The gospel is good news

[grace2005]

The following is a gospel tract I wrote:

 

 

THE BEST NEWS IN THE WORLD!

 

You want to know what the best news in the world is? You can have eternal life through a relationship with the God of this universe. Better yet you don’t have to wait until after you die to experience unashamed fellowship with God. He wants you to have unashamed fellowship with Him right now. He loves us unconditionally and His love is manifested through His Son Jesus Christ who came down from heaven to die on the cross to provide forgiveness of sins so that raised from the dead He could offer Himself to us so that He could live His life through us! How can you know? Well the answers are found in the Bible. The Bible is God’s love letter to His creation as well as a historical book about man’s separation from God and what God did in order to restore that broken relationship between Himself and us. The bible is clear that it is God’s will to have an intimate relationship with His creation for all of eternity. God created us for His joy and fellowship. Christ said “I come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” The Bible is also a timeline. It is a history book as well as a prophetic book; that is to say it can tell you what is going to happen on earth in the future. God appointed the prophets and the disciples to write His words. God’s Holy Spirit came upon them at the time they wrote the entire Bible. The cross is the center of all prophecy.

 

I. MORE JESUS LESS RELIGION!

 

Now some of you who read this might think “oh it’s one of those religious tracts”. Nothing could be further from the truth. What I am talking about is not a religion at all but a relationship with our God & Savior Jesus Christ. You might hate religion and if you do then I have good news for you because I hate religion too. What I am trying to promote is more Jesus and less religion. In fact 100% Jesus and 0% religion. Religion is man’s efforts to reach up to God and it is usually done through trying to obey certain laws, rules, regulations & a list of do’s and donts. Religion is binding. Religion intends to control people with fear of punishment & guilt. I don’t know what your denomination or religious background is but I use to be involved in legalism and I found no peace. I often went to sleep at night and woke up wondering if God really loves me & accepts me. I never had the assurance that I did enough good deeds to merit heaven. So the question I asked myself was “if my right standing before God is determined by my behavior and deeds then how good would I have to be to merit a place in heaven and how bad would I have to be to lose that place in heaven?” I mean where do we draw the line? Do we have to be perfect? If so, how do we acheive perfect righteousness before God? Something to think about isn’t it? Could it be that our relationship with God isn’t dependent upon what we do or don’t do?

 

II. COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AFTERLIFE AND THE REQUIREMENTS FOR GOING TO HEAVEN

 

Is there a heaven? Is there a hell? Is there a purgatory or limbo? What determines where one will spend eternity? Our good deeds? Our morals? Going to church? Praying? Giving away money? Hard work? Water baptism? Walking to the altar during an altar call? Doing my best? Praying to Virgin Mary? Confessing my sins to a priest? Being faithful to my wife? Obeying the 10 Commandments? Qutting my sins? Quitting my sex sins, drinking, smoking, etc?

 

Now from a human standpoint all the ideas above seem like the right things to do if you want to go to heaven but there is one thing that God makes clear in His Word (the Bible). In (John 3:3) Jesus said “I assure you, unless you are born again you can never see the kingdom of God.” In other words Jesus is saying that unless you are born again, none of the things mentioned above have any merit with Father God. To be born again means to have a spiritual rebirth. It means that what we lost in adam is restored in Christ (spiritual life) We are all walking corpses who are in need of life. Jesus didn’t come to earth to make bad guys good guys but to give spiritual life to spiritually dead people. It doesn’t matter if the corpse is good looking or bad looking. It is still a corpse in need of life.

 

So the question is not what do I have to do to get to heaven but how do I enter into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ now which is eternal life itself. (John 17:3) “And this is eternal life- to know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” ( 1st John 1:1-2) “ The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. This one who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and anounce to you that He is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then He was shown to us.” So eternal life is Jesus Christ Himself and those who believe in Him share in His eternal life right now. Yes there is a heaven to go to after we die but getting a home in heaven is a benefit of eternal life and not eternal life in itself.

