Save $$$ on
household items and health & beauty products. Click
HERE. |
The Gospel Message -
Taken from Christian Apologetics Research Ministries
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,
Matt Slick
www.carm.org
________________________
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."
|
          
|
