THE GOSPEL
God's Creation
The Bible tells us that God originally created the world and all that exists in a state of perfection. God took dust from the earth, which He created and shaped and fashioned in His own image and likeness. He made man a being with a spirit in the same way God is a spirit.
Genesis 1:26-27
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
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God told the first man and woman they could enjoy all He had created, but one thing. He told them that on the day they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die.
Genesis 2:16-17
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
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Our Fall
That first man, Adam, our representative before God, disobeyed God and chose to do the one thing God told him not to do. In that moment, death and all the things that bring death, sin and all the consequences of sin, all the hurts and pains and sufferings of life, entered into the world. The worst consequence of man's sin was that from the moment sin was committed, man was separated from God and could no longer enjoy fellowship with God.
God's Temporary Provision
God, in grace, took an animal from the garden, slew it, and took the skin of that animal and clothed the sinful man and women with it. God was teaching them that in order for a sinful person to be able to commune with their holy God, a life had to be given, and blood had to be shed as a substitutionary means by which their sin debt could be paid, and the justice of God could be satisfied. God provided the means by which the shed blood and death of an animal could provide a temporary covering for man's sin.
Genesis 3:21
21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin,
and clothed them.
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Later, God gave man a standard of His moral law so that man could come to understand the depth of his sin and so that he could understand He was incapable of keeping a Holy God's standard for living and being able to come into His presence. Through the law, man also could understand his need for one who could ultimately pay his sin debt and provide lasting forgiveness for sin and complete cleansing from sin.
The Revealing of our Sin
Often, we compare ourselves to other people, and compared to the way many people live, we end up looking pretty good.
The problem is that God does not compare us to everyone else; He compares us to Himself and His standard of holiness.
God gave us the 10 commandments, or His law, to help us clearly see this truth. Let us examine our lives by the standards of a few of the commandments.
1. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever exaggerated something?
When someone lies, what does that make them? A LIAR
Exodus 20:16
16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
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2. Have you ever stolen anything or borrowed something and forgot to return it?
(Even something small like a pen or paperclips from school or work)
What do you call someone who STEALS? A thief
Exodus 20:15
15 "You shall not steal.
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3. Have you ever looked at someone who was not your spouse, lusted after them, fantasized about them, or wondered what it would be like to be with them?
Jesus says that a person who has done any of these things has committed ADULTERY with that person in your heart.
What do you call a person who has committed adultery? An adulterer
Matthew 5:27-28
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
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5. Have you ever loved anything or anyone in your life more than God?
The Bible says that is IDOLATRY.
What do you call a person who commits idolatry? An Idolater
Exodus 20:3-5
3 "You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.
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6. Have you ever lost your temper with someone or been bitter toward someone?
The Bible does not call that just anger, but MURDER.
What do you call a person who commits murder? A Murderer.
Matthew 5:21-22
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'
22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.
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So now, by our own admission, we have described ourselves as
A liar... a thief...an adulterer...a blasphemer, an idolater, and a murderer.
We are sinners.
The Penalty for our Sin
There is absolutely nothing we can do to change our sinful condition. God's law cannot save us, but it reveals our need for a Savior who can save and deliver us from our sin. There is nothing we can do to erase our sin. Because we are sinners, we are cut off from God and under a sentence of death, which means will be under the wrath and judgment of God throughout our life in this world and throughout all eternity.
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, ...
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John 3:18-19
18 "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.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil.
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The Word of God gives even more detail about our sinful condition in Ephesians 2.
Ephesians 2:1-3
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves
in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
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God's Permanent, Gracious Solution for our Sin
God, out of His great love for us, in grace, sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, into this world. Jesus lived a perfect life of holiness and righteousness and never committed even one sin. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father and to the law of God.
Jesus was then nailed to a cross and shed His sinless blood on our behalf. On the cross, God the Father took all of our sins and put them into the person of His own sinless Son. God the Father then poured out the fullness of His wrath and judgment upon our sin upon the person of His Son. Jesus accepted all the punishment for sin that we deserved. He was our substitutionary sacrifice for sin.
In His death, Jesus satisfied the justice and holiness of God. He paid our sin debt in full. Jesus died for us.
Jesus was then buried. Three days later was raised from the dead. The fact that Jesus was raised from the dead demonstrated that the Father had accepted His sacrifice on our behalf.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
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2 Corinthians 5:21
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
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1 Peter 3:18
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
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1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Our Necessary Response To God's Provision
How does the sacrifice that Jesus made for us become applied to our lives so that our sin is forgiven and we are brought into union with God?
The Word of God says that the salvation of God comes to us by the grace of God, by faith, and not through any works of our own.
Ephesians 2:4-9
4 But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ
(by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come
He might show the exceeding riches of His grace
in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
In grace God uses the Holy Spirit to help us see our sin and brings conviction of that sin to our heart and mind.
John 16:7-11
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth.
It is to your advantage that I go away;
for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you;
but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come,
He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment:
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
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In grace, God leads us to repent of our sin. Repentance is a change of our mind that gives us an understanding of our sin, that leads to a change of heart which grieves over the fact we have sinned against God, which leads to a change in life so that we turn away from our sin and turn in faith to Jesus Christ. Repentance is a change of mind about the fact of who Jesus Christ is. We will now see Him as the sinless Son of God and the only way to God. This understanding leads us to fully trust in Him alone for our salvation.
45 And He opened their understanding,that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
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Luke 24:45-47
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
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Matthew 4:17
9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted;but the sorrow of the world produces death.
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1 Corinthians 15:3-4
5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
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Luke 13:5
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
38 Then Peter said to them,"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.
39 For the promise is to you and to your children,and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation."
41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
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Matthew 4:17
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
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Acts 3:19
"Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
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Acts 26:19-20
We are saved by grace through FAITH. We must fully trust in Jesus Christ; in His sinless life, in His atoning death on our behalf; in His burial and resurrection. We must believe that all that He accomplished He did personally for us.
16 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.
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John 3:16
23 For the wages of sin is death,but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Romans 6:23
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith,and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
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Ephesians 2:8-9
God's saving grace grants us faith in Christ, which leads us to SURRENDER full control of our lives to Him.
Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
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Luke 9:23-24
Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"
18 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
19 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"
20 And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
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Mark 10:17-22
Jesus raised two issues with this young man: first,would the young man acknowledge his sin, and second,would the young man fully yield control of his life to Jesus? Would the young man acknowledge Jesus as Lord of his life?
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
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Romans 10:9-10
Our Life After Salvation
Once we have been saved by God's grace, we should be obedient to follow Him in baptism. Baptism does not provide our salvation, but baptism is an outward witness that our lives are now identified with Christ. Baptism is an outward witness that we have placed our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is a visible manner in which we can bear witness to the fact that we have died to our old sinful life, been buried or immersed into Jesus Christ, and have been raised from our life of sin to walk in a new life under the Lordship of Christ.
Baptism is an outward witness to the fact that we believe that one day, physically, we may die, but that one day, Jesus will come and physically resurrect us so that we will live eternally with Him.
Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
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Romans 6:1-4
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
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Once we have been saved and taken the first step of obedience
and been baptized, we need to become a part of a faith community,
a church, which will help us grow in our new life in Christ.
Acts 2:41-47
41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
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2 Peter 1:5-8
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence,add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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