Romans 1:16-17 "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the “good news” of our Lord’s birth, life, death and resurrection. The word “Gospel”, (“euaggelizo” in Greek), literally means good news. The message about the One, whose purpose in life was to die for us, that we may have restoration of righteousness with God. 1 Corinthians 15:2-4 "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." But there are so many that do not know this “good news” and going through life without “saving faith”. The world needs to be told the truth of God’s mercy & grace through Christ. William Wilberforce in his great book “Real Christianity” states: “I think it should be enough to point out that all of us have the obligation to do whatever we are able to do to promote the welfare of our fellowman. If you love someone who is ruining his or her life because of faulty thinking and you don’t do anything about it because you are afraid of what others might think, it would seem that rather than being loving, you are in fact being heartless.” To live and let die, spiritually, is not a viable option. As Children of God and disciples of Jesus, it is our “great commission”to make the gospel known; speaking the truth in love, for their eternal sake. But how? Here are some elements that I found.
1. There needs to be a clear presentation of the gospel, so that there will be a clear understanding of the gospel message. We need to know God’s Plan of Salvation by the death and resurrection of our Redeemer and Lord, and (with the help of the Holy Spirit) tell others this “good news” in a way that others can understand. Know the gospel and give the gospel.
2. There must be a definite, willful, personal decision made for Christ as Lord and Savior. Salvation is not based upon our conduct, but on the recompense for sin typified by the sufferings & death of Christ - atonement and resurrection – conquering sin & death that they may rise also unto eternal life. The transfer of trust - "Here is my life".
3. This is followed by “blessed assurance”. The “eternal perspective” is knowing that we are “Heaven bound” on the “finished work of Jesus Christ. If it was based upon our works to earn our way into God’s heaven, then how much work? How long do we have to work? What works shall we do? We can’t earn our way, so we need to accept the “free gift” of salvation and eternal life … and know it! God promised and we stand on those promises. A child of the Kingdom of Heaven.
4. Everyone must understand that Baptism is the death and resurrection of the old life unto new life in Christ. Romans 6:4 "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." We die to sin and live now in a "right" relationship with God. Joy & Peace.
5. Being “born again or anew” produces a “regenerate heart” in the Believer, with the desire for obedience discipleship - following, learning and serving the Lord in a personal relationship, filled with the Holy Spirit and producing abundantly fruitful living.
Life without Christ is Hell. Revelation 20:15 "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Hell was intended for the Devil and his demons, not us! We all have a choice to make concerning the question in Matthew 27:22 "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Who do you know that does not know the gospel? Who do you know that could use some “good news” today?
Mark 8:34-36 "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"
In Christ, Brian
1 comment:
In the beginning God created the Heavens & the Earth and everything in them and said they were good. Then God said let us create man in Our image according to Our likeness. God then created Adam out of the dust and breathed life into his nostrils. God also created woman from Adams ribs because Adam needed a help mate and God said it was good and that man and woman should be fruitful and multiple. Man was created to never see death, he was made perfect in the image of the true and living God. Eve ate of the forbidden fruit because she was deceived by the serpent (Satan), then Adam willfully sinned and ate of the fruit and sin came into the world.
The Bible says the man that sins shall surely die (Romans 5:12) and through one mans sin, sin has spread to all men, thus all men are destined to die. This is where the GOOD NEWS comes in, for God so loved the world, that's you and me, that he sent his only begotten son to die for us, God's son, Jesus took our sin upon Himself on the cross. Jesus conquered death, because he rose from death and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Our faith in Jesus and his resurrection is our ticket to eternal life, Jesus conquered death once and for all for those who receive the GOOD NEWS of eternal life.
We were once destined for death, but now we are made alive through our faith in Jesus. Now that's GOOD NEWS!
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