 

III. MANKIND’S CONDITION

 

In order for us to understand the good news we must first of all understand what mankind’s spiritual condition has become. You see when Adam sinned in the garden of Eden he died spiritually. (Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death.” (Genesis 2:16-17) “And the Lord God commanded the man saying, “Of every tree in the garden you may freely eat; 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.” I personally believe that the tree of knowledge of good & evil is symbolic and not a literal forbidden fruit. It is symbolic of man desiring to be his own god & determining good & evil on his own. God never meant for us to function independently from Him but He gave us the freedom to choose and choices have consequences. The warning was clear that in the day man chooses to stop depending on God alone to determine good from evil, he will die. Sin must be paid for. That payment is death. Adam and Eve’s spirits died the moment they sinned. The life of God departed from them. Consequently they died physically 930 years later (Genesis 5:3-5). Without the life of God in us our physical bodies eventually get sick, decay and die. Adam and Eve could not reproduce what they no longer posessed so we all inherited death from them. We’re all born spiritually dead (without the life of God in our spirits) and we inherited the resultant physical death as well. (Ephesians 2:1-2) “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” Man’s greatest need is not just that he needs his sins forgiven but that he needs life. Without the life of God in us we are nothing but walking corpses. We’re like cars without gasoline. The Bible teaches us that all men are sinners. (Romans 3:23) “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:10) “as the scriptures say “there is none righteous- no not one.”(Romans 5:12-14) “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have sinned- For until the law sin was in the world but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”

 

IV. THE GOOD NEWS!

 

You see friend; God loves us so much while we are still sinners. (Romans 5:8) “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (2nd Corinthians 5:19) “That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting men’s sins against them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. (Romans 3:25) The blood that was shed for the forgiveness of sins had to be perfect blood and Jesus being God in the flesh shed His blood to pay for every sin that every human being would ever commit. He is God but lived as a human being when He lived on earth only He never sinned. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” In order for Him not to inherit the sin nature from Joseph, the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary so that Jesus could be born without the sin nature. Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s standard of righteousness on our behalf. That is God’s law. One sinner cannot pay for another man’s sins. I cannot pay for your sins because I’m a sinner too. Neither can the pope or the priest. Jesus Christ who is sinless and lived a sinless life can pay for the sins of the world and that’s exactly what He did for you and me and the rest of the world. (Romans 5:17-19) “For if by one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Therefore as through one man’s offense judgement came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Every sin that we have committed or ever will commit or think about committing or think about thinking about was taken away by the blood of Jesus. (1st John 2:2) “He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” (1st Corinthians 15:3-4) “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the 3rd day according to the Scriptures.” Jesus Christ rose from the dead so that the life that raised Him from the dead can now raise you from the dead spiritually. Salvation is life. (Romans 5:10) “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” So Christ’s death on the cross took away all our sins so that raised from the dead He could give us eternal life. He could’ve given us any kind of life He wanted to and He chose to offer eternal life. He can now give us eternal life because He took away the cause of death. There’s a cause and effect for everything. The effect of sin is death. The cause of death is sin. The cure for death is life. Christ’s death on the cross took away the cause of death.

 

V. What Must I Do To Be Born Again?

 

Nothing! There isn’t an ounce of human works in it. Only Jesus can give you life. This new birth comes from above. Jesus Christ did all the work necessary to purchase our salvation. (John 1:12-13) “ But as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” All we can do is receive what Christ has to offer us by faith in Him and Him alone. Faith enters into what Christ has done on our behalf. (John 3:16-18) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in the Son is not condemned; but he who does not believe has been condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Ephesians 2:8,9) “For by grace you are saved through faith and that is not of yourselves, it is gift of God not by works so that no man can boast.”

