TSP DAILY DEVOTIONAL
THE RIGHT GOSPEL CURRICULUM
15th May 2020
Dr. Phil Ransom-Bello
KEY SCRIPTURE/MEMORY VERSE: Luke 1:77(TPT)
You will preach to his people the revelation of salvation life, the cancellation of all our sins, to bring us back to God.
There is something notable in the example of Apollos that we saw yesterday and its the fact that after his understanding of the gospel had improved to the point of accuracy, he became of great benefit to believers.
We can now see a distinct difference between the man who had been zealous in teaching about John’s baptism and the man who now boldly taught the gospel of Christ more accurately, now causing believers to increase in the knowledge of grace(Acts 18:27).
You must know how important teaching the right message is. In Acts 18, we see the result of Aquila and Priscilla’s teaching but in the next Chapter, we will also see how Paul’s teaching uncovered additional effects of Apollos inaccurate teaching.
Apollos had taught the people in Ephesus only about the Baptism of John so when Paul came later to Ephesus, he asked about them about the Holy Spirit but they didn’t know about the Holy Spirit(See verse 2)because the foundation of what they had learned was the baptism of John.
Paul had to correct the wrong teaching by pointing them to the fullness of what we’ve received in Christ.
John preached the baptism of repentance which was symbolic of what he knew. But in Christ we have the real thing.
Hear me, when you receive Christ into your heart and become born-again, you already identify with His death, burial and resurrection(Galatians 3:27). So when you are baptized, it is a representation of a reality that has happened already. You are immersed or dipped in to show that you died with Christ, were buried with Him and you rose with Him(Colossians 2:12)
So water baptism is not what makes the event of your dying with Christ and being raised with Him happen. It is your belief that makes it happen. Its only a public declaration of an inward reality that already happened.
Now, here’s why the message of John’s baptism was doing more harm than good. In Mark 1:4(AMP), scripture tells us that the baptism of John was the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. In other words, the baptism of John obligates you to repent(which includes changing your mind and ways) and confess your sin before your sins can be forgiven.
So it was countering the message of the gospel.
The message of the gospel declares forgiveness of sins. In fact, our salvation is predicated on the fact that our sins have been forgiven(Luke 1:77)
If you tell people that they have to confess their sins before they can be forgiven, the question is how many sins can you really remember to confess? That means we are doomed to never receiving God’s forgiveness.
Listen friends, let us stay with the truth of the gospel. Let us teach the right gospel curriculum.
No additions, No subtractions.
Let us declare only what the gospel declares. That our sins are forgiven.
REFLECTION
Have I been accurate in declaring only what the gospel declares?
DECLARATION
-I believe the gospel is God’s only tool for salvation.
-By the equipping of the Holy Spirit, I have been given utterance to witness the gospel.
-My ears are trained to discern the truth of the gospel and to declare it accurately. I see the unsaved just as Jesus does.
-I only declare the gospel with the right curriculum. No additions. No subtractions.
-I declare the forgiveness of sins without the requirement of repentance or works.
-I am committed to deepening my understanding of the gospel through study and accurate interpretation of the scriptures.
-Daily, I am faithful in the business of soul-winning and I make profit of souls in millions for the Kingdom.
-Daily, I enjoy the advantage and dividends of the gospel.
Hallelujah!
HEARING BY THE WORD
(Recommended Listening)
Listen to What Do I Preach?>> Dr. Phil by The StandPoint Church on #SoundCloud
