The gospel is called the ‘good news’ because it addresses the most serious problem that every person faces, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and we are not. And at the end of our lives, we are going to stand before a just and holy God and be judged. We will be judged either on the basis of our own righteousness–or lack of it–or the righteousness of another. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own wellbeing but for His people. He has done for us what we couldn’t possibly do for ourselves. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.
One of the greatest misconceptions in our day is this: “that God isn’t concerned to protect His own integrity, and that He is some kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody”. Nothing can be further from the truth. For God to forgive us is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So treasured was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising Him from the dead–so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification. So, the gospel is the message of who Jesus is and what He did. How are the benefits of Jesus applied to us? How do we get the benefit of it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith–and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him and in Him alone. You do that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven of all of your sins, and you have begun your new journey as a new creation in Christ.
God & Creation
Revelation 4:11 says, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” When God created the world, He created everything very good (Genesis 1-2). The crown of His creation was man (Adam & Eve). When God created us He did so in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27), which simply means that we are moral beings with the unique privilege and purpose of reflecting God’s character here on earth; and God is holy (absolutely pure and separated from sin) and righteous (does what is good and true). There was perfect, loving fellowship between God and man.
Man & Sin
One day, however, man sinned against God by disobeying His command (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-7). The result of this sin was broken fellowship between God and man, as well as guilt, curse, and death—physical and spiritual (Genesis 3:8-24). 1 John 3:4 says, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” What is more, Adam is the representative head of all mankind; therefore, when he sinned, we all sinned in him. In other words, we are all born into sin, having sinful natures, and are therefore spiritually dead at birth (Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3). This spiritual deadness is characterized by alienation from the life of God and a hard heart toward God (Ephesians 4:18). The wickedness of mankind is great in the earth, and the thoughts of his heart are only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). Due to sin, the wrath of God in righteous judgment will come upon the world (Ephesians 5:3-5; Colossians 3:5-8). God is holy and righteous, and therefore cannot be indifferent toward sin or simply forgive us of sin without the due penalty paid. An earthly judge would not be good if he was indifferent toward criminals or let guilty criminals go free. How much more the Judge of the universe!
Christ & Salvation
There is yet hope: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). You see, God promised to provide a Savior who would take away sin and restore man to rightful fellowship with Him (Genesis 3:15, 21). There is only one way by which we may escape this judgment to come—God’s way; for there is only one name under heaven by which we may be saved. This is the name of Christ Jesus, the holy and righteous one (Acts 3:14; 4:12).
On the cross Jesus took the place of sinners, bearing the guilt and penalty of sin upon Himself, for all those who would ever believe. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” God gave proof of this by raising Jesus from the dead, giving eternal life through Him and declaring Him to be the Son of God (Acts 17:31; Romans 1:4; 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:20-22).
The only way that we, as sin-stained men and women, may stand before the holy and righteous God is through the holy and righteous Son of God, Christ Jesus. “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Just as Adam is the representative head of all mankind, so Christ is the representative head of all those who believe in Him (Romans 5:12-21). Christ’s righteousness is credited to us by faith (Romans 3:20-26). It is by Christ alone through faith alone that we are forgiven of our sins and restored to rightful, loving fellowship with God. There is forgiveness of sins at the cross of Jesus Christ! This is Amazing grace!
Repentance & Faith
God commands all people therefore to repent or turn from sin and to believe in the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ (Acts 17:30; Romans 3:23-25). Forsake the sin you have so loved and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
If you have believed in Christ, then it is important for you to join together with other believers in a local church (Hebrews 10:24-25) that is committed to teaching and obeying the Bible and is centered on the biblical gospel. Your next step is to receive baptism, as it is the ordinance (religious rite) by which one identifies themselves with the church as a disciple of Jesus, in His crucifixion and resurrection (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:1-11). Be nourished in God’s word and worship Him with fellow believers.
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Church & Discipleship
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If you have believed in Christ, then it is important for you to join together with other believers in a local church (Hebrews 10:24-25) that is committed to teaching and obeying the Bible and is centered on the biblical gospel. Your next step is to receive baptism, as it is the ordinance (religious rite) by which one identifies themselves with the church as a disciple of Jesus, in His crucifixion and resurrection (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:1-11). Be nourished in God’s word and worship Him with fellow believers.
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If you need help finding a Christ centered church, contact us at:
714 Columbus St. Bakersfield, Ca. 93305
(661) 327-0219
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