The Gospel

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

(I Corinthians 15:1-4)

The word “Gospel” means “good message”. The message above is the very best message. Why? Because it is the message by which we can be saved. You might say, “What do I need to be saved from?”, or, “I am ok as I am – I don’t need to be saved.” This Gospel is in three parts. Let’s look at each of these parts:

1. Jesus Christ died for our sins

What is sin? Sin is transgression (violation) of God’s law:

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

(I John 3:4)

The two greatest commandments of God’s law are:

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

(Mark 12:30-31)

The Gospel

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

(I Corinthians 15:1-4)

The word “Gospel” means “good message”. The message above is the very best message. Why? Because it is the message by which we can be saved. You might say, “What do I need to be saved from?”, or, “I am ok as I am – I don’t need to be saved.” This Gospel is in three parts. Let’s look at each of these parts:

1. Jesus Christ died for our sins

What is sin? Sin is transgression (violation) of God’s law:

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

(I John 3:4)

The two greatest commandments of God’s law are:

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

(Mark 12:30-31)

2. Jesus Christ was buried

Jesus had to be buried to show that He really did die. Without being sure of this, we could not be sure that He paid the penalty for our sin (which is death).

3. Jesus Christ rose again

By rising from death to life, Jesus conquered death:

“Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.”

(Romans 6:9)

That is the Gospel. But just hearing the Gospel will not save us:

“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”

(Hebrews 4:2)

It is also important to understand that faith cannot be separated from repentance:

“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(Acts 20:21)

2. Jesus Christ was buried

Jesus had to be buried to show that He really did die. Without being sure of this, we could not be sure that He paid the penalty for our sin (which is death).

3. Jesus Christ rose again

By rising from death to life, Jesus conquered death:

“Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.”

(Romans 6:9)

That is the Gospel. But just hearing the Gospel will not save us:

“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”

(Hebrews 4:2)

We must hear and believe the Gospel. To believe the Gospel is to accept it as a plain fact and trust that because Jesus died, was buried, and rose again, that He can completely forgive us and save us from our sin. Faith is simple, child-like trust.

It is also important to understand that faith cannot be separated from repentance:

“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(Acts 20:21)

We must hear and believe the Gospel. To believe the Gospel is to accept it as a plain fact and trust that because Jesus died, was buried, and rose again, that He can completely forgive us and save us from our sin. Faith is simple, child-like trust.

Repentance is a change of heart about sin which causes us to turn from our sin and live differently. It is not “penance” (which is a work). Repentance is not a work, but it does result in good works.

God has told us that we can work our way into eternal death by our sin, but we cannot work our way into eternal life:

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

We can work for wages, but a gift is free (a gift that is worked for is no longer a gift).In addition to this, a gift must be received or it is of no value at all to the person to whom it is offered

“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)

The “world” in the verse above includes you. “Whosoever” includes you. God’s Son (God in the flesh) willingly bled and died on a cross because He loves you and wants to save you. God is offering the free gift of eternal life to you. Won’t you receive God’s gift by repenting of your sin and trusting in Him?

All Scripture is from the Authorized Version of the Bible

(King James Version)

Given to you by XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Repentance is a change of heart about sin which causes us to turn from our sin and live differently. It is not “penance” (which is a work). Repentance is not a work, but it does result in good works.

God has told us that we can work our way into eternal death by our sin, but we cannot work our way into eternal life:

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

We can work for wages, but a gift is free (a gift that is worked for is no longer a gift).In addition to this, a gift must be received or it is of no value at all to the person to whom it is offered.

“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)

The “world” in the verse above includes you. “Whosoever” includes you. God’s Son (God in the flesh) willingly bled and died on a cross because He loves you and wants to save you. God is offering the free gift of eternal life to you. Won’t you receive God’s gift by repenting of your sin and trusting in Him?

All Scripture is from the Authorized Version of the Bible

(King James Version)

Given to you by XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Have you and I loved God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength all of the time? Have we always loved our neighbor as our self? The honest answer is “no”. Therefore we have transgressed God’s law, which means that we have sinned. This is true for everyone:

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

(Romans 3:19)

Some might say, “Well, if everyone has sinned, then I guess it’s not such a big deal”. But it is a very big deal because God says that the penalty for sin is death:

“For the wages of sin is death….”

(Romans 6:23a)

And this kind of death never ends. It goes on for eternity:

“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

(II Thessalonians 1:8-9)

“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matthew 25:46)

God calls this the “second death” and only a fool would not fear it. But the good news is that Jesus Christ died for us (in our place; instead of us; as our substitute):

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

(I Peter 3:18)

Have you and I loved God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength all of the time? Have we always loved our neighbor as our self? The honest answer is “no”. Therefore we have transgressed God’s law, which means that we have sinned. This is true for everyone:

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

(Romans 3:19)

Some might say, “Well, if everyone has sinned, then I guess it’s not such a big deal”. But it is a very big deal because God says that the penalty for sin is death:

“For the wages of sin is death….”

(Romans 6:23a)

And this kind of death never ends. It goes on for eternity:

“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

(II Thessalonians 1:8-9)

“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matthew 25:46)

God calls this the “second death” and only a fool would not fear it. But the good news is that Jesus Christ died for us (in our place; instead of us; as our substitute):

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

(I Peter 3:18)