The Gospel

 

The gospel is very simple, yet powerful and life giving. It can be explained in one line or expounded on for hundreds of pages. One of the best ways to learn about the gospel is to join us on Sunday evenings for our gospel meeting. Every Sunday, two men explain the gospel and share a message from the Bible, God's living word. All you have to do is take a seat and listen!

 

So what is the gospel?

 

The gospel is the message of how God has done everything necessary to reconcile humanity to himself. God wants to save and forgive you but you have to accept it for yourself personally. Please, take a few minutes to read this whole page, and talk to us if you have any questions.

 

The Bible is the best place to turn to learn more about yourself, humanity, God, and the gospel. Its very words are spiritual life and truth. Please let us know if you would like a free Bible. Here are just a few of the passages in the Bible that give a short but complete explanation of the gospel. Read them carefully.

 

"For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"

- Romans 3:22-24

 

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

- Romans 6:23

 

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
- Romans 5:8

 

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
- 1 John 4:10

 

"For 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

 

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

- 1 Peter 2:24-25

 

We all know in our hearts that there is something beyond this life.

 

If death is the end of everything, our lives and the lives of every person who has ever lived are ultimately meaningless, valueless, and purposeless. But how can that be? If it seems absurd, that's because it is. A worldview without God and without the offer of eternal life is hopeless - void of meaning and very sad. Yet how often do we think about death? Almost never. Our culture is so focused on living for the moment. We are taught that our life is short and our life is now. Enjoy yourself, have fun, think positively, be adventurous. Sounds good on the surface but deep down we know that there has to be more. True, life on this earth is short, but life does not end there. Our life on earth is for a moment; our soul will live forever.

 

Why are we separated from God in the first place?

 

Because of our sins. Our sins are the things we do that break God's objective moral law. While some sins are more well known - murder, theft, lying - there are many others that we seldom consider. These include anger, pride, arrogance, selfishness, jealously, ungratefulness, sexual immorality, drunkenness, evil thoughts, and apathy. We know that these things are wrong because God has given us a conscience that convicts us of it. Sin is like a deadly disease that we have no cure for.

 

By ourselves we can't do anything to stop sinning because it's in our very nature.

 

When we are without God, we are slaves to sin. Of course all of our lives are different, but if you're honest, perhaps you've noticed some of these things about yourself. We like to spend our money on ourselves; we rarely, if ever, think about the needs of others. We criticize and judge other people based on everything from their appearance to their supposed inferiority to us. We look in the mirror and admire ourselves. We pride ourselves for our superior knowledge. We are hypocritical. We idolize ourselves, athletes, or celebrities as gods. We have thoughts that are sexually corrupt, perverted, and impure. We seek pity and attention from others. We seek after popularity, praise, and recognition. We turn to drugs, alcohol, gambling, junk food, and pornography to escape the troubles of life and find some kind of temporary pleasure. We grasp for fulfillment in our many relationships, careers, or social causes. We're lazy; we focus on how we can serve ourselves, how we can be entertained and pleasured. We find pleasure in media that portrays violence, sexual immorality, and all kinds of evil activity. We are indifferent about our childrens' sinful lifestyles or even encourage them. We forsake our true values and foundations to fit in and conform to the culture. We are liars. We inwardly calculate our every step to create the image that we want to have. We do "good things" so others will notice. We are ungrateful. We find joy in complaining and ignore our daily blessings. We burn with jealousy when others succeed or receive more attention than us. We are filled with anger or even rage over so many small things. We are disrespectful, rude, and disobedient to parents and other authorities. We throw the name of God and Jesus Christ around in our everyday conversations like they are worthless.

 

God does NOT ignore these things. God HATES sin; thankfully he loves us and we can be forgiven.

 

Sure, compared to others, we may be pretty good people. Maybe when reading the above list, we took pride in reading something that did not describe us and glossed over the things that did. Whether or not you realize it or admit it, in God's eyes, we are all unrighteous sinners in need of forgiveness. If we want to be forgiven, we have to understand and accept that we are guilty sinners. God is perfect and holy and to be with Him we also must be perfect. The amazing thing is that verses from the Bible could be quoted to support everything that you read on this page.

 

We can try to turn over a new leaf, but our efforts are in vain.

 

This is because even our motives and intentions for doing "good things" are most often corrupt and selfish. We can try to change our ways but we still don't find the peace we're looking for. Most importantly, our good deeds are powerless to cleanse us of our sins. The burden and guilt of sin is like a weight that lays heavy on our soul and keeps us in a constant state of unrest. We don't realize its heaviness until it's lifted.

 

The gospel is an amazingly unique message.

 

In fact, there is nothing else like it. There is no message, no idea, no philosophy, no religion, no belief, and no person that has permanently changed more lives than the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many millions of people throughout the ages have found forgiveness, meaning, and fulfillment along with true peace, joy, and love in the ever welcoming arms of the meek and lowly Son of God. Visit our testimonies page to read about a few of those people.

 

So how do we earn eternal life?

 

We can't do anything to earn forgiveness or eternal life. We can't do anything to "pay God back" or make up for our sins. God is not interested in what we can do for him to solve the problem of sin. This is what makes genuine Christianity so unique - there is absolutely nothing we can do by ourselves to fix our problem! No amount of good works or charitable deeds or prayers or tears or meditation or "enlightenment" or anything else we can do will make us right with God! Thankfully, God loves every single person in the world beyond our comprehension. He wants every one of us to have a relationship with him in this life and in life eternal. We've already learned that this can't happen as long as we carry our burden of sin. God had to provide the answer himself.
 

Jesus Christ is the answer.

