(February 11, 2014 at 2:59 pm)The Good News Wrote: This is the gospel ("good news") of Jesus Christ. This is God's one and only plan of salvation. Please take time to read it, as your eternal destiny relies on how you will respond to it.
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
THE BAD NEWS
"But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags..." (Isaiah 64:6)
"...There is none righteous, no, not one...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:10, 23)
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." (I Corinthians 6:9, 10)
Every single one of us has been born in sin. We all go astray from our Creator from the womb. God in His mercy has revealed His holy law so that we can clearly see that we are sinners who need to be saved. Take, for example, one of the Ten Commandments: "You shall not commit adultery" (Ex 20:13). You may look at this commandment and think that you have not broken it; but Jesus Christ taught that if you lust after someone, you have committed adultery in your heart (Matt 5:28). And if you are guilty of breaking one commandment, you are guilty of breaking them all:
"For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10)
All who are guilty of breaking the law (everyone has broken it) will go to hell when they die; which is the eternal wrath of a holy and just God, who hates all unrighteousness:
"...it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27)
Though there is a way to be free from the condemnation of the law...
THE GOOD NEWS
God exists in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; these three are one God. The Lord Jesus Christ (the Son) came to earth; fully God, and fully man. Born of a virgin, He lived the holy life we couldn't and kept the whole law for us. He then willingly went to the cross where He was punished for our sins taking upon Himself the Father's wrath that we deserve. There He died, and was buried in a tomb, but He rose from the dead the third day, proclaiming victory over sin and death. After revealing Himself to many witnesses He returned again to heaven where He remains until the appointed time when He will return in His glory to judge the world in righteousness. Only those who have put their trust in Him will be declared righteous and will reign with Him for all eternity. All those who have not believed will have the just punishment for their sins against a holy God:
"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36)
THE ONLY GOSPEL
The gospel is the most important message anyone could receive. The Bible tells us that it is "the power of God to salvation" (Romans 1:16). Many different gospels are being preached in the world, but the Bible is clear that someone who preaches another gospel is accursed:
"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8, 9)
Knowing this, one would want to be sure that they are receiving the true gospel. How can you be sure that this message contains the true gospel of the Bible? The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares it in the following passage of Scripture:
"Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
YOU CAN'T SAVE YOURSELF
No one can earn salvation by working for it:
"Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness" (Romans 4:4,5)
The Bible teaches that we must be perfect to enter heaven:
"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)
How then can we be perfect? The Bible reveals that it's by having Jesus Christ's righteousness imputed to us. This means that on Judgment Day, God won't condemn us according to the sins we have committed against Him; He will only see Jesus's righteousness which He gifted to us when we believed His gospel. Though this doesn't mean that a Christian will be perfect whilst here on earth:
"and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Philippians 3:9)
"But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe." (Romans 3:21, 22)
WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE
God didn't have to provide a way of salvation. Salvation is all of grace:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8, 9)
"that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:7)
YOU CAN BE A NEW CREATION
When one truly believes the gospel, he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit into his heart. God supernaturally changes the true believer's heart to hate the sins he once loved, and love the righteous things he once hated:
"By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." (1 John 4:13)
"...Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." (Romans 8:9)
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (II Corinthians 5:17)
REPENT AND BELIEVE
If today you are in love with your sin, repent and cry out to God for mercy. God who cannot lie, loves you and promises He will save you:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
"For 'whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'" (Romans 10:13)
BEWARE OF FALSE CHRISTS
Beware the false Jesuses of the world. There are many false Jesus Christs that are presented by cults and religions such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Roman Catholics and even Muslims. Though this really is no strange thing:
"And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ," and will deceive many.'" (Matthew 24:4, 5)
There is only one Jesus who is "the way, the truth, and the life"(John 14:6).
THE BIBLE IS GOD'S WORD
Search for the truth in the Bible. It is the word of God:
"and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:15-17)
If you would like to know more about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Gospel of John is a good place to start. For prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament, read Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53.
If you have any sincere questions after reading this message, don't hesitate to send me a reply.
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you to know the truth.
Thanks for reading.
YOU MAY NOT HAVE TOMORROW
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James 4:13,14)
"We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:1,2)
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36)
I don't know why my message has been labelled spam? If I handed you a book, which I had written, and told you it was what I believe would you simply label it spam?
