“Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.” 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NLT
- In life we have Bad news, Fake news, No news, Soft news, hard news, and the Good News
- The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest news ever
- The Christian Gospel is primarily an announcement of historical and factual truths that changed everything
How to Stand Firm in The Gospel:
- Consider the claims Jesus made
- Jesus claimed to be God
“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” John 14:9 NIV
“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30 NIV
- Jesus claimed He would be killed and rise from the dead
“Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.” John 2:19-22 NLT
“For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” Matthew 12:40 NLT
- Consider the facts
Women Witnesses, 500 witnesses, rolled away stone, Prophecy (Isaiah 53:8-10), Where is the body?, the grave cloths, the transformation of the disciples, the spread of the gospel
“With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God poured rich blessings on them all.” Acts 4:33 GNT
- Consider it done
“It is finished…” John 19:30
- Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave to conquer my fears
- Fear of punishment and judgement
“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.” 1 John 4:18 NLT
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” Romans 8:1-2 NLT
- Fear of the devil and of death
“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.” Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 NIV