WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

Often, there are many question’s concerning salvation and the Gospel. We will look at our condition, our sin, and our need for a Savior.

Man originally was created pure, without sin, and in perfect communion with God (Gen. 1:26-30, Gen. 2:7, 21-24) In Genesis 3, we see Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God and the fall of man. As descendants of Adam and Eve, all of humanity fell with them when they sinned. Romans 5:12 states, “Therefore, just as through one-man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Through Adam’s sin, communion with God was broken, and condemnation came to all humankind. The penalty for sin is both physical and spiritual death (Rom. 6:23, Eph. 2:1, 1 Cor. 15:22). Man no longer has the ability to seek (Rom. 3), serve, understand, or commune with God. So according to scripture everyone is guilty.

Sin can be defined as missing the mark, rebellion, iniquity, wickedness, transgression, ignorance, wandering, and ungodliness. When dealing with sin, we see that man not only misses the mark but lacks the ability to measure up to God’s standard. God’s Word tells us in Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, vs.24 being justified freely by His grace through redemption that is in Christ Jesus. As a Holy God he must judge sin. 1 Peter 4:5 tells us we will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

Many ask “What if I live a good life?” God’s Word tells us in Titus 3:5 “He saved us not by works of righteousness which we had done, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration, and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Salvation is totally of the Lord, Salvation occurs by grace through faith alone and not of ourselves (Eph. 2:8-10, Titus 3:5). It is the work of God that brings sinful man to repentance and belief in Jesus Christ (John 6:44). How can I know Jesus as Savior? Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” God’s Word promises in John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” We are responsible to repent and believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ and him alone. Belief in His perfect life, death, and resurection. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 it says that God made Christ who knew no sin, to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. In John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'” In Luke chapter 18 there was a tax collector who cried out for the mercy of God recognizing his sin and his need for a Savior. The Word of God also tells that he went away justified and that everyone who humbles themselves before God will be exalted. True saving faith always involves belief and repentance. Turning from our sin and looking to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Once man is saved, he is a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17) and God’s workmanship created unto good works (Eph. 2:10). If man is able to dwell in sin and continue down the road of disobedience, he is not a true believer (2 Cor. 13:5). According to Galatians 5, those who walk according to this world and continually practice sin are not true believers. A true believer, though not perfect, walks according to the Spirit, not the flesh. A true believer is filled with the fruit of the Spirit such as love, joy, and kindness (Gal. 5). The true believer seeks to be obedient to God, recognizing he was once a slave to sin but now has liberty in Christ (Gal. 5:1). As believers, we are no longer in bondage to sin but are now part of a royal priesthood and servants of the Most High God (1 Peter 2:9). That does not mean a believer is perfect, we will always battle against sin while in our current bodies (Romans 7). That is why growing and serving the Lord is essential. Finding a local church that is solid in doctrinal truth is a great way to grow in the Lord. In fact, God’s Word tells us in Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”