 

So we see that believing in Christ is the sole condition for salvation. To believe in Christ is a lot different than believing facts about Him. To believe in Christ means trusting Him, relying upon Him and Him alone as your solution to your condition of sin & death. (John 14:6) “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me.” Jesus Christ is the only way. God is calling all men everywhere to repent. (Mark 1:15) “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” When it comes to salvation, repentance means a change of mind about who/what one is trusting in for eternal life. If you have been trusting in your good works, water baptism, morality, denomination, ritual, or any other work that you do, you must change your mind and transfer your trust to Christ and Him alone. You must stop all your efforts to improve yourself in order for God to accept you because nothing we do can make us worthy of His love and acceptance. (Romans 4:5) “But to Him who does not work but believes on Him, who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness”. (Romans 5:1-2) “Therefore since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” He’s not asking you to turn from your sins or promise to turn from your sins or even be willing to. He will only give you eternal life if you come to Him just as you are. (Mathew 11:28) “Come unto Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Salvation is a gift (Romans 6:23) “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord)” The gift Jesus is offering is Himself coming to take up residence inside your spirit. So if you’re coming to Christ for life you must come just as you are. Buddha cannot save you. Muhammad cannot save you. Joseph Smith cannot save you. No priest can save you except Jesus Christ. He is our high priest! It’s not the issue that the people mentioned above were good or bad. It’s the fact that they’re all dead and Jesus is the only one who rose from the dead. Therefore He is the only source of life available to us. It’s a very practical issue. It’s not narrow minded or dogmatic to say Jesus is the only way. Our good works, our reforming from sinful habits will never save us. Nobody will ever go to hell for their sins except for the sin of unbelief in the Person & finished work of Christ Jesus at the cross & resurrection. What that means is that the only sin attributable to man is his rejection of Jesus’ provision of eternal life. Jesus provided forgiveness and eternal life for the entire world but one must personally believe in Him for that life because this life is in Him (1st John 5:11) “And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have his Son does not have life.”

 

A good analogy of this is that of a doctor who found the vaccine and cure for AIDS. Let’s say that this cure is found only at UVA hospital. If a person goes to UVA hospital he will receive the cure for AIDS as well as the vaccine that comes with the package so he doesn’t have to worry about getting AIDS again. The cure for AIDS is in UVA hospital but if that person refuses to go to that hospital for whatever reason he will die of AIDS not because there wasn’t a cure but because he refused to go to where the cure was even though it’s been provided. One can go through his entire life living morally and not hurting people but the very best man can do is make the corpse look better. (Isaiah 64:6 “we are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away.”)

 

Notice the scriptures do not say our unrighteousness/sins are filthy rags but our righteousness/good works are filthy rags. Trying to work my way to heaven is like trying to wipe off my car with a greasy rag. It just doesn’t clean things up. Again Jesus paid for all our sins. The sinful nature must be changed. This is why good works will never save us. (Galatians 3:10-11) “For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith.” (Galatians 2:16) “ Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Titus 3:5) “NOT BY WORKS of righteousness which we have done, but according to HIS MERCY HE SAVED US, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Grace means that God gives us something we don’t deserve. I deserve destruction and death in the lake of fire according to God’s law but Jesus took what I deserve so I wouldn’t have to pay an eternal death penalty. So basically Christ fulfilled God’s law, which is His perfect standard. If you believe in Jesus alone for eternal life, then His righteousness is imputed to you. It is free. God looks at you as righteous because of Christ’s finished work on the cross. We cannot add or subtract from that. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) We are not forgiven because we earned it or because we are sorry, but because of the shedding of the blood of Christ on the cross at Calvary 2000 years ago. (Hebrews 9:22) “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.”

