The Gospel
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 17:3
Most people live their entire lives without ever knowing “why?” They exist year after year with no idea of why they live or God’s purpose for their lives. The most basic question a person can ask is, “What is the meaning of life?”
People try to find their meaning in many different ways, including acquiring possessions, experiencing pleasure, gaining prestige, trying various religions, enrolling in self-help programs, accumulating wealth, etc.
Fortunately, the Bible answers the question of why you exist! God created and owns everything, including you (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1). We were created to manage God’s creation (Genesis 1:28a). Additionally, God wants us to have a personal relationship with Him (1 John 1:3b). Finally, God created us to enjoy life in Him (John 10:10b).
When we know and love God and live in harmony with His purpose for our lives, it produces tremendous benefits:
Clear Conscience - Romans 8:1
Purpose - Romans 8:28
Power and Strength - Philippians 4:13
Life and Peace - Romans 8:6
Confidence - Romans 8:31
Fulfillment - Philippians 4:19
Help with Weakness - Romans 8:26
Security - Romans 8:39
Freedom - Romans 8:32, 36
If this is the kind of lifestyle God intends for us to have then WHY aren’t more people happy?
GOD’S REQUIREMENT
God is perfectly holy (Matthew 5:48) and requires us to have perfect obedience (James 2:10) to be accepted by Him.
OUR PROBLEM
We are not perfect (Rom. 3:10) and have done wrong many times in life (Romans 3:23). Additionally, if we disagree with this fact and assert that we are without sin, we have deceived and disqualified ourselves (I John 1:8).
WHAT IS SIN?
To sin is to miss the mark of perfection. And the consequence of sin is that it separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2) and earns us a wage that can only be paid by death (Romans 6:23). Sin hinders our fellowship with God and causes us to fear Him, which leads us to live our lives outside of His will. When our relationship with God is not right, it causes problems in every area of our lives — marriage, family, career, relationships, finances, etc.
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH OUR SIN & SEPARATION FROM GOD?
People try different ways of coping with their problems before turning to God, but in the end, it doesn’t move us one step closer to God (Proverbs 16:25).
Even when people know that their deepest need is God, they often try wrong ways of getting to know God:
Salvation by Heritage - “My mother was a Christian, so…”
Salvation by Sincerity - “It doesn’t matter what you believe, just be sincere.”
Salvation by Subtraction - “I’ll give up my bad habits.”
Salvation by Works - “I’ll work real hard and earn it.”
Salvation by Congregating - “I’ll be religious and go to church.”
THE SOLUTION
We need God's mercy to be saved from our sins and resolve our separation from God (Titus 3:5). His mercy is our solution, and it is found in the person of Jesus Christ! He, more than anyone who has ever lived, has the power to bridge the gap between God and man (John 3:16; 5:24). Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary (Matthew 1:18-25). Hundreds of years before his birth, great prophets of Israel foretold of His coming. The Old Testament, which was written by many individuals over 1500 years, contains 300 references to His coming. At the age of about 30, He began His public ministry; there is not enough paper in the world to record the magnitude and multitude of all He did. However, in His three-year ministry, He gave the formula for a right standing before God, which results in full, abundant life and eternal relationship with our Creator.
JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY
Jesus, the Son of God (John 11:27; Colossians 2:9), came to earth (Philippians2:6-8), lived a perfect life, earned the favor and righteousness of God (1 Pet. 2:22), but took our sin on himself. He died on the cross in our place, to pay the wage of our sin (Romans 3:21-26; Romans 5:8). He not only died but rose from the dead as the victor over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:3-6). He purchased the right to offer to us the gift of salvation (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus tells us that He is the only way to God and without Him, it is not possible to have a relationship with Him (John 14:6). This opportunity to have reconciliation and acceptance by God is offered as a gift (Romans 6:23).
OUR RESPONSIBILITY
There is nothing that we can do to work for or earn this wonderful gift that God offers to us. All we need to do is to die to ourselves, repenting from our sin to receive this undeserved gift (Ephesians 2:8-9; Rom. 10:9-10; John 1:12; 1 John 5:12). As a result, we are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and begin to experience a new life in Christ (Matthew 11: 28-30; Isaiah 55:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:9). When we turn from our sin, we begin to turn to Christ, pursue Him, and follow Him (Luke 9:23; 1 John 2:3; Ephesians 2:10).
This means we must each come to God the same way (John 14:6). We must come as a sinner who recognizes his sinfulness (Romans 3:23), realizes no human works can result in salvation (Eph. 2:8b-9) and we must rely completely on Christ alone, by faith alone, for our salvation (Ephesians 2:8a).
Where are you in your relationship with God? Do you BELIEVE in Him? Have you RECEIVED Him as your Lord and Savior?
If you have not put your faith in Christ for salvation, but you BELIEVE in Him and want to RECEIVE Him, one way of expressing that is by praying this simple prayer:
Dear Father, thank you for loving me and sending your son, Jesus, to die on the cross for my sins. I know that I have sinned and have ignored you and gone my own way. I need You in my life and I'm sorry for my sins. I ask You to forgive me. I want to follow you as my Lord from now on. I want to repent and put You first. I want to trust You as my Savior. I accept your gift of salvation in obedience to Your Word. I now ask You to come into my life and make me new. Please help me to grow in my walk with you. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13
"And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand." John 10:28
If this is something you have done today, please call us, so we can welcome you to the family of God and help get you started on the right foot!