The Gospel What is the Gospel and what does it mean to be one of God's people?
The Gospel is the message of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God himself, born of a virgin, died on the cross to be the Saviour of the world to save us from Hell, and has returned to God his Father in Heaven.
Aren't all Christians his people? The answer is definitely NO! Not all people who call themselves Christians are true believers. They might be fairly moral, give to charity, go to church, and tithe their 10%, but according to the Bible God says, "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
You must realize that you cannot save yourself by trying to be good. The Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Jesus said in John 3:3, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The good news of the Gospel is that, "...The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
If there was a time in your life that you heard the gospel, realized you were lost, and responded to God's love by accepting his Son Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, you truly are one of God's people. You are a genuine Christian. You were once a child of the devil but now are a child of God. You are born again.
However, if the gospel was never clearly presented to you, if you do not truly understand what it means to be born again, if you think you are a Christian because your parents are Christians, if you think you are Christian because you go to a Christian church, or because you think you are a pretty good person, I invite you to read a little further as I share some very important Bible verses with you.
God has given every one of us a free will. We are the ones who choose where we spend eternity. God has not picked out a "chosen" few for Heaven or made it difficult to comprehend his plan of salvation so some of us miss out. The Gospel is simple enough for a child to understand.
He invites us to accept Him and the free gift he offers us and go to Heaven, or reject Him and go to Hell. Plain and simple. After reading the following Gospel message, you will be able to make an informed decision about where you will go when you die.
There are 5 easy steps to take.
First
You need to ask yourself a very important question and be totally honest with yourself and with God...Are you 100% sure you will go to Heaven when you die or do you just hope or think you might?
The Bible says you can KNOW for sure.
1 John 5:13 says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know ye have eternal life."
Second
You need to realize because of sin each of us deserves God's punishment in Hell. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 5:8, "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us." I Corinthians 15:4, "And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."
Third
Realize that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. 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." Eternal life is a gift -- Romans 6:23 says, "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Fourth
Receive Him as your substitute for sin and Hell by simply asking Him to save you. Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved."
Calling upon the name of the Lord means to believe or place full confidence in what God says. It was for our sins, yours and mine, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, left Heaven and gave up His life that we might be forgiven. You must believe that Jesus Christ is God's son, that He rose again, and that His precious blood has paid the debt of your sins.
Fifth
If you are ready to accept God's free gift of Heaven, pray the way millions have done through the ages: "Lord, I know I am a sinner, that my sin will send me to Hell. I know I can obtain Heaven no other way but through Jesus Christ. I now ask Him to be my Saviour. Thank you Lord for saving my soul! Amen."
Rest assured that once you have prayed this prayer, God will NEVER take Heaven away from you. Some Christians believe they can lose their salvation depending on the severity of their sin after salvation. You don't have to worry that one day you will have it and the next day you won't. If that were true then the Gospel wouldn't make sense. It wouldn't be a free gift. It would be works salvation and therefore we would not need a Saviour.
In John 3:36, the Bible says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Once you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your Saviour, pray, read your Bible daily, and meet with people of like Christian faith.
The Holy Spirit will start a life-long work of transformation in your life so that you will begin, finally, to do works and deeds that are pleasing to God if that is your desire.
With some, this work may proceed more rapidly than with others. It may be intermingled with failures and setbacks but the more you focus on Christ your Saviour, the greater will be your victory over the sin patterns in your life. God will mold and shape your character as you yield to the Holy Spirit day by day. You'll be a new creature in Christ because of your decision to accept the Gospel message.
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Contributor's Note
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour as a result of reading this intel, please let me know. I'd love to know about it. Linda
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