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men,

the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all..."

- 1 Timothy 2:5-6

 

 Something had to be done about our sins, but we couldn't do it. If a person dies in their sins, they will be judged for everything they have ever done. Our darkest thoughts, our every word, action, and inaction. They will then be cast out of God's righteous presence for all eternity. This is because God is righteous and he cannot ignore sin.

 

God's love and justice is so perfect that judgement of sin is absolutely necessary. Although some people believe that God will forgive everyone when they die, this is not true. Our chance to be forgiven is during our earthly life. God has decreed that the wages of sin is spiritual death and he cannot void that decree.

​

If left to ourselves, we would all perish spiritually because of our sins.

 

This is why Jesus is the most important person to ever live (even our calendar is based on the time of his coming).

 

Jesus is God's Son. He was, is, and always will be the eternal God. But over 2000 years ago, something incredible happened: Jesus came to Earth as a human being.

 

Why would Jesus do that? He walked among us; he showed his unlimited power over the realm of nature; he healed the sick; he spoke words of perfect truth...but all of those things were secondary.

 

You see, Jesus was the only person ever to live a perfect life.

 

He was falsely accused and condemned.

 

Then he was executed on a cross.

 

Then three days later, he rose again. He came back to life.

 

This was God's plan all along. This is the gospel. God himself--perfect, sinless--died in the flesh. He rose again to show that God the Father approved of his sacrifice.

 

Why did he die?

 

He willingly died in our place. We deserve to die for our sins; Jesus did not deserve to die.

 

But this is how much God loves us, even though we don't deserve his love and mercy.

 

God the Father punished Jesus for our sins instead of us. All of God's righteous wrath against sin was laid on Jesus.

 

Jesus paid the horrible price for our sins; every single sin ever committed.

 

If sins are to be forgiven, blood must be shed. This is because the "life of the flesh" is in the blood.

 

Jesus became our sacrifice when he shed his blood on the cross.

 

His blood has the power to cleanse us of all sin; his blood is our sacrificial offering to God.

 

How wonderfully amazing is our Creator? True hope like this is found nowhere else.

 

God satisfied his own righteous wrath so that we may be forgiven and reconciled to him.

 

Reconciled to him FOR ETERNITY.

 

Through faith in Jesus we are not only forgiven of all of our sins but we are promised eternal life in heaven.

 

Forgiveness and eternal life are free gifts.

 

What do we have to do with a gift that is offered to us?

 

We have to take it for ourselves. God's gift is the same way. He will never force us to love him or trust in Jesus. We have to personally accept Jesus by faith and by faith alone.

 

Believe. Trust. Rest.

 

We have to speak to God, confess that we have failed, and believe that Jesus will forgive us completely and give us everlasting life.

 

The gospel is so amazing! God's very nature is one of grace. Grace means undeserved favour. God gives and gives and gives.

 

Look at all of the amazing things that happen when we trust in Jesus and give our lives over to him:

 

We are completely forgiven of all sins: past, present, and future.

 

The perfection of Jesus is applied to us; God sees his Son's perfection when he looks at us.

 

We are promised everlasting life with God in heaven.

 

God becomes our Father and we become his children.

 

We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who helps us and guides us.

 

We are born again; we are made alive spiritually.

 

We are made a completely new creation.

 

We leave our old lives behind and live for God.

 

We are given the power to defeat every sin in our lives.

 

The gospel is one of those things that seems too good to be true.

 

In fact, if God didn't say it himself, we would have to come to the conclusion that it can't be true.

 

But it is all true! We can trust God's word, the Holy Bible. It is a compilation of different writings and letters written over thousands of years by dozens of different people from all walks of life, yet its message and theme is consistent throughout.

 

Although the Bible was written through many different people, the Holy Spirit is ultimately the inspiration behind the words of the Bible which is why we can trust that it is God's word.

 

The Bible speaks of God's plan for humanity from beginning to end and how those who trust in God will be saved from their sins once and for all.

 

This work of salvation was completed by Jesus when he died and resurrected.

 

In fact, Jesus fulfilled dozens of prophecies about himself that were written hundreds of years prior to his birth.

 

It is clear that God does not want us guessing with our souls and our eternal destiny.

 

He has proven himself to be the only true God revealed in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He has displayed his personal love for you at the cross.

 

God has done his part; now he commands everyone everywhere to repent-- to change our minds, forsake our old life of sin and begin a new and joyful life in Jesus Christ.

 

The offer is not exclusive to any one person or group; it is for everybody!

 

But it is for a "limited time".

 

Life is uncertain. Death is uncertain and could come tomorrow. Thankfully, for those who have trusted Christ, death will only be the start of something so much better--a life in perfect unity with God who is the source of everything good and pure and right and true and honorable.

 

One day, God will say enough is enough. His patience will come to an end; he will be mocked and ignored no more. The window of opportunity will close and the age of grace will end.

 

Nobody wants to be dead in their sins when that day comes.

 

The devil wants us to delay and to get wrapped up with our everyday lives: our jobs, education, families, houses, meals, stresses, entertainments, goals, and plans...

 

He is the great deceiver, the adversary of our souls.

 

There is nothing more important than the state of your eternal soul in God's eyes.

 

You can speak to God now. Speak to him in your own words. There is no special prayer or any special words that you have to say because God can see your heart. He is always willing to hear you and is longing to save you. He loves you so much more than you know.

 

Jesus suffered so that you may be forgiven, so that God's grace and mercy may richly flow to you.

 

Acknowledge him, even now. Speak to him. Please, accept what he has done for you. 

 

Please talk to us if you've received Jesus as your personal Saviour today or if you have any questions.