The True Gospel

“I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ”

Romans 1:16

God Promises to Bless All Nations.
Bible card by Providence
Lithograph Co., 1906.
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

(1) Since Scripture warns that some proclaim “a different gospel”—a message contrary to what the apostles taught (1 Corinthians 11:4)—no apology is needed for raising the question: Which Gospel is the true Gospel, the one the Apostle Paul boldly affirmed and refused to be ashamed of? If people devote time and energy to earthly sciences—sociology, economics, and other fields built largely on human inference—surely no one can dispute the value of studying the science of divine revelation. And if it is wise to investigate physical diseases and the laws of medicine for the sake of bodily health, how much more essential is the Gospel, God’s revealed antidote for spiritual sickness, spiritual death, and the path to eternal life. This subject deserves the most serious and profound attention.

(2) The greatest minds in history—those considered the noblest of our race—have acknowledged that this topic surpasses all others in importance. Whether they ultimately accepted or rejected the Gospel, they recognized that the biblical message demands careful consideration. We are not here evaluating the intellectual strength of those who have argued for or against the Gospel; we are simply noting that once people learn that the Bible contains a divinely revealed Gospel, they instinctively recognize its claim upon their attention above every other subject.

(3) The fact that you are reading this indicates that you have already given some thought to this vital theme. Yet experience shows that comparatively few ever reach fully satisfying conclusions about what the true Gospel actually is. As a result, faith, love, and zeal toward God—and zeal for the Gospel itself—may not be as strong as one desires. Our hope is that this scriptural presentation will, by God’s grace, help you see more clearly than ever which Gospel is the true Gospel—the Gospel Paul was not ashamed of, and the Gospel no believer needs to be ashamed of. This is the Gospel that should increasingly energize us as the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).

(4) No thoughtful person disputes the meaning of the word Gospel: it signifies “good news,” glad tidings, a joyful message. According to Luke 2:10, the angel proclaimed it as “good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people” (ASV). Yet many sermons labeled “gospel sermons” have conveyed not good news but bad news—warnings of eternal misery for the vast majority of humanity, except for the few who respond to a “gospel” framed primarily as an escape from everlasting torment. As a result, the preacher of such a sermon is often expected to figuratively hold the congregation over an abyss of eternal torture, attempting to frighten hearers into reforming their lives to avoid an awful eternity.

(5) True, this “Gospel of damnation” is not preached as frequently today, largely because more educated and thoughtful minds reject it as a relic of the past. Yet this distorted message still appears in rural churches, camp meetings, occasional city pulpits, and various religious gatherings. We intend no criticism of the sincerity or conscience of those who preach such messages. Nevertheless, many proclaim a general gospel of damnation—asserting that most people will be eternally doomed unless they accept their sectarian system. Our mission is not to criticize persons or motives but to evaluate doctrines. With malice toward none and love toward all, we consider it both our privilege and duty to expose doctrinal error so that biblical truth may be firmly established.

(6) Before examining the Gospel Paul boldly proclaimed—the Gospel revealed in Scripture—it is helpful to survey the different gospels commonly taught within Christendom. Not every denomination teaches a distinct gospel; many differences involve ceremonies, forms, governance, or names rather than the core message. Yet three major doctrinal systems—three dominant “gospels”—are widely presented as orthodox. All three share a foundational belief in the eternal torment of most of humanity, except for the comparatively few who are “saved.” Each of these three gospels has millions of adherents across numerous denominations:

• 1. The Roman Catholic Gospel, including Greek Catholics, Armenian Catholics, and some high‑church Episcopalians.

• 2. The Calvinistic Gospel, embraced by Presbyterian bodies, Congregationalists, Baptists, and many Lutherans and Episcopalians.

• 3. The Arminian Gospel, chiefly represented by Methodists of various branches and Free‑Will Baptists; many other Protestants hold Arminian views despite belonging to Calvinistic denominations.

Thus, within Protestantism, Calvinistic and Arminian gospels are nearly equal in support.

