What is the Gospel ? (Jeff Unsworth)
The Gospel is “good news,” (Greek noun euangelion )
The verb euangelizo meaning “to bring or announce good news.”
The central truth of the gospel is that God has provided a way of salvation for men through the gift of His son to the world. He suffered as a sacrifice for sin, overcame death, and now offers a share in His triumph to all who will accept it. The gospel is good news because it is a free gift of God, not something that must be earned by penance or by self-improvement (Jn 3:16; Rom 5:8–11; II Cor 5:14–19; Tit 2:11–14).
There is nothing that we can do, to prepare ourselves, or save ourselves.
The Bible says that we are dead in trespasses and sins and without the quickening ( being made alive) of the Holy Spirit of God, we cannot of ourselves, even approach God.
Ephesians Chapter 2.
1. And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Why do we need to hear a Gospel?
When God created the Heavens and the Earth, He created them perfect, the Bible tells us in the Book of Genesis that when God had finished His work, He said that it was very good.
Genesis 1: 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God made man in His own image, male and female created He them and they were perfect, without sin. God placed them in the garden of Eden, to keep it and tend it. God gave all the fruit in the garden for food and they were told that they could eat of whatever they wanted but that they should not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because in the day that they ate of that tree, they would surely die.
Satan, the fallen angel “Lucifer” appeared in the garden in the form of a serpent and tempted the woman. He told the woman that she would not die but that if she ate that fruit she would become like God.
Genesis 2: 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
She believed him and ate and also gave some to the man and he also ate. From that moment there was a separation between God and man.They knew that they had offended God and they hid themselves from Him.This was when death came into the world, both physical death and spiritual death.
God began His plan of redemption. His plan was to manifest Himself in the flesh, come to earth and pay the price of sin on the behalf of sinful men.We read of this in the Gospels, how Jesus came as a baby to Bethlehem.He grew up into a man, lived a perfect life and allowed Himself to be crucified to fulfil the Old Testament laws which said, Hebrews 9:22: That without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
The Old Testament spoke of His coming and said that His name shall be called Emmanuel, which means “God with us”.
The price of sin is death. Jesus took on Himself our sin and died so that we may live.
However, if that was the end of the story, all that we would have is forgiveness.
The work of Jesus Christ continued. Not only did He die but on the third day, God raised Him from the dead and all those that believe in Him share in His resurrection.
John Chapter 11 v 25 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Are there other ways that one can become right with God?
What about following other religions, Islam, Bhuddism, Mormonism and so on.
Well the Bible makes this very clear. Jesus words are very precise.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus makes it very clear that He is the only way.
The Bible is unique in that all other religions try to reach God by other ways. Whether it be keeping rules or regulations, doing good works, abiding by traditions or sacraments, living a good life, going to church, or being christened.
True Christianity is the only faith that teaches that it is God that reaches down to man.
So, what should be our response to this?
For our part, it is recognising that there is nothing we can do but to simply accept that it has already been done. Jesus Christ has done it all.
The Bible says, Ephesians 2:8“ For by grace ( the mercy of God ) you have been saved, through faith and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God lest any man should boast”.
If you could save yourself you would be able to boast.
If this Good News of the Gospel causes you to stop and think and examine yourself, your life and you wonder if you are a Christian or not. Or how does one become a Christian.
You can be sure.
The scriptures give examples of others that were in that very same position.
A man name Nicodemus asked of Jesus. “What must I do to saved”? Jesus replied. “You must be born again”.
Jesus was saying, you must begin again. Repent of your sins and believe the Gospel.
The day you recognise this fact, that you are separated from God by your sin. You must turn away from it and ask God for forgiveness and receive Gods free gift of salvation, which was paid for, in full by Jesus Christ.
When you do this you are born anew, a new person is born within you, a new spiritual person that is clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, so that when God looks on you, He sees Christ in you. This is the beginning of a new life for you.
Does this mean that you will never sin again? Of course not. However, it does mean that you can overcome your old natures sinful desires in the power of your new nature in Christ.
As you begin to feed your new nature by learning about the things of God, reading the bible, sharing time with other Christians, talking to God, your new nature becomes stronger and you are able to overcome temptations to go the wrong way.
If you do make mistakes, you can turn to God and ask for His forgiveness and be forgiven and move forward.
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This is the simple Gospel message that is revealed in the Bible.
It says in Psalm 95. Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.
Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Romans Chapter 10 v 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
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A Prayer for Salvation
Lord, I realise that I am a sinner, separated from you by my sin.
I believe that Jesus Christ came to die for my sins on the cross.
I repent of all my sins and turn to You.
I ask You to forgive me and cleanse me from my sin.
I believe that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead that I may have eternal life.
I pray that you would take my life and make me a new person in Jesus Christ.
Thank You in the name of Jesus.
Amen
If you prayed this prayer and have truly repented of your sins, there are things you need to do.
1. Believe it.
2. Tell someone. ( Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.)
3. Go and bear fruit. (John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.)
