THE GOSPEL -
04-20-2006, 07:03 AM
The Gospel is mysterious and powerful.. In Romans, Paul says that He is not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God to salvation, to the Jew first and also to the gentiles. The Gospel is simply Jesus life story and what He did for you and me. The gospel books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all have the same theme JESUS
Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to this world simply to be Gods sacrifice for our sins so that we could attain righteousness in Gods eyes. God has never and will never change. He has decreed death as the fit punishment for sin and it so remains. So unless one has a way of atoning for his/her sin, there is nothing but death waiting. And not the physical death which most people will have to go through, but the second death which is the spiritual death, in eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his cronies. As is written in Revelation 20:10-12.
But this Jesus, the Son of God, who was with God before the beginning of the world, he came of Gods will, a sacrifice sufficient for our sins. Since without blood there is no remission of sins ,God made a sacrifice to himself which would be acceptable to atone for all the sins of Man. As such the sacrifice had to be pure as a lamb without blemish. Jesus is that lamb. Christ was without blemish as he fulfilled all that was required of him under the law. God so loved us that it delighted him to kill his own son on the cross, the only one begotten of him (the rest of us are adopted), so that He would save His Children from the wrath to come of sin. And God decreed that if one is to be a partaker of the atonement of Jesus Christ for our sins then one had to believe that indeed Jesus is the son of God and that He died for our sins and was raised up by the father by his power.
It is in the resurrection where believers live. Anyone who accepts Christ, that is believes in him, also shares in his death and resurrection, and is living a new life in Christ. As Paul says if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creature behold all things have passed away. And it is this new life, which is eternally good.
It is worthwhile to consider, if it pleased God to kill his own son for a sinful person, what can make God not punish any other sinner? And indeed we are all sinners. For it is written that for all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Being justified freely by the grace of God through Christ Jesus.
Most know John 3:16 which says that for God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that WHOSOEVER believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. It continues that WHOSOEVER believes in Him is not condemned but WHOSOEVER believes not is condemned already for He has not believed in on the only begotten Son of God.
The Gospel is so simple that it is often perceived as foolishness, and that is by design. For it pleased God that by the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. . As written in 1 Cor : 23-24 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block , and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. In conclusion, watch out it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living GOD
About faith .. what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
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