the Gospel

How important is it, you receive & believe the right gospel?
Galatians 1:8-9 KJV, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. {9} As we said before, so say I now again, If any /man/ preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

So, what gospel did the apostles preach? Is it in a few words? so we don't need to memorize all of John or Matthew or Mark or Luke? We actually don't need to memorize an entire Book of the Bible! We don't need to depend on a Bible-scholar like he were a priestly intermediary between God & man. We don't need to become an expert at making a web of crossreferences through the Bible. Instead it's so simple that there is a spot in the Holy Bible where it __basically__ says, "I'm about to tell you the gospel," has a brief description of that Glad News after the word "which", and then begins the _definition_ of the great Glad News after the words "how that". All of which, i believe is self-explanatory, but perhaps worth bringing attention to.

Finding the ending felt tricky. Please read 1st Corinthians 15 yourself, and therefore "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." — 2nd Timothy 2:15 KJV. My pic or tract here has two endings: where the bold ends, and where the tract ends. In verse 11, because of its phrase, "so we preach", made it seem so much like a kind of reverse of verse 1, which has the phrase, "which i preached". Nonetheless, verse 11 is after verses about the least apostle. Is apostle Paul inserting a "by the way" type statement into this delivery of the gospel? Or is he actually part of the gospel? To answer, please consider 1st Timothy 1:15-16 KJV, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. {16} Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."

Shame? A hairy topic.

Judges 16:17 KJV, (Samson) "... told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man." And soon after, he's proven right.

But, we have heard, "The Bible _says_ its a shame for men to have long hair."  We may have heard, "The Bible _commands_ men to not have long hair."

No.

The Bible ___asks___ about men having long hair.  See for yourself:

1st Corinthians 11:14 KJV, "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" <—— Question mark.

If we answered scripture with scripture, instead of answering with western European cultural traditions, then we should not have forced a contradiction into scripture.

  Also, we should not have introduced such a vague law.  How long is long?  How short is short?  Such an undefined law makes us judge in the bad way.  That is, it makes us judge on-and-from something other than scripture.  Instead we become legislative judges, making our own rules.  John 7:24 KJV, "Judge not according to the appearance," (Hello!) "but judge righteous judgment."