Introduction

Gospel Illustration: euaggelion

The word translated as “gospel” in the New Testament is based on a term from the ancient battlefield. The Greek word euaggelion (yü-än-ge’-lē-on) means “good tidings” or “good news”, but the historical connotation is much stronger than our English translation.

Imagine with me a group of men travelling out of town to go to war. Their family was left behind in the village not knowing whether the battle was successful or whether or not there son or husbands or fathers were going to return home victoriously. Certainly there was a lot of anxiety in the villages during times of war when then men were away for weeks or months at a time. In an age without telephone, there had to be messengers.

While families were waiting back home, suddenly a messenger returning from the battlefield would appear on the horizon. He would come flying into the city and usually the appearance of this messenger would make it obvious whether or not the battle was successful. If he came riding into town with a laurel wreath on his head and a wreath on his spear and he was waving a palm branch then the battle was successful. Upon seeing this joyous messenger, the whole city would begin to celebrate. They had won!

The word used to describe that good news was the word euaggelion (yü-än-ge’-lē-on). We often translate it as evangelize or evangel or gospel. It is the news of victory. It was the very best kind of good news.

When the Bible speak of the gospel, it is making a strong correlation with this scenario. The gospel is the greatest kind of news. It is hope when all hope was lost. It is miraculous salvation. It is a word of victory and cause for celebration!

Our text today in Colossians begins with Paul identifying himself as an authoritative messenger with some euaggelion – some very good news.

Verse 1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God , and Timothy our brother,

² To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

He identifies that Timothy is with him and that he is writing to the saints and brothers in Colossae. The term “saint” refers to those who are set apart for God’s work. After these standard greetings, Paul writes this loaded sentence:

Verse 3

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel…

That last sentence could be translated as “the message of truth which is the gospel.” In other words, it is the true message of victory that is the very best possible news. Why is this news so good? In a series on building a Christ centered church, why is the hope we have in the gospel so critical to understand?

We need hope because God is perfectly holy and we are totally sinful. Last week we read Isaiah 6:3 that proclaims that God is Holy, Holy, Holy. He’s so holy – He’s so perfect – that there is no limit to His holiness or perfection. In comparison to God, even the most righteous man is unworthy of being in His perfect presence – even for a moment. When Isaiah, a very righteous man, saw the holiness of God, he cowered and said, Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips.” God is so holy, that we could never do enough to reconcile ourselves with Him.

No Hope

Before Christ, I was in control of my life and I was is a hell bound race. But Pastor Mark, you seem like a pretty good person. James 2:10 says:

¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

I rightly and justly deserve to pay the penalty for my sins. BUT…The day that I took myself off of the throne of my life and made Jesus the Lord, I received a gift that only Jesus could have offered.

Maybe you have not found hope through Jesus yet. If that’s you, today I have the best possible news that you could ever hear!

We had no hope, until Christ came and opened our eyes to the gospel – to euaggelion Romans 10:9 says:

…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

You will be saved! You can have hope!

Romans 6:23 says:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When Christ took possession of my heart, He exchanged my destiny of eternal punishment with the promise of eternal life. He took me from Hellbound to heavenward. And He can do the same for you too.

Heaven awaits for all of us who esteem Jesus as Lord. Those who follow Jesus are full of HOPE. The psalmist once wrote:

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Ps 84:10)

The hope that the believer holds is not just to sit down on heavens doorsteps and catch a glimpse of those who partake in an eternity with Jesus (although I agree with the psalmist that being a doorkeeper in heaven would be far better than dwelling with the wicked).

Those who turn to Christ have the hope of being with Christ and singing about Christ and having fellowship with the redeemed for all eternity. And when we’ve been there 10,000 years (as the song says), reveling in the Glory of Jesus, we will just be warming up. We will have just scratched the surface. We will eternally blown away that God choose to save a sinner like you and like me.

But it doesn’t end there. Revelation 3 says that Jesus began the relationship:

²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

And then He promises that all who hear His voice and heed the call to salvation will not only have fellowship with Him for eternity, but will sit upon the throne with Christ

²¹ The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

O Lord, I cry out with Isaiah and proclaim that I am unworthy of such an honor. But Christ promises WAY more than we deserve! The Greek word for conquer in Rev 3:21 is nikaō (nē-kä’-ō) and it refers to Christians who “hold fast to their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and temptations and persecutions.”

I exhort you to hold fast to Christ! Keep your eyes on Jesus. His is a hope that will never disappoint.

