’ death that we gather together. The words of the Bible do not change whether there is a Christmas tree or not. Our faith does not change either. All the blessings God has promised mankind have come directly into our hearts from God. The Bible speaks about a certain power of God that makes a direct connection with the spirit of an individual. This is what we believe and it is something greater than anything that man has devised, including the church buildings man has erected. 
The Bible, this book that we study, surpasses any thing or any day that is highly valued by the world. The Bible says, “He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks” (Romans 14:6). For us there is no Christmas, and every day is Christmas.
Who is Jesus? When was Jesus born? These are very basic questions. There is a hymn that includes the line, “Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood” (Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine by F. J. Crosby). I would like to ask those who celebrate Christmas if they truly know who Jesus is. Jesus was born two thousand years ago. Why was He born? What was the course of events that led to His birth? If you seek out the answers to these questions, you will be able to know why you exist in this world; you will be able to see your life itself. 
Before we ask when Jesus was born and why He was born, we first need to consider where we ourselves as individuals came from and why we are living here now. When did the life of this person called “me” begin? And how have I lived until now? You need to ask yourself whether you know when precisely your life began. If you think about such matters, you will have a chance to find some answers. 
Let’s turn to Romans chapter 1.
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.  verses 1-4
Here it says, “concerning His Son.” Who is His Son? He is the origin of, and reason for the people of this world celebrating Christmas day and all the religious activities associated with that day. It also says here, “the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets.” The prophets were people of Old Testament times. When we hear mention of the prophets, it is easy for us to think only of people like Isaiah, but Luke chapter 11 refers to the prophets starting with Abel, the son of Adam (see verses 50-51). The people who testified of Jesus Christ during Old Testament times are referred to as prophets, and it was the prophet Moses who began to write down the scriptures. 
Then it says, “promised before … in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son.” What are “the Holy Scriptures”? At the time the apostle Paul was writing these words in his letter to the Romans, the other letters in the New Testament had already been written, but the New Testament had not yet been completed. Since it says here, “promised before through His prophets,” we can take “the Holy Scriptures” as referring to the 39 books of the Old Testament. We need to examine what the Old Testament is showing us about this Son. 
Many people draw their conclusions about Jesus based only on the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and the subsequent books of the New Testament. People say very easily that Jesus is our Savior. There are also many people who do not even believe in Jesus and ask, “Who is this Jesus, anyway?” If you read the Bible a little more carefully, however, you will find there are a tremendous number of references to Jesus throughout the Bible and that everything in the Bible from beginning to end is focused on this one Person. 
Another question I would like to ask you is, What is the “gospel?” You could answer that it is the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but think carefully about this verse. It says that “this gospel was given before through the prophets.” People like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are referred to as apostles, and in the letter to the Romans it says that the prophets spoke beforehand, in the Old Testament, about the gospel. 
The Old Testament may seem boring, and as we read it, all the events seem to be going round in circles, and nothing is straightforward. Incidents are introduced, but it is difficult to understand how they flow from one to the other, and they are accompanied by a string of unfamiliar names of places and regions. The names of the people are also extremely difficult to pronounce. Yet the Bible says confidently that within those complex and apparently boring books, the prophets set out God’s promise regarding His Son. This promise is the gospel. 
It is, of course, true that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are all Gospels. They are called the Gospels because they clearly show the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. If we were to express the gospel in other words, however, we might say it is “the unchanging truth.” 
Everything in this world changes and fades away. Some people say that diamonds are forever—never changing—but even they can be crushed by a machine. People sing songs about unchanging eternal love, but the love that a person feels may come to an end at any time. This is also true of man’s possessions; the many things in this world that bring us joy. Yet there is something far greater than any of those things. This is what the Bible refers to as truth. 
We generally assume that the information contained in an encyclopedia is true. The Bible, however, approaches truth in a somewhat unique manner. The Person whom the people of this world call upon as the Christ once said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” and, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). No one can meet God except through Jesus, in other words, unless Jesus leads them to God. This tremendous and self-assured comment is to be found in the Bible. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can go before God the Father unless I take them.” The Bible says this very clearly. 
In some ways, this is very different from other religions. Some religions claim that life goes round and round; those who live a righteous life will be reincarnated as a human being, while those who have lived appalling lives will be reincarnated as an animal or something similar. The Bible, however, does not provide a choice; it offers just one way, as Jesus said, “I am the truth and the life, so you must go to the Father through Me.” 
The Bible explains this way continually from the very beginning. The unique way that Jesus spoke about is the path that leads to the place called heaven of which people dream. First our spirits are led there, and later our flesh as well. The Bible says that this is the one and only way. The scriptures that explain this way all together are what is called the gospel. 
Yet, the Bible also tells us about another way: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” but there is a way that does not pass through Jesus; all the religious activities and teachings of people of this world that have nothing to do with Jesus are described in the Bible as the way of death. 
Yet, there are many ways in this world, like Christmas which people enjoy so much. When Christmas comes, some people give presents to reconnect with those from whom they have drifted apart, or to attempt reconciliation with those they may have offended or disappointed. Some give presents to their junior coworkers to redeem themselves for being harsh on them over the past year. They try to make up for the mistakes they have made during the year. They think this is the way to celebrate Christmas. There are also people who go to church on Christmas day and confess all the sins they have committed during the past year. They confess perhaps to having struck someone, or cheated someone or lied to someone, and they go home feeling somewhat relieved, having unloaded all their guilt. Then there are people whose bosses have given them a hard time and some who have been warn down by household problems over the past year, so they drink heavily to forget their problems. The people in this world create many such ways for themselves. A tremendous number of ways have been created by people on the pretext of celebrating what they say is the day on which Jesus was born. Even amongst those who claim to believe in the Bible, there are some who create their own ways. 
The Bible, however, tells us to enter through the narrow gate. Let’s turn to Matthew chapter 7. 
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  verses 13-14
The gate that leads to destruction is wide and the way is broad, and there are many who enter in there. The gate that leads to life is narrow, the way is also narrow, and it is difficult to enter in there. So, the Bible tells us there are few who find it. 
People of this world sing, “Silent Night, Holy Night” (Silent night, holy night by J. Mohr) at Christmas time, but in in actual fact, Christmas day tends to be neither silent nor holy. Don’t people commit more sins at this time of year than any other? People of the world raise their voices and experience much joy on this day, but those who know the Bible should be all the more quiet and calm so as to hear God’s soft voice speaking to their spirits. We need to listen to the “small whisper” of His voice (see Job 26:14) and consider once more what it is He is saying. Instead of being swept away by the merrymaking atmosphere of the world, as people who truly know the Bible, we should take this time to think about Jesus once again.
The Bible tells us clearly that this Man by the name of Jesus was born into this world at some point in time; He was a Man who was able to see all the sins of man through the eyes of God; He lived in this world for 33 years; and then He shed His blood on the cross to provide forgiveness for the sins of each of us individually even before we were born. Paying lip service with the words, “Merry Christmas” at Christmas time, is completely different from what the Bible is saying. There is definitely a reason for this. What Jesus has accomplished is so great that celebrating Christmas is not a particularly important matter for us.|d
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