(7) It may be impossible to handle this subject thoroughly without offering some critique of these three long‑established gospels. For centuries they have been entrenched in Christian thought, reinforced by ecclesiastical councils and supported by extensive theological literature. Yet we will avoid even a single word of criticism toward those who sincerely uphold these conflicting systems. Scripture commands us to “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints”—the true Gospel—while also instructing us to “speak evil of no man” (Jude 1:3; Titus 3:2). Therefore, we will remain within these proper boundaries and, as the Apostle exhorts, “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ROMAN CATHOLICISM

(8) The Gospel according to traditional Roman Catholicism is that man was created with a body and an immortal soul, that all men fell into sin and their immortal souls are condemned to eternal torment—that Christ accomplished a redemptive work which, supplemented by the sacrifice of the mass and by prayers and penances, permits all believers (Roman Catholics) to escape that eternal torment, which will be the sure portion of most non-Catholics (with few exceptions) and heretics, regardless of their good works or morals. As for its own people, it holds that even many of its highest officials, including bishops and popes, go to purgatory for refinement, purification from sin, and eventual preparation for heaven. It claims that some will spend only a short time in purgatory, assisted out of it by the merit of prayers, masses, etc., on their behalf by their friends after death. But their expectation is that ultimately purgatory will be no more, its thousands of millions being prepared for a better and happier condition. But according to all the great theologians of the papacy, and according to all the earlier papal bulls, the vast majority of Protestants, rejecters of the papacy's teachings, will suffer endless torment. (Some have claimed that the Catholic Church has changed their attitude in the last century or so.) This is the traditional Roman Catholic “gospel” fairly presented, as we understand it. It does not seem to us to be very good news—not very good tidings, even to those who get the very best it has to offer, and it certainly would be very bad tidings to all out of harmony with the papacy.

THE GOSPEL PRESENTED BY CALVINISM

(9) We now turn to the major Protestant doctrine commonly identified as Calvinism—the teaching of divine election for the church and the reprobation of all others. Calvinism affirms that faith in Christ is essential for salvation, and acknowledges that faith comes through hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). It requires more than a general awareness of Christ or belief in Him as merely a noble teacher or martyr. Calvinism insists on faith in Christ’s sacrificial death for human sin, accompanied by at least some evidence of righteous living before one can be recognized as part of the elect church. Consequently, Calvinism excludes the vast multitudes—past and present—who have never heard of the only name under heaven by which humanity must be saved (Acts 4:12). Even at its broadest estimate, Calvinism could not include more than one in twenty of the estimated fifty‑plus billion people who have lived since Adam. In Calvinistic terms, more than forty‑seven billion souls were “passed by” as non‑elect, according to the Westminster Confession of Faith.

(10) And what does “passed by” or “non‑elect” mean? According to Calvinism, it means that God, knowing the end from the beginning, determined before creating humanity that He would not elect the vast majority to life and happiness, but would instead predestine them to eternal torment. Calvinism teaches that God prepared a place large enough for billions, with fuel sufficient for endless punishment—doing so with full awareness of the dreadful implications. This is presented as part of His eternal decree.

(11) Calvinism further states that God’s favor toward the elect is not based on their worthiness or works, but solely on His sovereign grace. If salvation is entirely due to God’s sovereign choice, then even the simplest mind can see that God could have extended that same sovereign grace to others—to all—without violating any principle. Since election is not based on merit or works, but solely on divine volition, Calvinism logically implies that God could have saved all humanity just as easily as He saved the few.

(12) It is reported that the famous preacher Jonathan Edwards, when addressing this doctrine in New England, was asked whether the eternal anguish of the non‑elect would diminish the joy of the saved. His answer, in substance, was: “No. You will be so transformed that such matters will not trouble you. You will look over the battlements of heaven and behold your neighbors, friends, parents, children, brothers, and sisters in torment—and you will praise God all the more because His justice is revealed.” This statement reflects the severe implications of classical Calvinistic teaching.

