The Gospel
The gospel is the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that provides full and free deliverance from the power and penalty of sin according to the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone. The bad news is that we have all been born with a fatal condition. This condition is called sin. God is Holy. We are sinful. By His very nature, God cannot have fellowship with us sinners. There is no amount of "good" that we can do to make up for our crimes against God. They must be punished. In spite of our wickedness and rebellion, God loves us and made a way for us to bypass damnation and obtain eternal life. He sent His only begotten Son, who is God, to die in our place. Remember that the wages of sin is death, that is why He died. Jesus Christ was our substitutionary sacrifice. The world's greatest love story is summed up in the following verse: "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). Once we understand this and admit that there is nothing we can do on our own to be reconciled to God, we should gladly embrace the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus becomes your savior when you allow Him to become your LORD! To make Jesus Christ your Lord means that you must put Him on the throne of your life, He must become first place in your life. If you would like to receive God's free gift of salvation, you can do this right now by asking God for it. Just say a simple prayer like the one below, sincerely, with all your heart:
"Father in heaven, I come to you confessing that I am a sinner, completely lost and without hope. I repent of my sinful ways and ask for Your forgiveness. I believe in my heart that Christ Jesus is the Son of God, that He completely paid for all of my sins by His death on the cross, and that You raised Him from the dead. I confess that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. I trust in Him, and Him alone, for my salvation. I believe that through His shed blood I have eternal life. Teach me to pray, study, meditate and live by Your Word the rest of my life. Father, I ask that You fill me with the Holy Spirit. Please come into my heart and save and sanctify my soul. I love you Lord, and offer myself to You completely and without reservation. In the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen."
If you have called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, by faith, believing and asking Him to save you, you are saved! Words mean nothing without belief! If you truly believe, you will humbly allow Christ to begin working in your life as a new believer so you can fulfill the plan He has for you. The Bible says in 1 John 2:3, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments". If we truly know Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we will keep His commandments and our hearts desire will be to serve Him in any way we can. God will place a new desire within your heart that seeks to turn from a lifestyle of sin to a life that is pleasing to Him.
