Article #24 - The Gospel
The Gospel
Finishing my second year of writing in the Wisconsin Christian News, I thought that I would simply write the Gospel message to you. Many say that they believe in Jesus Christ but by their actions, words and religious affiliation, we come up with an overwhelming handful of evidence that tells us a different story.
The Bible tells us that "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Yet it gives us a stern warning too in Mathew 7:21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." It also tells us that the way to salvation is narrow and few will find it! Therefore, for the benefit of anyone that may be wondering how someone might get saved, here is the Gospel that saves.
Everyone that was ever born has sinned in their life, except for Jesus Christ. Regardless of how nice of a person is, they have sinned. The Bible tells us, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) and in reality that, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) Maybe you've never realized this, but in God's eyes everyone is a sinner! Even the most innocent of us have sinned and therefore, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10) Yes, read it again if you must, but the reality of our standing with the Almighty God is that because we have sinned, we are doomed to an eternity in Hell, unless we do something about it.
This is where Jesus Christ comes in. When He was asked, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said unto them, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:28+29) That's right, we are to believe in HIS work, not ours. It goes 100% against man's inclination for pride. It is called the "Born again" experience and is required by all for salvation as the Bible tells us, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) It's the point in which a person realizes that if they want salvation, they must trust in what Jesus did at Calvary nearly 2000 years ago as the only solution for sin when Jesus proclaimed from the cross, "It is finished." If one is sincere and decides to accept this gift, they will be saved. Of course, if someone makes this decision, their lives will change as a reflection of their beliefs. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace....Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." (Romans 6:14,18) Our lives will not be perfect, but we will be saved and as we grow in Christ, our life will reflect more of Him and less of our sinful human nature.
There are two points in which I wish to emphasize upon here. The first is GRACE. It is not something earned. The Bible is clear that if you earn it, then it is a wage. Romans 4:4,5 tells us, "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Now when you add to this Romans 11:6, you'll see the difference. "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." In other words, if you can do something to merit grace, then you could boast about what you did, but that is not the Gospel of Grace found in Scriptures.
Secondly, I wish to show you about RIGHTEOUSNESS. The perfect righteousness required to get to Heaven is not ours but Christ's. It is the great exchange found in 2 Corinthians 5:21, which says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." When you place your faith in what He did at Calvary to remove your sins, you are then imputed His righteousness. This is the free gift of grace, described as the "... Blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works." (Romans 4:6)
In closing, ask yourself if you are really saved? The Bible tells us, "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." (1 John 1:6) If you trust in the Finished work of Jesus Christ to remove your sins, then you can be sure that you are saved. But if you think that you need a priest to confess you sins to, to say a mass, or by your partaking in sacraments, that you can merit grace, to have graces infused to your account, then you are not trusting in what Jesus did, but rather what you can do. The Bible clearly teaches that you thus are still in need of Salvation. If you still have questions about this article or your salvation, contact Gospel_light_Min@msn.com or write to Gospel Light Ministries, P.O. Box 503, Kaukauna WI. 54130.
Finishing my second year of writing in the Wisconsin Christian News, I thought that I would simply write the Gospel message to you. Many say that they believe in Jesus Christ but by their actions, words and religious affiliation, we come up with an overwhelming handful of evidence that tells us a different story.
The Bible tells us that "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Yet it gives us a stern warning too in Mathew 7:21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." It also tells us that the way to salvation is narrow and few will find it! Therefore, for the benefit of anyone that may be wondering how someone might get saved, here is the Gospel that saves.
Everyone that was ever born has sinned in their life, except for Jesus Christ. Regardless of how nice of a person is, they have sinned. The Bible tells us, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) and in reality that, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) Maybe you've never realized this, but in God's eyes everyone is a sinner! Even the most innocent of us have sinned and therefore, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10) Yes, read it again if you must, but the reality of our standing with the Almighty God is that because we have sinned, we are doomed to an eternity in Hell, unless we do something about it.
This is where Jesus Christ comes in. When He was asked, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said unto them, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:28+29) That's right, we are to believe in HIS work, not ours. It goes 100% against man's inclination for pride. It is called the "Born again" experience and is required by all for salvation as the Bible tells us, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) It's the point in which a person realizes that if they want salvation, they must trust in what Jesus did at Calvary nearly 2000 years ago as the only solution for sin when Jesus proclaimed from the cross, "It is finished." If one is sincere and decides to accept this gift, they will be saved. Of course, if someone makes this decision, their lives will change as a reflection of their beliefs. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace....Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." (Romans 6:14,18) Our lives will not be perfect, but we will be saved and as we grow in Christ, our life will reflect more of Him and less of our sinful human nature.
There are two points in which I wish to emphasize upon here. The first is GRACE. It is not something earned. The Bible is clear that if you earn it, then it is a wage. Romans 4:4,5 tells us, "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Now when you add to this Romans 11:6, you'll see the difference. "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." In other words, if you can do something to merit grace, then you could boast about what you did, but that is not the Gospel of Grace found in Scriptures.
Secondly, I wish to show you about RIGHTEOUSNESS. The perfect righteousness required to get to Heaven is not ours but Christ's. It is the great exchange found in 2 Corinthians 5:21, which says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." When you place your faith in what He did at Calvary to remove your sins, you are then imputed His righteousness. This is the free gift of grace, described as the "... Blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works." (Romans 4:6)
In closing, ask yourself if you are really saved? The Bible tells us, "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." (1 John 1:6) If you trust in the Finished work of Jesus Christ to remove your sins, then you can be sure that you are saved. But if you think that you need a priest to confess you sins to, to say a mass, or by your partaking in sacraments, that you can merit grace, to have graces infused to your account, then you are not trusting in what Jesus did, but rather what you can do. The Bible clearly teaches that you thus are still in need of Salvation. If you still have questions about this article or your salvation, contact Gospel_light_Min@msn.com or write to Gospel Light Ministries, P.O. Box 503, Kaukauna WI. 54130.
posted by Ron Kempen @ 6:33 PM
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