Saturday, June 26, 2010

THE GOSPEL


I've heard people say, "Why are there so many religions in the world if there is only one right one? If God would just come down from heaven and reveal Himself...If He would tell us exactly what to do or what to believe to be forgiven and live forever then I'll believe." Perhaps you have heard that or thought something like that yourself.

Well, guess what...
God did just that 2000 years ago in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus came from heaven to earth, claimed to be God, lived a perfect life, performed miracles and taught people all about God. In His early 30's He willingly allowed mankind to kill Him, nailing Him onto a wooden cross, and through that death He gave His life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. 3 days later He arose from the dead as He predicted He would and revealed Himself openly to over 500 people at one time. He told His followers to go out into all the world and tell people about Him, His death and resurrection.

The story about Jesus' life, death and resurrection IS the "Gospel." And through believing in the Gospel we can experience God personally, receive forgiveness for our sins, and have eternal life as a free gift. The Gospel is really very simple:
Christ died for our sins and rose from the grave. Trust in Him and you will be saved.

After believing in the Gospel, Jesus Christ then enters into our physical bodies through the Holy Spirit and He begins to change our desires radically. This is called being "born again" or having a spiritual rebirth. Jesus works on us from the inside out while your typical religion tries to change people from the outside in.

Jesus came to bring us into a relationship with God that is so much more than a "religion." Through this new relationship we begin a new life full of real peace and joy and we follow after God. Jesus is no longer some historical person or some spiritual leader to us, He becomes our Lord and Master. He becomes our God. With Jesus as our Lord we begin to turn away from the sinful attitudes and lifestyles we once lived. He accepts us as we are, but He does not leave us the same. And for those who have been born again the Bible transforms from a boring and confusing old history book into a powerful and supernatural spiritual manual. The Bible comes alive as God's Word. Not only do we find within the pages of Scripture wisdom and food for our souls, but we engage God and experience Him in a very personal and fulfilling way.

From the moment we are born again we start to grow up gradually through many mistakes into mature followers of Jesus Christ who love God, love all people and desire to complete the purposes and plans of God for our lives in this world. When it comes time to die we gracefully leave this world and enter into the presence of God forever. For a genuine follower of Christ the fear of death is removed and replaced with a sure peace.

The consequence of rejecting the Gospel story and choosing to live your life without God means you will probably have some great experiences and pleasures in this world along with the trials and problems we all face. But when it comes time to die, having rejected God, you will face Him and He will mostly likely tell you, "You didn't want Me in your life and so now I'm not going to force you to spend eternity with Me. You can go to hell with everyone else that wanted to have nothing to do with Me." Isn't it interesting how so many people want to go to heaven when they die, but they want God to leave them alone until they get there. It really makes no sense to want God in the next life but not in this one. Hell is for those who don't want God bothering them.

I know that's pretty heavy, but did you know that the word "Gospel" actually means "good news?"
It's good news because the alternative is absolutely terrible, horrifying; its hell forever! Listen, Jesus was very serious when He spoke about Hell. The same God who promises eternal life to those who trust in Him also promises eternal condemnation to those who deny Him. And the Bible teaches that it is impossible for God to lie. God is full of love for everyone but His forgiveness is not automatic. Don't assume you're right with God. Every drop of God's forgiveness is found and experienced in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Do you know Him personally or do you know "about" Him? Is He your Lord and Master or just a religious icon in you mind you pray to when things are tough? These are questions you've got to answer before you die because afterwards you fate is sealed. Turn your fear into faith. Trust in Him. Jesus died and rose again for you to live forever with God. He went to extremes to save you from hell. Don't waste His death. Even today, 2000 years later, He's alive to reveal Himself to you personally. Give Him your life and watch Him do amazing things in you and ultimately enjoy Him forever. He is our Invisible King!

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