 

It is God’s will that none should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2nd Peter 3:9) The issue is have you come to Christ for the gift of Himself living inside of you? He came to give you life and not just forgive your sins. He didn’t come to set up a fire insurance policy. All your sins have been taken away. You might say “how is that possible when I’m still sinning?” Aha! Jesus didn’t take away the sins from the world. He took away the sins of the world from the eyes of the Father. That means no sin can be held against us since Jesus paid for it with His shed blood. All you need is life. Have you come to Him for life or have you come to Him just to get your sins forgiven? Do you feel empty inside? That emptiness you feel is in every one of us until we come to Jesus by faith to have that emptiness filled by Him. That emptiness is the absence of God’s life in us. Remember He died to take away your sins from the eyes of the Father so that raised from the dead He could give Himself to you to live His life through you. Only His life can save you from the wages of sin. Basically faith says:

 

“Lord Jesus I have come face-face with the truth of what the scripture says about my spiritual condition. I come to you as a spiritually dead sinner in need of Your life. I need you! I believe you died on the cross to take away all of my sins from the sight of God never to be held against me ever again. I thank you for offering me your resurrected life. If you say that you are the only source of spiritual life available then I accept you alone as my solution to my condition of death. I trust you alone as my Lord & Savior & my best friend. I am NOT promising that I’m going to be a good boy from now on. I am trusting you to do whatever is necessary to make me a new creature.”

 

Now this is just my personal model here. When I came to Christ a few years ago the above was expressing my heart’s desire to God. I’m not saying a person must say these exact words to be saved. It’s not the words that matter but the desire of your heart and only God knows your heart. If it’s your heart’s desire to take Jesus as your sole remedy for your condition of death then that is saving faith. Saving faith basically acknowledges the need for God. The instant you put your faith in Christ alone for salvation, you have eternal life. You have passed from death unto life (John 5:24). You are now a child of the living God who is redeemed by the blood of the lamb!

[ButtonPusher]

Oh my GOD!

Don't you have anything better to do than to preach over the internet?

[grace2005]

Born again believers are called to go into all the world and to preach the gospel. This forum on religious beliefs is just one of many places to share the good news. I assume people come to this forum looking for answers about the meaning of life and where we came from and where we are going. I pray that I may be of help to at least 1 lost soul out there who comes across this thread.

 

I believe there is nothing more important than entering into a faith relationship with the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Once we settle our relationship with the Lord then we can worry about sorting out our relationships with other people. I am not a pastor or deacon or street evangelist. I'm just a sinner saved by God's amazing grace & I am excited to tell others the good news about what Jesus Christ did for me and for the rest of the world. I am just an ordinary nobody who studies the bible. I do not think I am special by any means. I do not deserve eternal life at all. The good news that eternal life with Christ is a free gift. You don't work for it. Jesus did all the work & paid for it! All a person has to do is believe in Him alone for it. He is an awesome Savior and hero. He's the only one worthy to be worshipped. The only source of truth & life. He is my best friend and I will continue to brag about my God & Savior & best friend until my dying minute.

 

Obviously everyone is free and welcome to post their opinions and comments and questions as I do. I'll do my best to answer any controversial questions on salvation and heaven and hell and sin & death. I can even recommend a few sites that have helped enlighten me on some things. I am interested to get others opinions on how a person gets saved.

[ReluctantRomeo]

I am excited to tell others the good news about what Jesus Christ did for me and for the rest of the world. I am just an ordinary nobody who studies the bible.

 

I think your enthusiasm is cute

 

 

I'll do my best to answer any controversial questions

 

Well, here's a good question. Given that the scripture says be slow to speak and quick to listen and that your original post is probably longer than the sermon on the mount, what changes might you want to make to your approach to religious discussion?

 

 

I can even recommend a few sites that have helped enlighten me on some things

Sure. Give me something inspiring and fun, but not slushy or preachy.

[ThumbingMyWay]

 

The good news that eternal life with Christ is a free gift.

 

You don't work for it.

 

Jesus did all the work & paid for it!

 

All a person has to do is believe in Him alone for it.

 

 

I have faith too brotha.....but

 

its doenst mean we can use our faith as a get out of "sin" free card. WHat I mean is we as Christains must let the Holy Spirit work within us...leads us away from sin....listen to it and do whats right. We cannot purposely sin knowing all we have to do is say I believe in the end.....God knows our hearts...and he knows who is genuiene

 

Our body will sin, no doubt about that....but its the nature of your heart that will be judged. If you have Him in you, then yes you will be saved.

