The Gospel

The gospel is the good news of God and it is the power of God for the salvation for to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and we cannot stand before a Holy God on the Day of Judgment for we will surely be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelations 22:8). We are wretched men and even our righteous deeds are nothing but filthy rags in the presence of God (Isaiah 64:6), we are undeserving of God’s love and fully deserving for His wrath to be poured out on us. For we are sinful man unable to save ourselves and surely we will go to hell. But the gospel and the good news is this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). He not only gave mercy by not giving us what we deserve, but he showed grace by giving us what we do not deserve at all!

God so loved us that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16), His love was manifested upon that cross where Jesus hung. That this is love, not that we loved God but that He fist loved us and sent his Son as a propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10). God crushed His Son for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:10) and Christ was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquity (Isaiah 53:5). Surely we were deserving of death, surely that place upon that cross was meant for a sinner like me but Jesus took my place. My sin was put on His shoulders and He paid the price for me. His body was torn (Hebrews 10:20) that I may now enter boldly into God’s presence and indeed this is the gospel, that Christ died for me and He saved my life! It is not only the death of Jesus, but it is His resurrection also that has saved us. By His resurrection He has overcame death and sin no longer has a grip on us as children of God.

The gospel is the message of God’s Holiness that He cannot tolerate sin, it is the message of God’s justice that Jesus had to bear the brunt of and it is the message of love, that He saved a vile sinner like me. This is the gospel.

For a sinner to be saved, he must believe in His heart and confess with His mouth that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9). But it does not stop there, salvation requires repentance. Not all who call upon the name of the Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21-23). It is not only the declaration that Jesus is Lord; it is the change in heart and change in life that will lead us to heaven. Do oyu really believe that a mumbled prayer is enough to get you to heaven?

If i were to ask you how do you know you are saved, would you say “oh i wrote down the time and date which said the sinner’s prayer, oh look here it is! well i guess i am saved” you say that and the next moment we return to the ways of the world, enjoying things the world enjoys, laughing at the things the world laughs at, watching things that the world watches, talking like the world, behaving like the world, than what difference is there between a Christian and a non Christian?!

My friends, a simple prayer alone is not enough to get us to heaven at all! Only those who does the will of the Father will enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 7:21). It is only through genuine repentance and life change that we will be able to be saved. Salvation is by faith alone, but it is not by a faith that stands alone. If we truly believe in our heart that Christ is Lord, then naturally life change and repentance will come as God has called us to be Holy as He is Holy (Leviticus 20:26).

Are you truly saved?

Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven(Matthew 7:21)…