(13) We are encouraged to see that many Calvinistic believers today reject this harsh interpretation, recognizing its profound conflict with both divine love and divine justice. Years ago, some Presbyterians sought to free themselves from such a blasphemous portrayal of God’s character. Sadly, when the revision of Presbyterian standards was proposed, only a minority supported it. Even more regrettably, that minority chose to continue confessing a doctrine they no longer believed—effectively continuing to “blaspheme that holy name”—because the majority refused to abandon these misrepresentations.

(14) We are inclined to believe that if this matter were clearly presented to Presbyterians at large, a strong majority would be eager to correct the error and honor Jehovah by affirming His love, justice, wisdom, and power. This is the central issue: Calvinism, in its zeal to emphasize God’s sovereignty, foreknowledge, and ability to accomplish His plan, has constructed a theological system that is deeply flawed, lacking both divine justice and divine love.

(15) Some may argue that love is optional for God and that only justice is required. They may claim that eternal torment for billions “passed by” is consistent with divine justice. We deny this. The mere possession of creative power does not justify creating beings whom one foreknows will suffer eternally. Justice demands that power not be used to inflict unavoidable harm. To create humanity under such foreknown conditions would be inherently unjust. And wisdom aligned with justice would declare: Better never to create a single being than to create one destined for eternal suffering, for such suffering would be unjust, not just.

(16) We have endeavored to present a fair and accurate representation of the Calvinistic Gospel as taught by John Calvin, the Westminster Confession, and related traditions. This is certainly not the Gospel Paul proclaimed when he declared, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” Paul would have been ashamed of such a gospel—and so are all enlightened Christians who possess the spirit of love, justice, and a clearer understanding of God’s plan. Yet many, through circumstances of birth or tradition, have unknowingly lent their support to this grave misrepresentation of God’s character.

THE ARMINIAN VIEW OF THE GOSPEL

(17) Let us now examine the Arminian view. This view is growing in popularity. Its message or Gospel is: God is love — he loves you; he loves everybody; he is doing all that he can to save everybody; if you are lost it will not be God’s fault, but your own. On the surface, at least, this theory seems much more loving and much more just than the one already examined, but before we go far we will also find it very defective, very far from being either a reasonable or a Scriptural Gospel. We will find it inconsistent with its own statement — illogical.

(18) For instance, while it sounds nice theoretically to say that God is doing all that he can do to save the whole world at the present time, everybody knows that this is not true; that on the contrary you or I or any other intelligent human being if possessed of the one-thousandth part of the divine power and wisdom could speedily accomplish the evangelization of the whole world. Nor will it do to say that God has committed himself to a certain mode of procedure through his Church, and that if the Church fails to contribute with sufficient liberality both money and evangelists the heathen will not hear of “the only name given under heaven or amongst men whereby we must be saved,” but will go to eternal torment, etc. Neither will it do to say that God is doing all that he can do and is hampered by the lack of interest in the Church; because his wisdom and foreknowledge foresaw all these conditions as they are, and he could not justly be excused from the real responsibility of the matter, since he is the Creator, and in him is vested the all-power as well as the all-wisdom. Such a claim as this would be tantamount to saying that God has erred in wisdom when he thought to leave the conversion of the world to the Church, seeing that the Church has not accomplished this. Such a claim would be merely excusing God from doing all that he can do, instead of showing that he is doing all that he can do.

(19) But let us look more critically into this matter. If this view we are criticizing is correct, if God is doing all that he can to save the world, and if he has been doing this during all the past ages, then without question the world’s conversion is a hopeless thing, and we can never expect to see better results than at present. This theory presupposes a race or battle between the Almighty and Satan, each seeking to capture the human family, and to the discredit of the theory it shows Satan the victor thus far. Starting out with one pair, both on Jehovah’s side, the first 1656 (according to the Masoretic text) years ended with a flood in which the whole world of mankind was blotted out because of wickedness, and only eight persons reckoned sufficiently righteous to be preserved. Starting again with those eight persons counted sufficiently righteous for preservation, we find that there are in the world today over five billion people, and that out of that whole number there are about two billion professing Christians, and a very much smaller number of true “saints of God.”