How to Hold Fast

How do we hold fast to Christ when we are faced with difficult – even impossible – circumstances? Let me give you 2 implications:

1. Hold fast to Christ by dwelling on God’s word. If we are to be a church that is Christ-centered, we must be a church that cherishes Jesus so deeply that we want to meet with Him often. It has been proven that believers who do not have a Bible reading plan, do not read their Bibles consistently. HOLD UP BOOK Tonight I have 20 study books for our series in Colossians. $10 covers our cost for the books – but don’t let that be a hindrance – pay whatever you can afford. I encourage you to pick one up and to study God’s Word together with us
2. Hold fast to Christ by Fellowshipping with God’s people. Discipleship is a long walk together with the same people in the right direction with our eyes focused on Christ. We want to grow together with you. We want to encourage one-another to hold fast to Jesus when the trials begin to pile up. HOLD UP INVITE CARD We are starting a new season of small groups this week. I would encourage you to attend our mid-week Bible study if you can.

Not Just a Chance

You may ask, isn’t hope just wishful thinking? In our language, we often hope for things that are not certain. For Christmas, I hope that I get a new Porsche. It could happen, but it seems unlikely.

The Greek understanding for hope is far more substantial. Hope, is the Greek word, elpis (el-pē’s) and it means the : “joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation.” The hope we have through Christ is not a good chance of heaven – it is a confident expectation of Heaven. In God’s Word, the hope we have for salvation is treated as a matter of actual attainment. Colosssians 3:5 says there is hope laid up for you in heaven. It is spoken of as a treasure on hold – on reserve – in the storehouses in heaven. 1 John 5:13, the Apostle John proclaims that:

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

TURN TO 1 Peter 1:3

Heaven’s Bank Account

God gave us His word and sent his Son so that we could be confident about the hope we have of eternal life.  What that means is that if we were to look at our proverbial bank account in heaven right now, on the statement it would say, “redeemed,” “Sins paid in full.” It would list under holdings “Eternal life”I Peter 1:3-4 says:

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

And then, it’s offered to us for free. God reveals to us our eternal hope – He’s the initiator – and we just have to take it by believing Jesus is Lord.

If man had come up with this plan, he would have put some “and-you-got-ta’s” in the equation. Like, you receive Jesus as Lord and-you-got-ta give some money, and-you-got-ta pray a prayer, and-you-got-ta perform a ceremony, and-you-got-ta go on a mission trip, and-you-got-ta get baptized, and-you-got-ta… and-you-got-ta… and-you-got-ta…

God had a different plan. He provided the hope for salvation and He cut out all “and-you-got-ta’s” in the process of attaining salvation. He then reveals the way of salvation is through hearing. Our hope is received by faith and faith comes by hearing. Romans 10:17 says:

faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ

What is exciting, is that a Christ-centered church has the opportunity to do some of the telling! All the hope we have of eternity with Christ came by hearing and not by working. It came through Christ and not us. We are not saved by sacrifice or ceremonies but by simply hearing the Word of God and believing it. This is how HE get ALL THE GLORY from our salvation! Titus 3:5 says:

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Our Hope in Heaven

So what awaits for us in heaven? What is the nature of our hope? What are we hoping for? Here are a just a couple of the things that we know from God’s Word.

• 1 Cor 2:9 says,
  “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
  nor the heart of man imagined,
  what God has prepared for those who love him”
  God prepares for those who love him, Joys beyond imagination.
• 1 Corinthinas 15:56 says
  ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
  Final victory over sin.
  Imagine with me finding no dreaded Monday mornings, and nothing to worry about – ever. A place of perfect productivity and deliverance from the daily grind. A life with no temptation from our flesh or from Satan but only the eternal blessings of righteousness. When we have our final victory in Christ, we’ll enjoy perfect peace and perfect purity in a perfect place.

Best of all, we have the hope of being with Jesus. We see Jesus face-to-face and never disappoint Him again. We get to enjoy his triumphs and glory and victory forever and ever and ever as we rule and reign with Him. Then we’ll have the fellowship with all his saints. As a teacher of the Bible, I am inadequate to begin to describe the glory of the eternal world and perhaps today I have passed on to you 1/10,000^th of the Hope we have in Jesus.

Life Application

If we are to be a Christ-centered church, we are commissioned to hold fast to Jesus. Let me give your 3 reasons for holding fast to Jesus from I Corinthians 2:

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

Jesus always leads victoriously. Let’s follow Him!

¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

Share Christ boldly. Jesus is the hope for a dying world!

¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Hope in Jesus is the very best possible news. When we speak the gospel, we speak for Christ!

Teaching Outline 

God is so holy, that we could never do enough to reconcile ourselves with Him Isaiah 6:5

We had no hope, until Christ came and opened our eyes to the gospel

…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Heaven awaits for all of us who esteem Jesus as Lord.

²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. ²¹ The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. Revelation 3:20-21

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13