8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,
The central message of the Gospel is so simple. Jesus came, lived, died, rose again fulfilling the Scriptures. Without His virgin birth, His life is nothing more than an example of someone who was deceived. Without His perfect life, His words are empty boastings. Without His death, His payment limited. Without His resurrection, emptiness. Without His heritage, His life is disconnected from God’s dealings with humanity since the beginning of time. Jesus’ uniqueness as God in the flesh sets Him apart from every other human being. He was not simply a great teacher, but He was God who came to interrupt history. His life as the Anointed One, the Christ, demonstrated God’s seal of approval on His actions. His death, although not unique in its method, was unique in its consequence. He carried all our sins on Himself. He became the substitute. He took our place. And when He rose from the grave He proved that no sin which is committed is outside His provision. He paid for them all, and His resurrection stands as a testimony to that completed work. Many things can distract us from this simple message. We can talk about so many other things, but they don’t matter as much as these central Truths. If these Truths are not true, then all the other matters we discuss really don’t matter at all. If Jesus is not who He claimed to be, then we might as well do whatever we want, because it will have no consequence beyond this life.
The Arnold Journey 