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The Gospel
Message
The gospel is the singularly most
important communication of God to man. In Jesus, who is God the Son, we have the
revelation of God’s love and sacrifice that saves us from God's righteous
judgment upon sinners.
If you are not a Christian and want to know how to be forgiven of your sins
and follow Christ, or are just curious to know what the Christian gospel is,
then this is for you.
The Bible tells us what the gospel is in 1 Cor. 15:1-4,
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..."
The Bible says that we are all sinners
(Rom. 3:23). This means that we have all offended God. We have all broken His
law. Therefore, we are guilty of having sinned. Because of this, we are
separated from God (Isaiah 59:2), are dead in our sins (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:3),
cannot please God (Rom. 3:10-11), and will suffer damnation (2 Thess. 1:9). The
only way to escape this judgment is by receiving Christ, by trusting in what
Jesus did on the cross (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Pet. 2:24).
Since we are sinners, we are incapable of removing the guilt of our
sinfulness through our own efforts. Gal. 2:21 says, "...if righteousness
comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." The Law is the do’s and
don’t’s of moral behavior. In other words, we can’t become righteous by what we
do. Why? Because we are dead in our sins (Eph. 2:3).
This means that since we cannot remove our own sins, God must do it.
Jesus, who is God in flesh (John 1:1,14; 8:58; Col. 2:9), bore our sins in
His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). He died in our place. He paid the penalty
of breaking the Law of God which should that should have fallen upon us. He
satisfied the law of God the Father by dying on the cross.
It is only through Jesus that we can escape the penalty that God will
execute upon all who have broken his holy and perfect law. Do you want to be
saved from the righteous judgment of God? If so, if you want to become a
Christian and follow God, then you must realize that you have sinned against
God, and are under his judgment. You must look to Jesus who died on the cross
and trust what he did in order to be forgiven of your sentence and be saved from
the judgment of God. This is accomplished by faith alone in what Jesus has
done. You cannot add your sincerity nor can you add any human works to add to
what Jesus is done.
First, count the cost
Jesus said,
"For which one of you, when he
wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see
if he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:28).
Jesus tells us to count the cost. The cost of
becoming a Christian can be quite high sometimes. In some parts of the world it
can cost you your life. Here in America, it is not nearly as dangerous.
Nevertheless, if you become a Christian God will take it very seriously. he
will work in your heart and in your life to change you and make you more like
him. Sometimes this is an easy journey and other times it can be difficult.
But, this is what it means to become a Christian to have God work in your life
and to continue to work in your life after you have been saved.
Receive Christ
If you desire to receive Christ we offer
the following prayer is an example. It is not a formula, but it is a
representation of what it means to trust in Christ.
"Lord Jesus. I come to you and confess that
I am a sinner, that I have lied, thought evil in my heart, and broken your
word. Please forgive me of my sins. I trust in what you have done on the
cross and I receive you. Please cleanse me of my sin and be the Lord of my
life. I trust you completely for the forgiveness of my sins and put no trust
in my own efforts of righteousness. Lord Jesus, please save me."
Tell others about your commitment to
Jesus. The Bible says, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
10for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and
with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation" (Rom. 10:9-10).
In Jesus,
________________________
List all the scriptures referenced above.
 | Isaiah 59:2, "Your sins have
caused a separation between you and your God...." |
| John 1:1, "In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. |
| John 1:14, "And the Word became
flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only
begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." |
| John 8:58, "Jesus said to them,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." |
| John 14:6, "Jesus *said to him, "I
am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but
through Me." |
| Acts 4:12, "And there is salvation
in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given
among men, by which we must be saved." |
| Romans 3:10-11, "as it is
written,’ There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who
understands, there is none who seeks for God...’" |
| Romans 3:23, "for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God" |
| Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin
is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." |
| Romans 10:9-10, "if you confess
with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him
from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes,
resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in
salvation." |
| Ephesians 2:3, "Among them we too
all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the
flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the
rest." |
| Colossians 2:9, "For in Him all
the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form," |
| 2 Thess. 1:9, "And these will pay
the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and
from the glory of His power," |
| 1 Pet. 2:24, "and He Himself bore
our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." |
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