KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Gospel
GENESIS 12:3 IS the second recorded gospel sermon...
It is the second piece in God's spiritual puzzle of redemption. It looks backward to man's problem in Genesis 3:6 and forward to God's remedy in Calvary. It looks backward to man's separation from God in Genesis 3:6 and forward to man's reconciliation to God in Christ and the cross. It looks backward to man's despair in Genesis 3:6 and forward to man's hope in the blood of God's Son. It looks backward to the beginning of sin in Genesis 3:6 and forward to the closing of Christ's work for sin in John 19:30. God preached the gospel to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 just as surely as Peter preached the gospel on Pentecost in Acts 2. The only difference is that Genesis 12:3 looks forward to an event to be accomplished, and Acts 2 looks backward on the accomplishment of the event. Genesis 12:3 is the gospel in promise, and Acts 2 is the gospel in fact. (Frank Chesser)
KneEmail: "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, 'In you all the nations shall be blessed.' So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham" (Gal. 3:8-9).