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To: Jim 0216
Just look at the gospel as it was preached in Acts, the biblical record of the message of the gospel. There was NO CONDEMNATION in their message.

I beg to differ, brother. The message of condemnation for those outside of Christ was indeed preached in Acts, explicitly and implicitly:

Acts 3:17-23 17 “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’

Acts 13:38-41 38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 41 “‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’

Acts 13:46 46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

Acts 17:29-31 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

Acts 18:5-6 5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”



The scripture as a whole is replete with warnings of the fate of the unrepentent and unfaithful. A gospel presentation that omits this is incomplete and unfaithful to scripture. People have to know what they are being saved "from". Otherwise, Jesus can appear to be just some sort of "life coach" or "personal assistant" rather than the glorious Saviour that He is.
20 posted on 01/03/2019 9:40:55 AM PST by armydoc
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To: armydoc

No, condemnation is never the main thrust of the message of the Gospel of Christ. It is forgiveness. Sometimes warnings, but that is not the main thrust of the message of the gospel of Christ which is forgiveness.

Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it but to forgive and save it (John Chapt. 3).

Those who preach condemnation are generally those who themselves are still under the condemnation of the law and haven’t fully understood or embraced the grace of Christ by which they are the righteousness of God in Christ WITHOUT works.

They skip over the message of forgiveness to highlight the warnings and condemnation, but don’t forget

1) Jesus never condemned or “warned” Gentiles who knew already they were sinners as they do today. The only group Jesus warned and condemned were the religious leaders of his day - the Jewish Pharisees in particular, and the nation of Israel in general who were in the process of rejecting their Messiah.

2) These warnings in Acts were exclusively to the Jews who as Paul said, were to be the first to hear the gospel, but when they rejected the gospel of grace because they still wanted to be righteous by their own works, Paul went to the Gentiles who heard gladly the message of grace and eternal forgiveness without works through Christ.

Unfortunately, much of today’s church has gone back to the law and are not obedient to the faith of the grace of Christ that Jude says was “once delivered to the saints” and now once again must be “contended for”.


21 posted on 01/04/2019 4:52:45 PM PST by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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