(20) What would be the lesson from this if the Arminian theory be correct, that God is doing all that he can do to save the world? The lesson would be that with all his good intentions of love and mercy our God is thoroughly incapable of the work he undertook to do. In effect, this theory presents God as a very weak God. And if these are the results in six thousand years, what could we hope for in the future? How many hundreds of millions of years would it be before the whole world would be converted? We answer that according to statistics it would never be, for statistics show that the natural increase of population throughout the world is far, far beyond the proportion of even nominal conversions from heathendom. Indeed, according to some good reckonings, the percentage of Christians every year is decreasing, the births of heathen lands so far outnumbering the births of Christian lands — even counting all the children born in Christendom as Christians.

(21) Is any Christian, in view of these facts, prepared to claim that our God has been doing all that he could do for the conversion of the world? If so, that Christian may as well write upon his hopes at once the word “Ichabod” (meaning "There is no glory"). If we saw that the Calvinistic view magnifies the wisdom and power of God at the expense of his justice and love, we find on the other hand that the Arminian view magnifies the love of God at the expense of his wisdom and power. The true Gospel must show divine Wisdom and Power in full accord with divine Justice and Love: of any other we must needs be ashamed.

DISTINCTIONS WITHOUT PRACTICAL DIFFERENCE

(22) But we may as well now, as at any time, concede that there is comparatively little difference in the outcome of the two popular Protestant Gospels — the difference is merely a theoretical one respecting how the results are to be reached. The results themselves are the same in both cases — the eternal doom and conscious torment of over forty-seven billion of human creatures. For our Arminian friends no less than Calvinists agree that there is no salvation aside from faith in Christ, the only name given; and they admit also that of those who believe in Christ only the sanctified are of the real Church; and their Gospel is also that only the real Church is to be saved and that all others are to be eternally and most horribly tormented; — some claim in literal flames, others say by the torments and gnawings of conscience and remorse, which they proceed to say will be worse than the literal flames, — and we respond, if worse, so much worse for the argument.

(23) All will surely agree as respects these two theories or Gospels held out to the world by Protestant Christendom that it would make no difference to the forty-seven thousand millions, whether they got into that awful state of hopeless woe by divine predestination and lack of love and justice, or by divine incapacity and lack of foreknowledge and proper arrangements. We believe that no true Christian will be ready after examining the subject thus far to say that he fully approves either of these theories, and that he is not ashamed of both of them.

CONSIDER NOW THE TRUE GOSPEL

(24) Let us now proceed to examine what is the true Gospel, presented to us in the Word of God — the Gospel of which the Apostle was not ashamed. The word “gospel” itself should be the clue — should save the intelligent Christian from being misled by the various theories of bad tidings of great misery for nearly all people, miscalled “gospel.” He who thinks it good news that one out of a thousand of the human family is to be saved and the remaining 999 to be eternally tormented, is either not a Christian at all, or he is decidedly undeveloped in Christian character, in mercy, in love, in justice. In our opinion, he is at most only a “babe in Christ” who has need first of the milk of the Word and subsequently of the “strong meat” thereof, that he may grow up into Christ in all things, and be able to comprehend with all saints the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the love of God which passeth all understanding. — Ephesians 3:18,19.

(25) When occasionally we come across someone who gives evidence of being a Christian, and who still entertains such horribly blasphemous views respecting the Heavenly Father’s character, we feel like quoting to him Jehovah’s words through the Prophet, “My ways are not as your ways, nor my thoughts as your thoughts, for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my plans higher than your plans.” (Isaiah 55:8,9) And part of our object in this study is to have those, whose eyes are anointed of Jehovah, that they may see spiritual things, discern some of Jehovah’s higher ways and higher plans which he presents to us in his Word under the name “gospel” — good tidings.

