The Gospel

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ

and you will be saved

 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

What is the Gospel?

When we make anything more important than God in our lives we make that thing an idol. Most often we are the thing we make most important in our lives. We do what we want and do it our way. But, that leads us to self-centred actions which the bible calls sin. However, if we believe in Jesus Christ and turn from our selfish ways He offers us eternal life. One of the most famous verses in the Bible says:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

The Gospel, the good news, is that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried and was raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). You can be cleansed through His blood that was shed on the cross and received forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28). Through His resurrection, God the Father has confirmed that the Kingdom of God has come and Jesus, the anointed one (the Christ) has become Lord and King of all creation.

Why do I need to be saved?

The Bible says we are sinners and need forgiveness.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Our sins separate us from God. Continuing to sin prevents us from knowing God or His love. We need salvation from the consequence of our sin – death – and to be saved from the wrath of God. But God, because of His mercy, has given us a way to escape His wrath:

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:8-9)

We need to turn to God – admit we are sinners and ask for forgiveness for all our sins. Repent, meaning to change our minds and our direction.

How can I be saved?

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. (Acts 16:31)

Jesus of Nazareth lived for about 33 years in Israel. He taught about the Kingdom of God and did many signs and wonders that led people to believe he was the Messiah, the anointed one, the Christ of God who would bring justice and peace to the world. But He was crucified, an innocent man, killed. On the third day, God the Father raised Jesus from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. This proved that God Almighty, The Heavenly Father would not let His Holy One be destroyed (Psalm 16:10). In raising Jesus from the dead God declared that His Kingdom had come, and proclaimed that Jesus was now the King and Lord of all creation.

Our choice now is to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is who God has shown Him to be. Jesus asked Peter who he thought He was.

Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” (Luke 9:20)

Peter believed Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, do you?

 

Why do I need to believe?

Salvation comes by putting faith in Jesus Christ, believing God raised Him from the dead and accepting Him as our Lord. To please God we have to have faith. Faith is believing God’s promises are true.  If we do not believe in Jesus we will face the consequence of our sins, which means experiencing eternal separation from God – death. Continuing to idolise ourselves and pursue our self-centred agenda leads to death. We need to come to a point where we turn from ourselves towards God to receive His forgiveness.

Believing in Jesus is not just believing that He was a historical figure but believing that He is the anointed Son of God. This may not come easily. For most people, it is a journey rather than an event. Wherever you are at, you can approach God and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. If you seek Him you will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29, Matthew 7:7).

What do I need to do?

If you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God say a prayer to God something like this:

Heavenly Father.
Thank you that Jesus died on the cross for me and that You raised Him from the dead. I realise that I am a sinner and that I need forgiveness. Please forgive me for my sins. I accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Come into my heart and fill me with your Holy Spirit. Amen

Then believe in the promises that are in the Bible:

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

And Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 26:18)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3).

 

If you have accepted Christ as your Lord, you have become a child of God, become related to Jesus and become a place for the Holy Spirit to live. This is the gospel, the good news!

What next?

Developing your personal relationship with Jesus is vital. Meeting with other Christians, reading the Bible, learning about the word of God, praying and sharing the gospel with others will all help you grow in faith. This is why Christians go to church. There is a section on this site that is for New Believers. Also, more information about becoming a Christian can be found here.

Please use the “Contact me” page if you would like to get in touch with me to discuss any of this.

God bless you

David