This simple one-word title was a lesson from the late Leroy Brownlow looking at the power of the gospel and its effectiveness in an “acrostic” approach. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1561/29
Friends, we cannot talk too much about the gospel. You know, one just cannot get enough of the gospel message. So let’s turn back the clock for a lesson about the gospel today. From the International Gospel Hour, stay with us.
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Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour.
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Welcome to our broadcast today. For over 90 years, Churches of Christ have proclaimed God’s Word through our broadcasts. Just ahead is another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour. Let’s begin.
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Well, thank you always to our J-Web for his kind words and greetings to all of you. Great having you with us once again for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. I want to share with you something very special about our broadcast. You probably have recognized, if you listen to us for a period of time, and for our newer listeners, we’d like to let you know that everything we offer from our broadcast is free. We will not ask for your money, dear listener. We want to share with you the material from God and His Word, and we’re grateful for study material that we can offer to help you in your study of the Word of God. And so everything we offer here is absolutely free. We are grateful for your interest in the things that be of God. Today we have simply titled our lesson, Gospel. And it is from one of our Outlines of the Past provided by the biblical and faithful teachings of the late Leroy Brownlow. You know, we’ve been blessed with Brother Brownlow’s lessons here on International Gospel Hour. I’ve used them a number of times. And for those who are not familiar with Brother Brownlow, he lived a good long life from 1914 to 2002. And his book, Why I Am a Member of the Church of Christ, has sold over a million copies worldwide. It is a beautiful book written about the church we read of in the New Testament. He was a great preacher, and we are blessed to share his work via outlines that he left behind. And so in a moment, we’re going to be looking at one of his outlines in an acrostic form, simply titled, Gospel. But first, here’s a little information about our fellow servants at the Spanish Bible School.
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International Gospel Hour, in collaboration with SpanishBibleSchool.org, presents a biblical podcast for our Spanish-speaking friends. Please join Marlon Rotana for Christianos Fieles, also known as Faithful Christians, at your favorite podcast platform. That’s Christianos Fieles with Marlon Rotana. You can also hear the broadcast at our website, internationalgospelhour.com.
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And may the gospel go into all the world, and we appreciate our beloved friend Marlon Ratana and his great work with Christianos Veiles, also known as Faithful Christians, and we’re thankful for his good work. Let’s talk about the gospel. Let’s begin with the letter G, which means God-given. For God spoke through the Son, Hebrews 1, verses 1 and 2, and chapter 2, verses 3 and 4. How the Holy Spirit guided the apostles to preach that gospel message as Jesus said they would in John 14, 26, John 15, 26, and John 16, 13. The apostle Paul affirmed in Galatians 1, 11, and 12 that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. And we note that when the gospel is preached that the Spirit speaks through the gospel through the word of God, 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1. You know, man did not give the gospel, friends. He did not create it. But tragically, he can pervert the gospel. And we are warned of that in Galatians 1, verses 7 through 9, and Matthew 15, and verse 9. How about the letter O of gospel? It is ordinance containing. It is decreed that man, number one, must believe that gospel message, according to 1 John 3, verse 23, and John 8, 24. That he must repent, Acts 17, verse 30, and Luke 13, verse 3. He must be baptized, Acts 2, verse 38, Acts 10, verse 48, Mark 16, verse 16. And he must add to that obedient faith and grow in Christ, 2 Peter 1, verses 5-10. The gospel is God-given and its ordinance containing. The letter S of the word gospel, it is soul-saving. It is the power of God unto salvation, Romans 1 and verse 16. We understand it’s soul-saving through other passages as 1 Peter 4, 17 and 18. And those that do not obey it will be destroyed, 2 Thessalonians 1, 8 and 9 says. Those that are obedient are added to the church we read of in the New Testament, just like they were on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, verse 47. In their eagerness to help society, there were many that had forgotten that the gospel was designed, first of all, to save the soul. Matthew 1.21, Luke 19.10, and James 1.21. That message is to save the soul of man, and oh, how that would help society. How about the letter P in the word gospel? We always say that is called promissory. You see, through the gospel, the Lord promises us a number of things. Upon obedience, he promises us remission of sins, Acts 2, verse 38. Eternal life in 1 John 2, verse 25. To be