WHAT IS THE TRUE GOSPEL MESSAGE?
There are many “gospel” messages being circulated today. In some circles one would believe that if we simply say “Jesus come into my heart,” we are saved. They do not teach the whole gospel.
They leave out the cross and resurrection. They don’t tell us that we are sinners and that we need a Savior. They don’t tell us that we will either spend eternity in Heaven or hell and our destiny depends on what we believe about Jesus. They don’t tell us that now is the time to make that decision and after we die it will be too late. The gospel is sometimes presented as something we do, like going forward in church, or having some kind of emotional experience, so that we can find peace, happiness, wealth, and good health. The emphasis is not on the fact of how we are all dreadful sinners and in desperate need of a Savior.The Word “gospel” means good news.
What is the good news of the Bible?
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,…” I Corinthians 15:3-4 NIV.
The Apostle Paul wrote this scripture as he was inspired by God. He tells the Corinthian believers that the first and most important thing he wanted to share with them was the gospel message as follows:
- Christ suffered and died on the cross for our sins, according to the scriptures.
- He was buried in a borrowed tomb, which was then sealed and guarded.
- He rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures. Death could not hold him.
My friends, that is the gospel message. Very short and to the point.
In order to understand the importance of these scriptures we must dig a little deeper.
Why did Christ have to die for our sins?
In the beginning God created the first man an woman, Adam and Eve. They were made perfect. At that time there was no sin in the world. God placed them in the garden of Eden to live and populate the earth.
Genesis 2:16-17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. ‘”
But, Satan came along and enticed Eve to eat of the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve picked the fruit and ate it and even gave her husband Adam some to eat too.
Sin is disobedience to God. Adam and Eve became sinners, and they passed that heritage down to us. From then on everyone was born with a sin nature. We do not have to learn to be sinners it comes naturally to us.
God came to visit with Adam and Eve, but they hid from him. Why? Because they were ashamed and full of fear. Here is where the blame game got started. Adam tired to blame Eve and Eve blamed the serpent (Satan) who enticed her to eat the fruit. But, as God is all knowing He knew the whole story. He knew they had disobeyed Him.
Up to this time Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden, and that didn’t bother them. After they sinned they became aware of their nakedness and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. They became aware of themselves. This is when conscience entered the human picture.
God did not view the fig leaves as a proper cover for them so he sacrificed animals to use their skins to make Adam and Eve clothing. Have you ever wondered why God replaced the fig leaves with animal skins?
God had told Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed him they would surely die. (Genesis 2:17) You see life is in the blood. If a person gets cut bad and loses too much blood he will die. Without blood there is no life.
Leviticus 17:11 says, ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for [Heb 9:22] it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’
God could not go back on His Word. He didn’t want to end the human race so He had to make another way. He allowed the slain animals shed blood be a substitution for their own. Blood was shed and the sins were covered or atoned for. The skins were their covering and a reminder of the shed blood.
God is love. He made mankind so that he could communicate and fellowship with them. But, God is also just. He requires that justice be done. That is why he had to shed the blood of animals in the place of shedding the blood of Adam and Eve. The animals paid the price, for the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
In the Old Testament times, God required the people sacrifice animals daily to cover their sins. These sacrifices were looking forward to the day that God would give the ultimate sacrifice, His only Son, to die for the sin of the world. This happened in the New Testament era when the Lamb of God, which is Jesus Christ, came to this Earth to give His live and shed his blood on the cross to cover our sins.
God also said in the book of Romans that the wages or payment for sin is death. Because God is just this payment must be made.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The other side of the coin is that God will give us eternal life as a free gift when we understand and accept the true gospel message.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
So, we can plainly see from the Bible that we need a Savior because we all are sinners. God met our need by allowing His Son to come and be a substitute our sins.
Could anyone have died for our sins? Did it have to be Jesus Christ?
Yes, it had to be Jesus Christ, because the sacrifice for our sins had to come from a perfect person, and none of us are perfect because we are born with a sin nature. He wasn’t because he did not have an earthly father. Christ was born of a woman and the Holy Spirit. He was perfect without sin or imperfection. He is fully man and He is God. He is the only one who could qualify to die in our place.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not parish but have eternal life.”
How was his burial different from others?
Jesus was buried and placed in a borrowed tomb. He didn’t even own one of His own. The Roman officials didn’t want anyone to steal the body and say that Christ rose from the dead. They didn’t want to stir up the people. So, they placed a huge stone in front of the tomb and even sealed it. Then they set a guard to watch it. There was no way the Lord’s disciples could pull a fast one. (Read John 19:38-42)
Why is the resurrection important?
Do you realize that the Christian religion is the only one that has a risen Savior? All the others worship someone who is dead! What good is a dead savior? How could prayers be answered if our Savior was dead?
Jesus Christ rose from the grave on the third day, just as the scriptures foretold.
“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:40
He now sits at the right hand of God in Heaven pleading our case before our Father.
Hebrews: 10:12 “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”
Romans 8:34 “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life– is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
The resurrection of Jesus is what makes the Christian faith different. He not only died for our sins, but he beat death. Death could not hold Him! He rose again just as predicted in a glorified new body.
Oh friends, this is what gives us so much hope. If Jesus could die and rise again with a new body, we can too. Death doesn’t have to be the end!
Some day we who know him as our Savior will meet Him face to face in Heaven and spend eternity with Him. Those who don’t know Him in this personal way will spend eternity in hell with constant torture and suffering. He has given each of us a choice.
Would you like to accept the true gospel message?
If you have read this far you now know the true gospel message. Perhaps you are wondering if you have accepted the correct gospel message. If you have any doubt or question about it at all, then here is your chance to know for sure!
Or, you may be one who has have never been privileged to hear the gospel message before, and you are reading it for the first time in your life.
II Corinthians 6:2b “…behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.“
Lets again look to the Bible to see what it says about how to accept the gospel.
Romans 10: 9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:10 “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with our mouth that you confess and our saved.”
Have you ever noticed that what is deep inside us eventually comes out of our mouths? We are ready to pray when we really believe deep down in our hearts what the Bible says about how Jesus died and rose again for us, and our hopelessly lost condition without Him. And when we are willing to count the cost of following Jesus and truly submitting to Him as Lord of our life. Yes, then we are ready to pray.
Instead of walking an aisle and repeating some words that really mean nothing to you, like, “Yes, I accept Jesus into my heart.” Or, just raising your hand in some church service where the pastor is asking if anyone wants to “accept Jesus.” Instead you need to go to God on your knees, repent and confess, beg and plead with Him to accept you into His family.
Are you willing to follow Him?
II Corinthians 6:2b “…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (KJV)
I could give you a sample prayer, but I’d much rather it came right from your own heart in your own words. I pray you will submit to Jesus Christ as Lord of your life today.
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