NOT “UNIVERSAL SALVATION TO IMMORTALITY”

BUT A SALVATION OF ALL DYING IN ADAM TO

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ETERNAL LIFE

(26) The Apostle tells us that God preached the Gospel beforehand to Abraham, “beforehand” signifying before it was due to be preached with its full understanding; please note that the actual preaching of the Gospel did not begin with Abraham, but with our Lord Jesus Christ, as the apostle again declares, this salvation “began to be declared by our Lord and was confirmed to us by them that heard him.” (Galatians 3:8; Hebrews 2:3) All that ever went before our Lord’s preaching was not the actual full preaching of Gospel, but merely types and promises which foreshadowed it. Let us notice next what, according to the Apostle, constituted this fore-statement of the Gospel to Abraham: he says that it was couched in the words, “In you and in your seed all nations will be blessed.” (Galatians 3:16,29) Note this carefully: it does not say, In your seed one out of a thousand out of the families of the earth will be blessed, and the remainder be doomed to an indescribably horrible eternity, but that the whole Gospel is a Gospel of blessing, applicable to all the families of the earth — through Christ, the true seed of Abraham.

(27) When our Lord Jesus was born into the world, the Heavenly Father sent a message respecting him, and the angels who bore that message declared that it was a Gospel message. Let us hearken to what the angels said about the eternal torment of the vast majority of our race. They said to the shepherds, “Behold we bring you good tidings [gospel] of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10) Let it be distinctly noted that the Gospel of the angels, like the Gospel communicated to Abraham, contains no reference to the damnation and eternal misery of any of Yahweh’s creatures, and that consequently our friends of the Salvation Army and others, who in ignorance preach eternal damnation and call it the Gospel, are doing so in utter violation of the meaning of the word and of all the uses of that word throughout the Scriptures. However well they may mean, they are in this certainly committing a wrong, a grievous wrong, and we long to see the light of the knowledge of the goodness of God shine into their hearts and relieve them of this blindness which comes not from God nor from his Word, but from the prince of darkness. — 2 Corinthians 4:4.

(28) It will require all the Millennial age (the age to come -- Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30; Hebrews 6:5 -- which is to follow this Gospel age in which we live) to bless all the families of the earth with the joyful knowledge of divine grace in Christ. Just so surely as the estimated more than forty-seven thousand millions went down into death without hearing of the Saviour, without coming to a clear knowledge of the truth, without the good tidings of great joy reaching their ears, — just so surely must they all come forth from the grave that this very Gospel message of “good tidings” may be declared to them, and that they may be tested thereby and either be accepted to eternal life or destroyed, as unworthy of life, in the Second Death. We say just so surely, for three reasons:

-1- The announcement of the Gospel to Abraham says, “In your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed,” and all of these forty-seven billion belong to this very class specified, the families of the earth — and they have not yet been blessed with this knowledge of the only name wherein is the blessing.
-2- The same is true of the message by the angel, — the good tidings of great joy is for all people, and these forty-seven thousand millions of humanity are surely the great bulk of all people.
-3- We are sure that this testimony must be given to them in the future because the Scriptural declaration is that “Christ died for the ungodly;” “he tasted death for every man,” and as a consequence every man must have an opportunity granted him for benefitting by that death, and of availing himself of the privilege of eternal life which was secured by our Lord’s ransom sacrifice.

DID CHRIST DIE FOR THE CHURCH ONLY?

(29) But someone would perhaps say: “Christ died only for the sins of the Church and not for the sins of the world, and consequently the sins of the world cannot be forgiven them.” We answer, No; the Scriptural declaration most positively is that “Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death for every man,” “to be testified in due time.” (Hebrews 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:6) And, additionally, the Apostle says, “He is a propitiation [satisfaction, atoning sacrifice] for our [the Church’s] sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2) The "world" in 1 John 2:2 is the same "world" spoken of in John 12:47, where Jesus says that he came not to condemn the world (which has already been condemned in Adam -- Romans 5:12-19), but save the world (from the condemnation in Adam -- 1 Corinthians 15:21,22).

(30) What could be plainer than this? If the price for the sins of the whole world has been paid to satisfy God's Justice, we may rest well assured that His Justice will furnish opportunity through the Redeemer whereby all these whose sins were atoned for may come to a knowledge of Christ, and to an opportunity of accepting divine grace through him.

