The Gospel is so important for you to understand and believe, that you arguably would be wasting your time trying to learn the Bible if you did not first believe and understand the Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. You must first be sure that you are saved. So. What is the Gospel?
I’ve Got Good News and Bad News. Bad News First.
Have you ever told a lie? If you said, “No,” then you just lied. If you tell a lie, what does that make you? A liar.
Have you ever stolen something (regardless of its value)? If yes, what does that make you? A thief.
Have you ever committed adultery? Many people would answer that they’ve never cheated on their husband or wife. Others would say they can’t cheat on their spouse because they aren’t even married in the first place. But adultery isn’t just about cheating on your spouse. Consider what Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to youthat whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” According to Jesus, lust is adultery. You don’t even have to cheat on someone to be guilty of adultery. So if you have lusted after someone who isn’t your husband or wife, then you’re an adulterer.
Have you ever murdered anyone? “Oh, I’m safe on this one. I’ve never killed anyone. Not guilty,” you might be thinking. Let me surprise you. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murder will be in danger of the judgment’. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” In other words, if you’ve been unjustly angry with someone, you’ve already committed murder in your heart. Jesus says you’re guilty and deserve the same judgment as if you killed someone. What do we call a person who murders? That’s right: a murderer.
If you answered yes to the above four test questions that makes you a lying, thieving, adulterous, murderer at heart. You know, one day we will all die. Death is inevitable. The Letter to the Hebrews says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). We will all die one day; some sooner than others. And when we die, we will face God and He will judge us for our sins. Did you answer ‘yes’ to any of the above questions? You may argue, “well, I’m not that bad”. My friend, listen closely: if you keep the whole law and stumble in just one place, you’re still guilty of transgressing the entirety of the law because there is one Law-Giver (James 2:8-13). So, let’s say you die right now and you stand before the judgment of God. God asks, “How do you plead?” What is your answer? If you’re honest you will answer, “guilty”.
When people break the law, what happens? Depending on the severity of the crime, you may have to pay money to the government in the form of a fine. You may serve jail time. You may serve time in prison. You might even be executed for your crime. Do you know what the penalty is for committing cosmic treason against a perfectly holy God? First, you won’t inherit the kingdom of God; Heaven is no destination for you if you’ve sinned. “Neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1st Corinthians 6:9b-10). Second, not only will you not enter Heaven, but your punishment will be Hell: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). Hell is real. And it awaits sinners. The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness, and His wrath and justice must be satisfied.
What Can I Do?
So you may have read all of that and might be asking yourself, “What can I do to escape Hell?” Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to escape Hell. There are not enough good deeds for you to do to negate your sins.
There are not enough charities to donate to.
There is not enough money to give to the homeless.
There are not enough old ladies to help cross the street.
There are not enough children to adopt.
There is no sufficient number of times you can read the Bible to please God enough for Him to let you in to Heaven.
You do not have the power or the means to save yourself from the flames of Hell. Your works cannot save you. Remember, we are judged for our sins – not our good deeds. We are finite humans that have sinned against an infinite God. However, not all hope is lost! As dark as this has been, stay with me. It only gets better.
And Now The Good News
A criminal must pay his fine and/or serve his time behind bars. But we’ve already seen that the only penalty we incur for our crimes is Hell. We’ve also seen that we cannot pay our own fine. So how is the fine paid?
Remember earlier when I quoted Jesus? He said many things about sin. He also said many things about being saved from sin: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). Jesus tells us that He and He alone is the only Way by which we can be saved. Salvation is offered as a free gift from God Himself. Romans 6:23 states, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Salvation is a gift. What do we do with gifts? We receive them. How do we receive this gift?
The first words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Mark were, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Jesus tells us the first step to salvation is repentance. What is repentance? To ‘repent’ of your sins means to ‘turn away from’ your sins. Jesus calls us to repentance. You should know that God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2nd Peter 3:9). Repentance is when we confess our sins to God, ask for and receive forgiveness of our sins and turn from our sinful lifestyle. Repentance is a two-fold process: not only are we turning from our sins, but we are turning toward God and His righteousness.
We not only repent of our sins, but we also trust and put our faith in Jesus to save us from our sins. How? You see, Jesus called Himself “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” for a reason. When He lived here on Earth, he lived a sinless life so that He could eventually be crucified on a wooden cross and die the death we deserved. He was not just crucified. He sufferred. He was shamed, beaten, mocked, spat upon, whipped, screamed at, cursed at, and that was just His walk to the cross. While on the cross, Jesus Christ suffered the punishment for our sins. All of our sins. All the sins of each human being that has ever been created, lives now, and ever will live in the future. He took the punishment of Hell that we earned for ourselves and willingly laid down His life so that we don’t have to. This was an act of God’s love, sending His own son to be the substitute for us. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Romans (5:8-11),
“God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
Christ reconciled us to God through His death and life. Three days after Christ died on the cross and was buried, He was resurrected. His resurrection sealed and secured our salvation and defeated death for us. This was all an act of grace by God. We deserved no wonderful gift of salvation, but He offers it to us freely. We simply repent of our sins and trust in Jesus for our salvation. This is what the Gospel is. We are sinners, we deserve Hell, God loves us and provides reconciliation through His Son Jesus Christ.
So… Now What?
Do you repent and trust in Jesus? Then you’re saved from your sins. Bask in the glory of God and live your life for Him. You are now free from the bondage of sin. You no longer have to be ashamed of your past sins, because God has forgiven you of those sins through the spilled blood of Jesus. No matter the hardships you face – and you will face them – you now have Heaven to look forward to after death. No matter the trials and tribulations you suffer in this world, “be of good cheer, Jesus has overcome the world” (John 16:33). Our God has reconciled you to Him. You have been justified and made righteous in the eyes of God. Will you sin? Yeah. But remember you can always find forgiveness from God the Father through Jesus the Son. Confess your sins and know that God is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from ALL your unrighteousness (1st John 1:9).
Welcome to the family.
Hey. Did you receive God’s free gift of salvation? Feel free to drop a line and let me know your story. I’d love to hear about it.