The Good News!

The Gospel sets Christianity apart from every other religion in the world. It is the good news that God has provided a way through His Son, Jesus, to be forgiven and have our broken relationship with God restored.

Here are six truths that summarize the content of the Good News:

1. God created us in His image

"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. Revelations 4:8b

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it..." Genesis 1:27-28a

"And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed." Genesis 2:8

"And the LORD God commanded the man saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Genesis 2:16-17

2. We have sinned against a Holy God

"And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Genesis 3:12

"Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken." Genesis 3:23

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

3. We are all subject to God's just condemnation

"For the wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement." Hebrews 9:27

"But the fearful, and unbelieving...shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Revelations 21:8

4. God sent his only son, Jesus, to provide the way

That way, like a bridge over the chasm of hell, is provided by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus during his life on earth 2000 years ago.

"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." John 14:6

"For I (Paul) delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" I Corinthians 15:3-4

5. We can't do anything to redeem ourselves

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us..." Titus 3:5

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Galatians 2:16

6. Salvation is free to all who will accept it

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

(Jesus said) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24

(Philippian jailer asked) "What must I do to be saved? And they (Paul and Silas) said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." Acts 16:30-31

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13

All Scripture is taken from the KJV

What should you do?

Do you want to accept this free gift of salvation? Humble yourself before God and ask Him to forgive you and save you. The following prayer may help guide you:

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and there is nothing that I can do to save myself. I confess my complete helplessness to forgive my own sin or to work my way to heaven. At this moment I trust Christ alone as the One who bore my sin when He died on the cross. I believe that He did all that will ever be necessary for me to stand in your holy presence. I thank you that Christ was raised from the dead as a guarantee of my own resurrection. As best I can, I now transfer my trust to Him. I am grateful that He has promised to receive me despite my many sins and failures. Father, I take you at your word. I thank you that I can face death now that you are my Savior. Thank you for the assurance that I will spend eternity with you in heaven. Thank you for hearing this prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen.