1. The word GOSPEL means GOOD NEWS.
When Jesus commanded:
“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Mark 16:15
He told them to preach the good news about Himself and all He did to save sinners.
2. The Bible teaches that you were born an enemy of God, and you sin against Him when you break His laws about having other gods, bowing to images, blasphemy, profaning the Sabbath, disrespecting authority, hatred, lust, theft, lying, and coveting. You break His laws by pursuing your own desires instead of His.
This is called sin.
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”
1 John 3:4.
Your sin defiles you; it offends God; it separates you from Him; it enslaves you, and brings condemnation upon you. Because God is holy and just, you deserve His anger and eternal punishment in Hell.
3. The GOSPEL is how you can be delivered from what you deserve in God’s justice.
God gave His only-begotten Son, Who was born of a Virgin, was free from sin, perfectly obeyed God’s Law, offered Himself without spot to God in the place of sinners, to receive in Himself the curse of a broken law, a curse which all of us sinners deserve by God’s justice. Jesus also freely gives His people the reward He earned by His obedience. By this gift, His people are declared righteous in God’s court:
“He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
2 Corinthians 5:21.
4. What must you do?
A. Repent of your sin
see it how God sees it, say what He says about it, and run from it
B. Turn to Jesus by faith
trusting in His life, death, and resurrection for your eternal life.
C. Call upon Jesus
to save you, and
D. Be baptized.
5. Jesus will:
cleanse you from your defilement;
reconcile you to God;
restore you to fellowship with God;
free you from the bonds of sin and death.
remove your condemnation, and
justify you before God.
This is truly Good News about a great Savior!
[Note: FULL VERSION]
The word GOSPEL means GOOD NEWS.
When Jesus commanded “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” in Mark 16:15, He told them to preach the good news about Himself and all He did to save sinners.
The Bible teaches that you were born an enemy of God (Colossians 1:21 “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled”), and you sin against Him when you break His laws about having other gods, bowing to images, blasphemy, profaning the Sabbath, disrespecting authority, hatred, lust, theft, lying, and coveting (see Exodus 20:3-17 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”).
You break His laws by pursuing your own desires instead of His.
This is called sin.
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law,” 1 John 3:4.
Your sin defiles you (Matthew 15:18-20 “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”);
it offends God (James 2:10-11 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.”);
it separates you from Him (Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”);
it enslaves you (John 8:34 “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”), and
brings condemnation upon you (John 3:19-20 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”).
Because God is holy and just, you deserve His anger and eternal punishment in hell (Matthew 5:29-30 “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”).
The GOSPEL tells you how you can be delivered from what you deserve in God’s justice.
(1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”).
God gave His only-begotten Son (John 3:16 “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.”),
Who was born of a Virgin (Matthew 1:23 “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”),
was free from sin (2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”),
perfectly obeyed God’s laws (Philippians 2:8 “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”),
offered Himself without spot to God (Hebrews 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”)
in the place of sinners (1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit”.),
to receive in Himself the curse of a broken law (Galatians 3:10-13 “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree”), a curse which all of us sinners deserve by God’s justice.
Jesus also freely gives His people the reward He earned by His obedience. By this gift, His people are declared righteous in God’s court: “he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him,” 2 Corinthians 5:21.
What must you do?
Repent of your sin–see it how God sees it, say what He says about it, and run from it.
(Acts 17:30-31 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”)
Turn to Jesus by faith, trusting in His life, death, and resurrection for your eternal life.
(John 3:15-16 “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 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.”)
Call upon Jesus to save you.
(Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”)
Be baptized.
(Acts 22:16 “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”)
Jesus will:
cleanse you from your defilement
(1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”);
reconcile you to God
(2 Corinthians 5:20 “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”);
restore you to fellowship with God
(1 John 1:3 “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”);
free you from the bonds of sin and death
(John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”);
remove your condemnation
(Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”), and
justify you before God
(Romans 4:5 “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”).
This is truly Good News about a great Savior!