We as Christians know the Gospel, for it is the proclamation of good news, given by the LORD God in the scriptures. Note that it's GOD that has given this message to us. We didn't think this message up ourselves: it's origin is GOD.
We surely didn't create the Gospel but it has created us: by believing the Gospel, we have been born of heaven, rejuvenated spiritually, regenerated by the Holy Spirit Himself, based on the atonement of the LORD Jesus Christ's death on the cross, and His resurrection!
One of the best definitions of the Gospel is found in
1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-4:
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word "freak" as follows: "One that is markedly unusual or abnormal: as a : a person or animal with a physical oddity who appears in a circus sideshow; a thing or an occurrence that is markedly unusual or irregular. An abnormally formed organism, esp. a person or animal regarded as a curiosity or monstrosity. An eccentric or non-conformist person, esp.a member of a counterculture."
Certainly such definitions if taken objectively would bring no offense, but say such a word to someone in a derogatory fashion, and the intent of insult could hardly be missed. Such was the intention of the Romans who perceived the disciples of Jesus Christ as objects of curiosity, or even monstrosities, and at the very least, enigmatic followers of a strange religion.
However they couldn't deny how these people loved one another, or the One that they claimed to be the Son of God, only begotten of God. In a derogatory manner, the Romans referred to this strange lot of people as "little Christs", a term meant to ridicule and insult.
Yet when the disciples heard of it, they were humbled by such praise, as to even be compared to the LORD of Glory whom they served with love and obedience. They were first called "Christians" in the city of Antioch. Christians today are similarly confronted with another derogatory term, "Jesus Freak" and take exception to such words, for as we look upon our past and compare it with the life we now have with Jesus, we would readily agree that we WERE once freaks, but are now as God intended us, redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb and indwelt by the Spirit of the LORD.
We as Christians know the Gospel, for it is the proclamation of good news, given by the LORD God in the scriptures. Note that it's GOD that has given this message to us. We didn't think this message up ourselves: it's origin is GOD.
