Gospel
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
Every Christian should have a clear understanding of the Gospel message – the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ – and how to share that truth with another person. Sharing good news should never be scary or intimidating, but joyful and filled with hope! Below is the best way I know of simply and truthfully sharing Gospel of Jesus Christ: God – Humanity – Christ – Response.
God: The conversation of our relationship to God begins with understanding correctly the character and being of God. This begins with the reality that God objectively exists. God is not an idea or a debate topic, but our Creator and the final authority of every person who has ever lived. Every person alive lives under the authority of God whether they choose to accept this or not. God has character attributes that describe the nature of His person. Of those many attributes it must at least be understood that God is holy, eternal, and perfect. God is holy in that He is set apart from all humanity by through having no corruption or sin in His person. He has forever existed in perfection, which means nothing can be added to His character to make Him better, and nothing needs to be taken away for improvement. In God’s holiness, He is passionate about pursuing righteous ways that He might be glorified by His creation.
Humanity: This definition of God presents a serious problem for every man and woman on earth because we are sinners. Every person has intentionally lived in countless ways that are in rebellion to God’s righteous law and failed to do the righteous actions we ought to do (sin by omission). We are all separated in relationship from a perfectly holy God due to our sin. This does not mean there are no generally good people in the world. The world is full of people that will help the homeless in time of need. Parents who will love their children. Children who grow up to be responsible law abiding adults – but that is not the point. The point is that none of those generally good people can meet the standard of God’s perfection. We all have done countless things that are corrupt in motive, motive, and thought. We have all left undone actions that should have been done. No person can stand before an almighty and holy God with confidence in judgment. This leaves us all in a condemned state before God
Christ: Because God is love and full of mercy, He made a way for His holiness to be satisfied and His mercy to be given to lost sinners. God the Father, sent God the Son to be the Savior of the world. Christians believe that God exists as a trinity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit – one God. Jesus (God the Son) lived a full human life, yet He was also fully divine. Jesus Christ was God incarnate (God in the flesh). Jesus Christ was Emmanuel (God with us). He lived a perfectly holy and righteous life. Jesus committed no sin and left no righteous thing undone that He ought to have done. His glorious life is recorded in four different accounts in the Bible – the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. If you have never read these accounts for yourself, I encourage you to not take someone else’s word. Read about Jesus for yourself! Even during the trial at the end of Jesus’ ministry the corrupt judge (Pilate) declared three times that he found no guilt in Jesus. Jesus was crucified not for His own sin, but for your sins and for mine. It was the will of God that Jesus go to the cross so that the justice of God might be satisfied. One perfect man bearing the sins of the guilty.
Response: What does this mean for us? It means that we have, through Jesus, the opportunity to be forgiven our sins and have peace with God. Many people attempt to work off their guilt before God, hoping to outweigh sin with good. This will never do because it does not relate to justice. No person has ever been charged with a crime, come before the judge for their initial appearance, and been released because they otherwise lived a good life on the whole. The offense at hand, the crime for which the person was brought in, must be adjudicated. If found guilty, the price of the crime must be paid by fine, prison time, or death. For human beings before a holy God, all will be found guilty, and the penalty will be an eternity of hell – punishment and separation from God for rebellion.
However, through Jesus our Savior, we can repent (turn away from our sins), ask to be forgiven, believe in Jesus as the Son of God, and be forgiven of your guilt before God. You are adopted into the Kingdom of god and may enter into the presence of God in heaven. All that stood between us is forgiven, there is peace with God! Those who repent and believe have been given new life – eternal life! The bondage of anger, addiction, sexual sin, lies, and pride are broken in the life of he who believes. By grace and mercy alone, new life begins that will never end!
Will you respond to the life and message of Jesus Christ? Will you turn away from this world and the dead-end of your sinful life? Will you acknowledge God for who He is and confess your sins, and receive eternal life in Jesus? This is good news, good news that you can get down on your knees today and receive!