The Gospel of Jesus Christ Acts 8:1-8 NLT

• The word gospel means "GOOD NEWS".

• The word gospel occurs 93 times in the New Testament.

• The gospel is the good news about JESUS and the SALVATION that is available through Him.

• The Old Testament looks FORWARD to Jesus. The New Testament looks BACK to Jesus. The gospel is the STORY of the Bible.

• The gospel is the DEATH, BURIAL, RESURRECTION and ASCENSION of Jesus.

• The gospel is the HOPE of mankind.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 NLT I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

1. The gospel SEPARATES people.

Acts of the Apostles 8:1-3 NLT Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.

2. The gospel SAVES people.

Acts of the Apostles 8:4-6 NLT But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did.

Acts of the Apostles 1:8 NLT But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Romans 1:16 NLT For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

3. The gospel DELIVERS people.

Acts of the Apostles 8:7 NLT Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims.

Demons are FALLEN angels. They, along with Satan, chose to REBEL against God. (Isaiah 14:12-15, Revelation 12:9)

A Christian cannot be demon POSSESSED.

Romans 8:9 NLT But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

1 John 4:4 NLT But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

4. The gospel HEALS people.

Acts of the Apostles 8:7 NLT And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed.

5. The gospel CHANGES people.

Acts of the Apostles 8:8 NLT So there was great joy in that city.