Presenting the basics of the gospel for Bible study

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Mathetes

Puritan Board Freshman
Hello friends,

I have a friend who runs a Bible study during the week. It's fairly informal, usually they pick a book and go through it a chapter a week and have discussions about it (he's a dispensationalist, so occasionally the topic will veer towards eschatology). One week he was away and asked me to lead, so I decided to change things around a bit and quiz the audience on the gospel. Unfortunately, their knowledge of the gospel message was somewhat fuzzy. They could tell me that Jesus died for our sins and that we're not saved by works, but they couldn't tell me why these things were so. Additionally, they seemed a bit hesitant with even those basic ideas.

So I asked my friend and he's going to allow me to lead some more studies so I can provide a crash-course (for lack of a better term) on the gospel.

But I'm wondering how to go about it. These are one-hour classes, and I was originally going to have one session on regeneration, one on justification, one on sanctification, etc. - but that seems a bit much. Maybe I could have one session that talks about original sin, its curse, depravity, etc. (the "bad news") and then one on the atonement, salvation, sola fide (the "good news"). As a side note, there's a mix of newbies and veterans. Any thoughts?
 
Yes that's not a bad idea, actually. Especially since there are a lot of concepts associated with penal substitution - total depravity, justification, imputation, regeneration, and many others. This will be some good food for thought, thanks.
 
The best book that explains the gospel message clearly and concisely is Greg Gilbert's What is the Gospel? I've taught a similar weekly, 1-hour class through this book over the course of about 6 weeks. After reading/teaching through the book, everyone in the class will come away will a clear understanding of the gospel.
 
From Richard Baxter's "The Reformed Pastor"

This may prove to be a good introduction:


Thus: ‘You must know, that from everlasting there was one God, who had no beginning, and will have no end, who is not a body as we are, but a most pure, spiritual Being, that knoweth all things, and can do all things; and hath all goodness and blessedness in himself. This God is but one, but yet Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost, in a manner that is above our understanding. And you must know, that this one God did make all the world by his Word; the heavens he made to be the place of his glory, and a multitude of holy angels to serve him. But some of these did, by pride or some other sin, fall from their high estate, and are become devils, and shall be miserable for ever. When he had created the earth, he made man, as his noblest creature here below, even one man and one woman, Adam and Eve; and he made them perfect, without any sin, and put them into the garden of Eden, and forbade them to eat of one tree in the garden, and told them that if they ate of it they should die. But the devil, who had first fallen himself, did tempt them to sin, and they yielded to his temptation, and thus fell under the curse of God’s law. But God, of his infinite wisdom and mercy, did send his own Son, Jesus Christ, to be their Redeemer, who, in the fullness of time, was made man, being born of a virgin, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and lived on earth, among the Jews, about thirty-three years, during which time he preached the gospel himself, and wrought many miracles to prove his doctrine, healing the lame, the blind, the sick, and raising the dead by his Divine power; and in the end he was offered upon the cross as a sacrifice for our sins to bear that curse which we should have borne. ‘And now, if sinners will but believe in him, and repent of their sins, he will freely pardon all that is past, and will sanctify their corrupted nature, and will at length bring them to his heavenly kingdom and glory. But if they make light of their sins and of his mercy, he will condemn them to everlasting misery in hell. This gospel, Christ, having risen from the dead on the third day, appointed his ministers to preach to all the world; and when he had given this in charge to all his apostles, he ascended up into heaven, before their faces, where he is now in glory, with God the Father, in our nature. And at the end of this world, he will come again in our nature, and will raise the dead to life again, and bring them all before him, that they may "give an account of all the deeds done in the body, whether they be good, or whether they be evil." If, therefore, you mean to be saved, you must believe in Christ, as the only Savior from the wrath to come; you must repent of your sins; you must, in short, be wholly new creatures, or there will be no salvation for you.’
 
The best book that explains the gospel message clearly and concisely is Greg Gilbert's What is the Gospel? I've taught a similar weekly, 1-hour class through this book over the course of about 6 weeks. After reading/teaching through the book, everyone in the class will come away will a clear understanding of the gospel.

I'll have to check that out. I'm primarily using William Webster's "The Gospel of the Reformation" - it's primarily directed against Roman Catholic apologetics, but he goes very thoroughly through the biblical doctrine of salvation. James White's "The God Who Justifies" is pretty handy too, since it gives a good explanation of what imputation is. I also want to take a look at D.A. Carson's "The God Who Is There", since it seems to be useful for both beginners and advanced.
 
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