[slubberdegullion]

Grace:

 

OK, here's a question then.

 

There are two versions of the creation story.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind... And the evening and the morning were the third day ... Let the waters teem with life and let birds fly above the earth ... it was the fifth day ... And God said, Let us make man in our image ... And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

and

There was neither plant nor shrub growing on the earth, for YAHWEH God had not sent any rain, and there was not a man to till the ground. . . And YAHWEH God formed man of the dust of the ground . . . And YAHWEH God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

So, in the first version, the animals and trees etc. were created before humanity. In the second version, Adam was created, and then the animals and all the rest were created.

 

They can't both be right.

 

Which one is correct?

[Becoming]

The Bible contains different traditions regarding events, such as the creation, which was intended as a theological affirmation that God created the world, not as a scientific explanation of what actually transpired. You'll also find two versions of the history of Israel (I & II Kings and I & II Chronicles versions) and different versions of Christ's life. Paul even recounts two different versions of his conversion. The Bible's not a book of facts but of truths about who God is in relation to humanity.

[ReluctantRomeo]

I think Grace took my "be slow to speak" post rather too much to heart... he's in deeeeeeep meditation on possible replies

[Becoming]

I thought your reply was right on targetl, RR! The gospel is about incarnation and relationship, not just information. And in relationships, things are messier than doctrinal treatises would lead us to believe.

 

But good for you for wanting to spread the good news, Grace, because it really is good news. It just may be a little different for each of us because God loves us enough to come to us as we need it (which is not just in amazing grace, but sometimes by way of a kick in the pants!)

[ReluctantRomeo]

And in relationships, things are messier than doctrinal treatises would lead us to believe.

 

No kidding! But they're more fun that way

[slubberdegullion]

The Bible contains different traditions regarding events, such as the creation, which was intended as a theological affirmation that God created the world, not as a scientific explanation of what actually transpired. You'll also find two versions of the history of Israel (I & II Kings and I & II Chronicles versions) and different versions of Christ's life. Paul even recounts two different versions of his conversion. The Bible's not a book of facts but of truths about who God is in relation to humanity.

So if that's the case, then the Bible is not the Word of God as some believe? If the Bible is dependent on personal interpretation, does that not make the information contained somewhat less than truthful?

[Becoming]

Doesn't that depend on how you define truth? If you define truth as factual information, no, it's not. If you define truth as divine presence manifest in the world to which the Bible bears witness, then the Bible's testimony can be truth in that God is presenced through the words written.

[suegail]

Thank you for sharing that, Grace. It was wonderful to read at the end of a long tiring day. I admire you for sharing your faith and testimony.

[lindya]

Doesn't that depend on how you define truth? If you define truth as factual information, no, it's not. If you define truth as divine presence manifest in the world to which the Bible bears witness, then the Bible's testimony can be truth in that God is presenced through the words written.

 

I like that - and although I agree with RR that the original post was a bit lengthy, I appreciate the motivation behind it. I'm drawn to the concept of sprituality that involves creativity and freedom in interpreting the bible - as opposed to organised religion that simply requires us to absorb and regurgitate other people's rigid interpretation.

 

Doing a good thing because the heart requires it surely brings you closer to God than doing it because you're following someone else's orders.

[slubberdegullion]

Doing a good thing because the heart requires it surely brings you closer to God than doing it because you're following someone else's orders.

Few wiser words have ever been said.

[Becoming]

I'm drawn to the concept of sprituality that involves creativity and freedom in interpreting the bible - as opposed to organised religion that simply requires us to absorb and regurgitate other people's rigid interpretation.

 

Me too, but don't rule out all organized religion. I'm a Protestant in a liberal church that could hold to exactly what you say. But religion is a little different in US than UK.

 

Blessings!