(31) But someone will say, Why should God adopt a plan which would necessitate a resurrection of the dead, and a post-resurrection trial for eternal life except for all the elect Church of this Gospel age? We answer, 

-1- It is not for us to inquire why Jehovah adopts certain plans which differ from those which our poor finite minds might arrange for him: rather it is for us to acknowledge that our wisdom is insufficient on such a subject and that we should come humbly to Jehovah to hear from his Word whatever he may be pleased to inform us respecting his purposes. 

-2- As a matter of fact only those who approach the question from this standpoint need expect to see the truth or to “comprehend with all saints the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the love of God.” — Ephesians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 2:12.

(32) God has been pleased, however, to reveal to us some of his reasons for arranging his plan as we see it. He assures us of his full wisdom and power to manage every feature of his own work according to his own good pleasure, assuring us that he knows the end from the beginning, and that the end will fully justify every step that he has taken. His Word, no less than observation, shows us that during all these six thousand years the world has been getting a lesson respecting the exceeding sinfulness of sin and its wages of sorrow and death. His Word assures us also that during the next age, the Millennium, the whole world will be brought to a knowledge of the way of righteousness and love and peace, and will see the divine law in practical operation, and witness its beneficent results in all those who will come into harmony with the great Mediator.

(33) Thus mankind learns the lesson of evil and its consequences first in the present life, and the lesson of righteousness and its blessed results under divine providence, in the Millennium; and when thus fully equipped with knowledge on both sides of the question and instructed by the Royal Priesthood, (the completed and glorified elect Gospel Church), mankind will be ready for the tests, that will be applied by the Lord Jesus, under which the obedient and faithful will be granted full perfection and eternal life, and the disobedient and incorrigible will “be destroyed from amongst the people.” — Acts 3:22,23

“IF YOU ARE CHRIST’S,

THEN YOU ARE ABRAHAM’S SEED AND HEIRS”

(34) Another matter, really the key to the whole question which we are discussing, is revealed in God’s Word, viz., that in the divine purpose the promised “Seed of Abraham” that should perform the great work of blessing all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Romans 4:13,16; Galatians 3:8,16,29), is to be one, in the sense of one kind, but not in the sense of one person — that is to say, that the seed of Abraham will consist of all who believe the promise in faith (Luke 20:37,38; Romans 4:3,13,16; Galatians 3:6; Hebrews 11:13,17,39); in this Christian age, it thus includes all who belong to Christ. — Galatians 3:7,29.

(35) This Gospel age intervening between the time of the great sin offering and the time when the blessing of earth’s billions will commence, God has set apart for the work of selecting or electing the seed of Abraham who are to bless all the families of the earth. The scriptures speak of those being selected as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), “the church” (Acts 2:47; 5:11; 20:28 — King James Version), the “little flock,” (Luke 12:32) the “royal priesthood,” (1 Peter 2:9) the spiritual “children of Israel” “by faith,” (Revelation 7:4; Romans 4:16) “heirs of God” (Romans 8:17) and “sons of God.” (Galatians 3:26) The salvation provided for these heirs and sons of God is higher than that which God purposes for the world in general, as they all, if faithful, receive an inheritance in the kingdom. But an even greater purpose is also revealed in selecting these heirs of God, and that is the selection of “joint-heirs” with Christ. (Romans 8:17) The ones who receive joint-heirship receive the highest rewards in the kingdom. The selecting of these heirs and “joint-heirs” and trying them and proving them, fitting them and polishing them for service in the Kingdom, and it is to these, as the Apostle Peter declares, God has given “exceeding great and precious promises [far beyond any promises given to any other of his creatures] that by these [promises] we might become partakers of the divine [Strong’s Greek #2304 – godlike] nature [Strong’s #5449 – growth],”* and receive the inheritance of the kingdom in order to bless all the families of the earth.

