THE GOSPEL

KNOW CHRIST AND MAKE CHRIST KNOWN 8613 FM 1616, ATHENS, TX 75752

THERE IS ONLY ONE GOSPEL

The Gospel Story

Gospel means good news. The good news is Jesus Christ has paid the full wrath of God against your sin and my sin through His death on the cross. Whosoever will respond in faith to the person and work of Jesus Christ will be saved. Our purpose as Ash Baptist Church is to proclaim this truth to the world.

Sadly, there are many false teachers and false churches that proclaim a very worldly and unbiblical gospel. Therefore, a thorough explanation of the Gospel of grace is necessary in our day. The benefit of salvation is knowing Jesus Christ, not health, wealth, or prosperity.

With a world full of distractions and distortions in view, the following section(s) will take a brief look at several Christian doctrines: the beginning, the problem of sin, God's salvation, and the biblical response in faith.

In The Beginning

There is no one like God. He exist eternally in three co-equal persons. The Bible says, that in the beginning, the holy, loving, righteous, perfect, awesome, just, and good God of the Universe spoke creation into existence by His word. He is the designer and definer of all things. He determines the purpose and function of all things. (Genesis 1)

After God created the universe, He called it good. Everything God made was good, He made nothing bad. God created man and woman in His image. He placed man in the world to enjoy a relationship with God Himself and the world God created. God gave man one rule, “… 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.” (Gen. 2:17) You may ask, “Why give one rule?” Love is only demonstrated with a choice. God gave man and woman the gift to choose to love Him. Their obedience would demonstrate their love. The same is true today! (Genesis 1-2)

The Problem

Sadly, Eve, the first woman God created, was deceived by the serpent and ate from the tree that God had commanded them not to. She then shared with her husband, Adam. Adam willfully sinned against God after being told directly by God not to eat of the tree. The moment Adam ate of the fruit from the tree, sin entered the world and death through sin. Mercifully, God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. God is infinitely perfect and cannot allow sin to be in His presence because of His infinite perfection. Sin must be judged. The entry of sin in the Garden of Eden through Adam and Eve affects us today because the Bible says that sin spread to all mankind through Adam. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.” We sin, every single one of us, it is our heart’s condition. Sin is not just what we do, but who we are. According to Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.” Sin separates us from the purpose we were created for, to know God. Death in the Bible speaks of physical death but also spiritual death. Hell is a place created for the devil and his angels. Our sin deserves eternal punishment spiritually, mentally, and physically in a very real place called hell. Hell is that bad because God is that good. (Genesis 2, Genesis 3, Romans 3, Romans 5, Romans 6)

Absolutely nothing we do, can save us from the judgment that we rightly deserve before the good and perfect God of the Universe. The Bible says that all the good we do is like dirty rags before God. (Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-9)

God Provides the Solution, The Gospel

But… God, in His grace, still loves us. Not because we are good or because we deserve it. He loves us because He is love... the Father loves the Son eternally; therefore, He loves us and sent His Son to die for us. This sending of the Son was the ultimate act of love. When we could not and cannot save ourselves from the judgement we deserve, God provided the only solution for the forgiveness of sin. (John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:8-9)

God sent His Son, the eternal second member of the Trinity. Jesus, 100% God and 100% man, stepped from His throne in heaven to earth. He was conceived of a virgin. He lived the perfect life we were intended to live, not sinning one time. He died on the cross to pay the debt for the punishment owed to us. He was buried for three days. He rose on the third day, was seen by over 500 witnesses over the course of 40 days before He ascended into heaven to God’s right hand. Jesus defeated sin, Satan, and death. He is the only ONE qualified to be the all-sufficient Savior for sinful humanity. Jesus is Lord and is coming again! (John 3:16, Matt., Mark, Luke, John, Acts)

Know this for certain... Life as a follower of Christ is hard on this planet, Jesus told us it would be. But, knowing and following Him is worth every bit of it. (John 15-16)

A Biblical Response

“You must be born again…” Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3. Salvation is fully a work of God. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." The Gospel story of Jesus Christ, His perfect life, His sacrificial death, His burial, and His resurrection, is the power of God to salvation. Only by faith in the Gospel message can humanity be saved by God's grace. The Bible tells us in the book of Romans, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…” You see, it is not by our good works that we are saved to have a relationship with God. We have all fallen short and missed God’s standard of perfection. (Romans 3:23, Romans 10:9, Romans 10:17)

Salvation is a gift from God in Christ that is to be received personally by each and every individual created in the image of God who responds in faith by trusting Christ. When we receive Christ as Lord by faith, we believe in His perfect life, death on the cross, and resurrection. God clothes us in the righteousness of Christ. We trade our sin for the perfection of Jesus. So, when God the Father looks at us, He does not see a sinful human being as we are, He sees the glory and righteousness of His Son Jesus. Our sins are hidden in Christ and we are seen by God as His children through Jesus and only through Jesus. (Romans 10:9, Ephesians, 2:8-9, 2 Cor. 5:21, 2 Cor. 5:17, John 1:12, John 14:6)

Are you being convicted of your sin by the work of the Holy Spirit?

Would you like to ask Jesus to save you?

Would you like to receive Him as Lord?

You can know that you will be with Him for eternity according to John the apostle. You simply must ask Him to save you and surrender to His Lordship by repenting of your sin and placing your faith in Him.

Repent means that you admit that you are a sinner, agreeing with God, and you turn from your sin to Jesus Christ. It is a changing of heart and mind. This by no means is an easy life, in fact they put our Savior on a cross, and killed His followers for this. But our purpose is to know Him and to make Him known. This can only happen through Jesus. When you are walking with Christ, storms may be all around, but you are at peace with God like you were created to be.

Whosoever will come

If you understand this and are being convicted of your sin by the Holy Spirit of God, I invite you to turn from your life and give your life, your whole life to Jesus. You can do this by praying. Be careful that you do not put your trust in the "doing of something" or even a prayer. Faith is simply trusting in the person and work of Jesus Christ. (Matt. 16:24, Acts 2:38)

· Admit that you are a sinner in need of a savior.

· Believe in Jesus’ perfect life, death on the cross, and His resurrection.

· Confess that He is Lord and choose to lovingly follow Him in obedience driven by love to fulfill His will for your life. (Romans 10:9)

If you have trusted Jesus, this is only the beginning of an abundant life following Christ. (Luke5:27, John 10:10)

First tell someone who Jesus is and what He has done in your life through His death, burial, and resurrection. Going and telling should be part of your spiritual DNA. This is a message of urgency! (John 4:27-42)

Second, join a good Bible teaching church so that you can serve Him and grow in your relationship with Him alongside other believers. You are not alone in salvation; you are a sibling among many. In obedience to the command of the Lord Jesus, be baptized as your public profession of faith. Baptism does not save you but announces to the world that you belong to Christ and that you are aligning yourself with His people, the church. Baptism is an ordinance of the church and should only be performed in the context of a covenant body of believers. (Matt. 4, 28:18-20, 1 Cor. 12:27)

Spend time in the disciplines we see Jesus teaching His followers in Scripture. Spend time in Scripture and prayer regularly, both privately and in the context of your church. The Holy Spirit reveals Himself through His Word. The Bible is our authority. (John 15)

Go and make disciples! Jesus did not save you to simply remain saved, but He has given you a mission to go and tell the world about Him and teach those who respond to follow Him. There is a world of people who are lost. They need to hear what Christ has done in your life. Go and make disciples! You will not be alone because Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will be present with you as you seek to obey His command. (Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus paid the price so that you could know God and make God known through Him! This is why you exist!