The gospel of God He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. When Jesus began, His ministry is when He became the first to speak of the great salvation. “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” He declared in Luke 4:21. Peter on Pentecost was the first to preach the gospel (good news) of the Lord’s resurrection and salvation. Paul testified to the beginning of the gospel. “Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I first departed from Macedonia…” Philippians 4:15
What if we could go back to the beginning of the gospel? What was the good news of salvation? Would it sound the same as we declare today? Is our gospel different than was first proclaimed? Paul asked the question of the Galatians in the first century. “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” Galatians 1:6, 7
In these next few weeks, we will travel together into the book Acts to see and hear for ourselves the beginning of the gospel. Years later, when Paul stood before Festus and then King Agrippa, Festus framed the accusations that Paul’s accusers brought to King Agrippa with these words.
“When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed, but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.” Acts 25:18, 19.
To prep for our journey, Paul gives a concise declaration of the gospel of God in Romans 1:1-6. To see and hear the scripture most quoted in the New Testament, it’s Psalm 110.