(36) This true view of the calling and election of the Church is another feature of the Gospel — the true “good news (gospel) of great joy which will be to all the people.” (Luke 2:10) If it is splendid, good news to know that ultimately all families of the earth are to be blessed with opportunities for salvation through the Christ, it is still an additional feature to the good news to know that God has invited us to become members of the Christ company, “members in particular of the body of Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 12:27.

(37) This is the true Gospel, the one we find set forth in the Scriptures, set forth by Paul himself, and of which he was not ashamed. This Gospel shows the character of our Creator in a most wonderful light, — his Wisdom, able to discern the end from the beginning (Acts 15:18; Isaiah 46:9,10); his Power, able to accomplish that which he pleases (Isaiah 55:11); his Justice, squaring every feature of the plan from first to last (Acts 15:18), according to the most absolute features of righteousness (Psalm 145:17; Revelation 15:3); his Love, whose lengths and breadths and heights and depths we have not yet been able to explore (Romans 11:33); a love which sympathizes with his creatures in their fallen estate (John 3:16,17; 12:47,48); a love which provided a Savior, and “who is the Savior of all men” (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 4:10); a love which prompted that Savior to give his life as our ransom price (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; Romans 5:8; 1 Timothy 2:5,6); a love which met all the requirements of divine justice for us (Romans 6:18); a love which still pursues mankind, and in this Gospel age calls many to heirship as sons that they may share in blessing the world in the kingdom age. — Romans 8:14

(38) “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God.” (1 John 3:1) This divine love, still pursuing its original plan for man’s salvation, will use the “elect” glorified house of sons, of which Christ Jesus is the Head (Ephesians 1:22), in blessing all families of the earth with full opportunity of knowledge and full assistance up the highway of holiness (Isaiah 35:8) that so many as will may attain to the restoration of all that was lost in Adam by coming back into harmony with God through the great Mediator. — Acts 3:19-23

NONE NEED BE ASHAMED OF THE TRUE GOSPEL

(39) Surely of this Gospel we are not ashamed, “for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16) It has in our hearts a transforming and renewing power, a sanctifying power which no error could possibly have, and which all the theories of eternal torment have never equaled and never will. Let us more and more “show forth the praises of our God, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light,” by renouncing all God-dishonoring creeds and theories, and instead hold forth the Word of life, and witness the good confession — the “good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” — 1 Peter 2:9; Colossians 1:13; Luke 2:10 (KJV)

(40) All who will declare the true Gospel will need to be well equipped with the preparation of the gospel of peace (gentleness, patience, meekness) for, strange to say, they will find bitter opposition from professed servants of Christ who have been blinded and prejudiced by Satan’s misrepresentations of the Gospel, — by which he seeks to drive from Jehovah all who have a remnant of reason in their religious thinking. (Ephesians 6:13-18; Galatians 5:22,23; 2 Timothy 3:12; John 15:20; 1 Peter 5:8) All who have ears to hear, and who do hear the true Gospel, will be enabled to distinguish it from the miserable counterfeits which for so long have passed current among God’s people. (Matthew 11:15; 13:9,16) Let all such remember that ability to hear is one of the evidences of divine favor in this regard, and let them not be ashamed, but glorify God on this behalf. (1 Peter 4:16) Let such remember, also, that their acceptance of truth as due, in the face of unpopularity, is a part of their testing. (Revelation 2:10; 1 Peter 1:7) Jehovah puts his plan, his Word, as his representative, in effect, saying — He that is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of the Man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with his holy angels. — Mark 8:38.

(41) The call still goes forth, then, to “repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 2:38) If you are not already a disciple of Jesus, are you ready to count the cost of being a disciple of Christ? (Luke 14:25-35) Are you willing to give yourself in full devotion to Jesus and his God in appreciation of what he has done for you? (Romans 5:8; Ephesians 1:6-8) Then go to God in prayer and tell him of your desire to turn away from all that he hates and your heart’s desire to serve him through Jesus. — Hebrews 13:21.

Presented by Ronald R. Day, Sr., Restoration Light Bible Study Services (ResLight, RlBible).