with us as we press onward on this old earth, Matthew 28, verse 20. And how he will provide and promise us the necessities of life in Matthew 6, verse 33. And how all things will work together for the good of them. that love the Lord and obey the gospel of Christ, Romans 8 and verse 28. You see, the gospel is God-given, its ordinance containing soul-saving, and full of promises. How about the letter E of the word gospel? It is effective. You think about it, it was elevating and reformatory in the lives of Paul, 1 Timothy 1.13, Onesimus in Philemon 10 and 11, the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1 and verse 9, and the people on Pentecost, Acts 2, 36 through 47. It was the message that made the difference, that changed lives, and had decisions to be made that glorified God. It was so powerful that those who preached it had the reputation of turning the world upside down, Acts 17 and verse 6. And that message is still effective today, my friends. How about the letter L of Gospel? It is lasting. You see, it will endure forever, 1 Peter 1, 25 and Matthew 24, verse 35. Of the words of Jesus Christ, it will continue forever. and it will be there to face everyone at the judgment. For John 12 and verse 48 reminds us that the word of the Lord will judge us, and how the books of life will be opened, Revelation 20 and verse 12. So friends, when we put it all together, what do we have? The gospel. It is God-given, ordinance-containing, soul-saving, promissory, and effective and lasting. Think about all that is embraced within the gospel message. And friends, that message is available for everyone. Jude in Jude 3 referred to the common salvation. That means it’s available for everyone. We’d like for you to study this further, friends. Maybe you have not obeyed the gospel of Christ. Maybe you are thinking on some things. Maybe… Maybe you have been brought to question things you’ve been taught. We’d like to share with you a very special Bible study. It’s available by mail. We’ve sent out a number of these. We’re indebted to some good brethren out of Beaufort, Georgia for their good work. And we are thankful that they have allowed us to share it with you. Now, it’s a little bit in length of how it all works, so if you’ll bear with our J-Web, he’ll give you the details, and I’ll be back afterward to touch base with you before we wrap up our broadcast.
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An additional Bible study by mail is now available from International Gospel Hour. It’s titled, God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin. This study booklet addresses a number of questions about the salvation from God to man. And friends, like all materials, it’s free. Call us toll free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, address and just say God and man. Or you can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type God and man in the message box. Another Bible study that is free from IGH. And our friends at godandman.com. That’s god-and-man.com. And, you know, since you can’t see it, let me just spell that out for you. G-O-D-A-N-D-M-A-N.com We’d love to hear from you.
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And friends, we hope that you’ll receive that free study, God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin. Now again, I know Jay took a little time to explain that very carefully, and I appreciate his painstaking attempt in doing so. So again, you can receive it by mail, You can call us for it. You can email us for it. You can even go to their website and download it yourself. And so whichever one is easier for you. We have found just a simple call to the International Gospel Hour at 855-444-6988. We’ll work just as easy. You can leave your name and address and just say God and man, and we’ll take it from there. Also, friends, if there is nothing today that we’ve offered, the online video study or the Bible study, and you’ve been listening to our broadcast, we’d like for you to, if you wouldn’t mind, just give us a call. We love to hear from our listeners. and just give us a call. You don’t have to leave your name. Just say, Hi, I heard you on the broadcast from Huntsville, Alabama, or I heard you in Tupelo, Mississippi, or Nashville, Tennessee, wherever you listen to our broadcast. We’d like to hear from you. And again, just a quick call and let us know. We are appreciative. We’ve been on the air since 1934, and friends, we would not have been on that long without had it not been for the interest and the love of the gospel message and the audience that is out there looking and searching. And we’re able to do this and not ask you for one dime, because there are a number of churches of Christ and interested Christians who have kept us on the air financially, and for that we are grateful. We think we’ve shared with you the gospel of Christ, and today we’re thankful for Brother Brownlow’s lesson. We’ll continue our studies together at another time. Thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.
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God be with you till we meet again.
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Thank you for listening to our broadcast today, and we hope you continue onward with your search and study of God’s Word. Please join us next time and visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com.
