Have You Met Jesus?

What is the Gospel?

IN THE BEGINNING

God created the world and everything in it (Genesis 1:1).  Because God made us, He has the authority to rule over us (Psalm 115:3, Proverbs 16:33).  Out of all of God’s creation, man was special because he was created in the image of God and was given dominion over the Earth and everything in it (Genesis 1:26 - 27).  Man was created perfect and enjoyed unbroken fellowship with God until he made the decision to disobey God’s command for him to not eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:6).  God’s perfect nature would not allow Him to let man’s transgression of His command go unpunished.  God cursed Man for his sin and cast him out of the Garden of Eden.

THE PROBLEM

Sin is any transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4, Romans 3:20, James 2:9-11).  Because God is our creator, we have an obligation to obey His laws perfectly.  Ever since the Garden of Eden, man has had a problem:  sin.  The problem is that God is both infinitely loving AND infinitely just.  Therefore, sin must be punished because God requires justice.

GOD’S LAW

In the fullness of time, God showed us more of the holiness of His nature by revealing His perfect moral standard to Moses. We call them The Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:3-17)

  1.  You shall have no other gods before me.
    • Have you ever put anything or anyone above God?
  2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image.
    • Have you worshipped another god or object?
  3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
    • Have you ever used the name of God thoughtlessly?
  4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
    • Have you ever failed to give Him one day out of seven as His own special day set aside for worship?
  5. Honor your father and your mother.
    • Have you ever failed to give proper honor to your parents?
  6. You shall not murder.
    • Have you ever murdered or hated someone?
  7. You shall not commit adultery.
    • Have you ever committed adultery either physically or through your eyes? (this includes fornication, Matthew 5:27-28)
  8. You shall not steal.
    • Have you ever stolen? (regardless of value)
  9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
    • Have you ever lied? (white lies count too)
  10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
    • Have you ever been jealous of someone else’s possessions or ungrateful for what you don’t have?

“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” –James 2:10

If we are honest, we have to admit two things: 

  1. God’s laws are good and perfect (Romans 7:12). 
  2. We have not kept these laws perfectly (Romans 3:23).

We all will be judged by this Holy standard.  Will you be innocent or guilty? (Hebrews 9:27)

Honest people will 100% of the time will admit their guilt.

God's Plan of Salvation

THE BAD NEWS

The bad news is that God is Holy and Just and has promised that justice will be executed on all lawbreakers.

- “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

- “But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 3:7)

- “And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.  But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murders, the sexually immoral, sorcers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:6-8)

THE GOOD NEWS

God so loved us that He poured out His hatred of sin on His own Son! (John 3:16, Romans 1:18, 8:32)

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

The Gospel:

Jesus Christ, the Son of God and God the Son, came to this earth through the virgin Mary, revealed the truths of God, lived the perfect life in our place, died on the cross to pay the penalty of sin that we might be restored to a relationship with God, rose again on the third day, and gives eternal life to those He has called who believe in Him by His grace and through faith. (Mark 9:43-48; Isaiah 53:4-12; 1 John 4:10, 1 Peter 3:18, Matthew 27:46)

WHAT MUST WE DO TO BE SAVED?

There is nothing you can do to earn forgiveness (Isaiah 64:6)

There is only one way to be saved (Acts 4:12).

- Repent. Have a change of mind about your sin and turn to God.  Remember you have broken God’s Laws (Matthew 4:17, Acts 2:38, Acts 17:30-31, 2 Corinthians 7:10)

- Believe the gospel. Put your trust in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for the remission (forgiveness) of sin (John 6:40, John 6:44, Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8)

What should you do now?

  1. Read your bible every day to learn more about the loving God who saved you.  Be determined to obey what you read.
  2. Connect with a Bible-teaching church as soon as possible.  Your foremost concern in selecting a church is how the Bible is taught and lived out.
  3. Begin telling others about the Savior who saved you!