The gospel of Christ

The words in the picture were spoken by Jesus. He was crucified, dead, buried and rose again on the third day. That is the gospel. Probably the most famous verse in the Bible is John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son [Jesus] that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." When we believe, we will not perish, it says. But we have to respond.

RECOGNIZE

We must recognize we are all sinners. That applies to everyone, no matter how decent, respectable, we think we are. The Bible says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) chapter 3 verse 23. And if we die in our sinful condition? The Bible says: "For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23. "The soul that sins, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4. It means the second death. That's bad news. Now the good news!

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CROSS

Jesus took our sins on Himself on the cross. "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Ephesians 1:7. When we recognise this, repent, believe in Christ, we have salvation. Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no-one comes to the Father except by Me." John 14:6.Jesus the way to heaven. There is no other way.

HOW DON'T WE GET TO HEAVEN?

Not by our "good works." They are never good enough. Going to church, being part of a religious organization, being baptized as a baby - none of those by themselves will save us. When we decide to put our trust and faith in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we fulfil the will of God for every human being.

REPENT

Repentance is a key word. 2 Peter 3:9 says: "The Lord is. . . not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." To repeat, we must repent.

To repent means to have regret, sorrow for breaking God's laws . To deplore it. To be willing to turn our life around. The Bible says: "Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38. That verse says we must be baptized also, as Jesus was (in the river) by John. We must decide to take a different path. To follow Jesus.

WHAT IF WE REJECT JESUS?

The Bible makes it clear those who reject the gospel go to eternal death in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). That verse says: "Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." It is the second death. Jesus (speaking of Himself) says: "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18. Not pleasant? Dogmatic, emphatic, uncompromising? Yes, but it is the truth of God's Word. That is why I beg you, urge you, to come to Jesus.

A SUGGESTED PRAYER:

"Lord Jesus, I admit I am a sinner, as the Bible says. I turn now to you, I ask forgiveness for my past sins. I repent, and ask now for your salvation, and I ask you to come into my heart and life. I believe you are risen from the dead. I decide now to follow you. I will be baptized in your name. Amen."

Next, find a church where Christ is foremost, and get involved. Ask them to baptize you by full immersion. Talk to God every day in prayer, and read His Word - the Bible. Start with John in the New Testament. Obey Jesus.

When you have salvation you will never fear the future.