Teaching the Gospel

There are a few questions concerning the Gospel that I would like to cover. It seems as though the majority of people I discuss Biblical topics with believe that the Gospel is strictly a New Testament concept and revolves solely around Jesus. But I do wonder, is the Gospel only new testament idea, and what does the Bible have to say about the origins of the Gospel?

The book of Hebrews has something very interesting to say on this particular topic. Hebrews chapter four says that the same Gospel was given to us as well as them… but who is “them” referring to? Let’s look at the verse in question.

Hebrews 4:2

For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them…

To discover who this verse is discussing we will need to go back into chapter three toward the last few verses. I know a lot of people may be discouraged about doing this feeling that chapter three isn’t really related to chapter four, however, when the book was written it was not separated into chapters, it was just one continuous book and therefore, we should read it as such.

Hebrews 3:16-19

For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Reading Hebrews straight through shows that it was Moses that taught the Gospel to the men and women that were led out of Egypt. This appears to directly contradict the idea that the Gospel and the Torah are two different things. When asking any modern day preacher about this topic, they will say there is a definitive distinction between the two, however, the author of Hebrews states that what Moses taught was the very same thing as what Yeshua taught. It was not just the Torah Law that was disobeyed, but rather the Law and the Gospel that was rebelled against. Having now read this in context of who is being discussed, we can surly conclude that the gospel is not simply Jesus dying for our sins, on the cross and later raising from the dead. Granted, this is a big deal and I do not wish to downplay the magnitude of what was done, however, that is not the only thing the Gospel consists of. Also, having this new information, more questions arise, such as why did He have to die and raise again if that is not the whole of the Gospel. I will answer this question in a later chapter.

Now that we can see that the Gospel is both from the Old and New Testaments, we can link the idea that it was Israel’s refusal to follow the Law and obey the Gospel that got them dispelled from the favor of YHWH. If you’re wondering how I made that connection it was in the reading from Hebrews.

Hebrews 4: 2-3

For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

We already know from chapter 3 that it was those that came out of Egypt that sinned and rebelled against what they had heard, and we know from the Old Testament that what they heard and rebelled against was the Torah Law. Now we know what they heard was also, according to the writer of Hebrews, the Gospel, or good news, meaning that they can be brought closer to God if they only followed His commands that He has given to them. That is the good news, or Gospel, that we have an opportunity to bring ourselves closer to the Father through His Word and Commands.

If Israel was disobedient because they didn’t follow the Law given by Moses, and the law given was also the very same Gospel that we have heard, then why is it that we have been repeatedly taught that we no longer need to abide by those very same laws? Hebrews states that those that heard it the first time around did not mix what they heard with faith. They did what they words said but did not believe in the good news. Because they did not believe in the fact that what they were doing would bring them closer to YHWH, they eventually stopped following His law and began chancing after false gods, which ultimately led to Israel (Northern Kingdom) being scattered among the nations of the world. The bottom line is disobedience to YHWH’s law is directly linked to unbelief. If you do not do what He tells us to do, then you simply do not believe it is beneficial to your life, and ultimately you are saying you know what’s better for you than what God says is best for your life. Israel had to find out the hard way, they did not enter into the Promised Land because they did not obey the gospel that was given to them by YHWH Himself.

The next argument is always that Jesus has a different set of laws for us. I understand this argument, however, I don’t believe it. Consider what Yeshua says in the book of John.

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Now we can find the Torah being described as each one of these very things.

Psalm 119:1

Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord!

Psalm 18:30

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Psalm 119:142

Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth.

Proverbs 13:14

The LAW of the wise is a fountain of LIFE, to depart from the snares of death

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

As we can see, Yeshua (Jesus) was the living walking talking, and breathing Torah. He upheld every bit of God’s law because He was God’s law, in the flesh. He knew it better than anyone that ever walked the earth, and He continually used it to correct the Pharisees as well as avoid the falling victim to the temptations Satan put before Him. How anyone can say with a straight face that Jesus taught anything other than keeping Torah simply just doesn’t make any sense. Now that we can see that Yeshua was the living breathing Torah, I believe that this next verse takes on a whole new meaning.

John 10:27

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.