In thinking about the gospel, one of the truths that is often forgotten is that Jesus, as the Messiah/Christ, came to fulfill God’s promises of salvation. The early disciples focused much of their evangelistic witness on identifying Jesus as the Christ.
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Acts 2:36
And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. Acts 5:42
But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. Acts 9:22
Paul spoke of gospel as the good news that God fulfilled His promises
And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus. Acts 13:32-33a
He also emphasized in his gospel the importance that Jesus was a Davidic descendant.
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel 2 Tim 2:8
Though we often focus on the beginning of Luke 2 at Christmas, the middle of Luke chapter 2 describes two individuals who had been waiting to see God fulfill His promises and their joy in seeing the beginning of this fulfillment in the birth of Jesus.
Peter Cushman, pastor of outreach at Inter-City Baptist Church, has been putting out a series to help our church give the good news this Christmas by focusing on truths from the Gospel of Luke. In the 3rd video, he notes this emphasis on God’s fulfilling His promises from Luke 1:70 as something to highlight in an effort to have gospel conversations this Christmas.
“Christ’s coming is not an isolated event. It was not a random disjointed occurrence…It’s the fulfillment of many of God’s promises recorded in the Old Testament. When you talk about Christ this Christmas, tell people that you’re thankful for God’s faithfulness to His promises. That’s what Christmas reminds you of. From the very beginning God promised to send the world a Savior. Christmas is such a joyous and special occasion because it’s the climactic fulfillment of centuries of God’s promises….As you celebrate this Christmas, tell others that it’s so special to you because it reminds you of God’s faithfulness to His promises. Hopefully, this will open up opportunities to talk about those promises.”
Give the Good News – Promise from Inter-City Baptist Media on Vimeo.
