THE GOSPEL
Hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, turn away from sin, and follow him!
1. ADMIT THAT YOU ARE A SINNER.
The Good News of the Gospel starts with the bad news of sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” None of us have lived up to the standard of the Glory of God. None of us have given Him the worship and obedience that He rightly deserves.
The archery term "to miss the mark" teaches us two things about sin. First, it teaches us that there is a mark that we should be aiming at. There is a standard by which our lives and our actions are measured against. That standard is what it says in the last part of Romans 3:23, “the glory of God”. It is not the standard that we set for ourselves or the people around us. It is the complete worship of God by loving Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. If we are honest, we have missed that mark. There are things that we have loved more than Him and days when our actions did not demonstrate love and obedience to Him.
The second thing it teaches us is that when we miss the mark there are consequences. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." The “wage” or results of our sin is spiritual death and eternal separation from God.
2. ACKNOWLEDGE CHRIST'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION.
The Good News is the end of Romans 6:23, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Even though we were lost and separated from God, He loved us and sent His Son to die on the cross for us. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says, “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." Through His death and resurrection, Jesus became the payment for our sins. He took our place as our substitute!
3. ACCEPT GOD'S FREE GIFT OF SALVATION.
Religions try to create their own way to God. Their systems may seem logical, but they are built on the idea that we can earn our own salvation. That if we try harder, do more, live better, then we can earn God’s grace. But grace cannot be earned it can only be received as a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says "For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift not from works, so that no one can boast.” We have to accept God’s free gift of salvation and stop trying to earn it for ourselves.
4. ASK FOR HIS FORGIVENESS
In order to have a relationship with God and an eternal home in Heaven, we must turn from our sin and our own efforts to save ourselves and instead place our full trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of our sin and eternal life. Repentance is not about turning over a new leaf or reforming your lifestyle; it's about having a heart change about sin, seeing it as God sees it and wanting deliverance from it. Belief means more than just agreeing with some facts about Jesus. Rather, it is completely relying upon Jesus and Him alone to forgive your sins, satisfy the Father's wrath, and declare your righteous before a holy God. In Roman 10:9 the Bible says, “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.”
REJOICE!
That is a promise directly from God that if you will pray to Him, confess that you are a sinner, ask Him to forgive your sins, and turn to Him alone to be your Savior, then He promises to save you and give you the free gift of eternal life.
You can make that decision today by calling out to God in faith. You'll never regret that decision!
If you have just trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior or have questions about becoming a Christian, please reach out to Pastor Michael Rakes.
