Attaining knowledge is one of the greatest pursuits of a human being. There are books and articles written on everything imaginable. If you want to know it… whatever it may be, do a search and you will find it. Knowledge in itself is not a bad thing. By all means study and read.
But for a Christian there is one thing we should know above all else. Our greatest work should be knowing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have asked my children and those who attend my Bible Study class this question, “If I asked you to explain the Gospel could you?” I am sad to say the overwhelming majority could not.
The study of the word of God will be a lifetime pursuit. But as a believer each of us should know the gospel for ourselves and be able to explain it to someone else. I have written a small article that breaks down the basics of the Gospel. Today I am going to share that with you.
“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.”
What is the Gospel?
The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ! It addresses and answers the biggest problem man has. God is Holy and Just. Man is not. One day we will stand before a Holy and just God and be judged according to my righteousness. The greatest and foremost Commandment is to, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matthew 27:37-38. Man does not love God with all their heart, soul or mind. Man loves himself with all his heart, soul and mind.
The Character of God
God is Holy;
Habakkuk 1:13 teaches, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor.
Isaiah 59:2 teaches, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and Your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Because of God’s Holiness He cannot look on man’s wickedness with favor. He cannot approve the evil of mankind.
God is Just:
Psalm 7:11-12 teaches, “God is a Righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day. If a man does not repent He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.
Romans 1:18-23 teaches, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
Because God is Just and cannot go against His own nature, He must punish sin.
Man Is Corrupt
Romans 3: 10-12 teaches, “There is none righteous, not even one, There is none who understands, There is none who seek for God: All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good. There is not even one.”
Ephesians 2:1-3 teaches, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 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.”
Titus 3:3 teaches, “For we once were also foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”
Man is Under God’s Curse and Wrath
Galatians 3: 10 teaches, “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law to perform them.”
James 2:10 teaches, “For whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”
Ephesians 5:6 teaches, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
The things spoken of in Ephesians 5:6 have been recorded in Ephesians 5:3-5: Immorality, impurity, greed, filthiness, silly talk, coarse jesting, covetousness, and idolatry. Those who practice such things do not have an inheritance in the kingdom of God.
God’s Amazing Grace
The Scriptures teach that God is Holy and Just but they also teach that He is Love. In Love God has responded to man’s problem. God’s love has been manifested in the Cross of Jesus Christ.
John 3:16 teaches, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Ephesians 2: 4-5 teaches, “ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved)
The Cross of Jesus Christ
Galatians 3:13 teaches, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 teaches, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that He might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Isaiah 53:4-6 teaches, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”
Man’s Response
Repentance: Recognizing and confessing that what God has said about man is true…we have sinned. The Holy Spirit will open the eyes of the unbeliever that he may see his sin and guilt. Recognition of our sin and guilt will lead to sorrow, hatred, and shamefulness over what we have done.
Psalm 51: 3-4 teaches, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight. So that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.”
Romans 7:24 teaches, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of death?
Sincerity of confession and saying a prayer is never definite evidence of genuine repentance! True repentance is a turning away from sin. There is a change. A true Christian is a new creature.
2 Corinthians 5:17 teaches, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things come.”
Matthew 7: 16-17 teaches, “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.”
Examine yourself in the light of Scriptures
A onetime confession is not evidence of true conversion. You must continue to seek God in His word and examine yourself to see if you are in Christ Jesus.
2 Corinthians 13:5 teaches, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you fail the test?”
2 Peter 1:10 teaches, “ Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.”
Count the Cost
True salvation is for a lifetime. It is committing your life, everything, your entire life and possessions to Jesus Christ and His Lordship over you.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 teaches, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body You are not your own you have been bought with a price.”
Luke 16:25-33, teaches, “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “ If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 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? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
You are such a awesome teacher Lisa! I am always learning from you. Love this topic. We just got done with a similar topic at church. It was learning the difference between conviction an condemnation but the first few weeks was learning the gospel because unless we knew the gospel then we could not fully compared the difference between the two. Great post!
Carmen, you are so encouraging! Thank you! I am thankful that your church is walking you through this. So very important! So many are candy coating the truth. God Bless!
Love love love!!! Thank you for throughly explaining the gospel as many leave important parts out!
Thank you brittany! You are right, so many leave out much of the the Gospel! We cannot do that and say we love people! Thanks for stopping by today!
This is an amazing, inspiring summary. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by today and your encouraging words! You are welcome! All for His glory!