“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Cor. 15:1-4)

The gospel: Glad tidings" or "good news, " It’s the message concerning Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation.

Christ is the gospel's major theme and bears witness to every aspect of his saving work, from his birth and public ministry to his second coming and the last judgment.

The gospel of your salvation

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1:13-14 ESV)

Declare with your mouth and believe with your heart

“If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9 NIV)

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases…” (Psalm 103:2 ESV)

The prayer of faith will raise up the sick

“And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:15 ESV)

Pray for each other that you may be healed

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16 ESV)

God restores to full health

“The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.” (Psalm 41:3 ESV)

“He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.” (107:20 NLT)

God’s Words are healing to all who are attentive to them

“My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.” (Prov. 4:22-24 ESV)

Say the Word and be healed

“The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (Matt. 8:8 NIV)

You shall not die, but live to declare God’s works

“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.” (Psalm 118:17 KJV)

By His wounds you have been healed

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)

And with His stripes we are healed

“But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5 ESV)

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” (Prov. 27:17 ESV)

A sweet friend gives earnest counsel

“Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” (Prov. 27:9 ESV)

Friendship is better than being alone

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Eccles. 4:9-12 ESV)

Jesus friendship is closer than a brother  

“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Prov. 18:24 ESV)

No greater love than this kind of friendship!

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13 ESV)

Therefore…

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thess. 5:11 ESV)

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” (Heb. 1:3 NIV)

Radiance: the quality of being bright and sending out rays of reflected light; splendor, brightness, luminance, brilliance, illumination, luminance, luster.

Jesus’ face shone like the sun

“As the men watched, Jesus' appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.” (Matt. 17:2 NLT)

God has shown in our hearts

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6 ESV)

You are called into His marvelous light

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9 ESV)

Follow Jesus and have the light

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 ESV)

You are light in the Lord

“For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” (Eph. 5:8 ESV)

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18 ESV)

Therefore…

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16 ESV)

“And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Dan. 12:3 ESV)

“Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20 ESV)

In His presence He makes known to you the paths of life

”You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11 ESV)

God’s Spirit dwells within you

“Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16 ESV)

The upright dwells in God’s presence

“Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.” (Psalm 140:13 ESV)

Therefore…

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20 ESV)

Where two or three are gathered in His Name

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matt. 18:20 ESV

“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.” (James  4:11 ESV)

Speaking evil of a brother is backbiting

Backbiting: to attack the character or reputation of a person (who is not present).  Or, to involve yourself in any of the following: lie, slander, abuse, spite, gossip, defamation, disparagement, malice, scandal, tale.

Watch out!

Satan is the accuser of the brethren! When you criticize or slander a brother (fellow Christian) you are siding with the devil!

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.” (Rev. 12:10)

Such persons do not serve Christ!

“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” (Rom. 16:17-18 ESV)

“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.” (James 1:26 ESV)

Therefore…

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Eph. 4:29 ESV)

“A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (John 9:24-25 NIV)

Testimony: a firsthand authentication of a fact. attestation, confirmation, corroboration, documentation, evidence, proof, substantiation, testament, testimonial, validation, witness

A testimony is telling what happened to you

In the passage at top, religious leaders questioned a man who had been healed from lifelong blindness. They tried to trap him with a theological question. But, he instead said, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” A testimony is simply telling what happened to you. You don’t have to understand theology, be eloquent, understand completely, or be a long-time believer, you just tell what happened to you. That’s what the blind man did. It’s difficult for someone to argue about your personal experience.

“We have seen it and testify to it”

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.” (1 John 1:1-4 NIV)

Always be prepared to give a defense

“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15 ESV)

Therefore…

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble.” (Psalms 107:1-2 ESV)

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony...” (Rev. 12:11 NASB)

A  battle in heaven

In revelation 12:7-11, there is the story of a war that took place in heaven between Michael and his angels and the devil and his angels. The devil and his forces were over-powered and hurled down to earth. The passage said God’s Angels overcame the devil by using two things: the Blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony. The same two powerful weapons are available for you to use today to defeat the enemy and his demons when they attack you: Jesus’ shed blood on the cross (the blood of the Lamb) and the Word of God spoken in faith (Word of testimony).

Making peace by the blood

“And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

The blood that speaks a better word

“And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Heb. 12:24 ESV)

The Word in your mouth

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim).” (Rom. 10:8 ESV)

The word of the cross is the power of God

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1Cor. 1:18 ESV)

Therefore…

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” (Rom. 8:37 NASB)