STEP TWO – What is the gospel?
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The word “gospel” literally means “the good news” and the gospel we preach is called “the gospel of your salvation” (Ephesians 1:13), because it is the gospel that saves us (1 Corinthians 15:2) and it “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16).
It is clear from the scriptures that salvation only comes through believing the gospel. We are saved on God’s terms and by His grace (Ephesians 2:8). Salvation is a work of God and His Son and we either believe it or reject it.
The gospel is also called the _________________________ (Mark 1:1; Romans 1:16; Galatians 1:7; Philippians 1:27). He is the Saviour and salvation is His work, not ours.
What is the good news?
The good news is “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4).
(Read Romans 1:1-4)
_______________________ is the central person of the gospel message (v3) and He was declared to be
_________________________ by ____________________from the dead (v4).
(Read 1 Corinthians 2:2)
“For I decided to know nothing among you _______________________________________.”
(Read Acts 16:31)
“Believe in ____________________________, and you will be saved”.
The gospel message is concerning Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done. He is fully God and perfect, sinless man in one Person. Jesus Christ became a man through the virgin birth without ceasing to be God. Only God could be Saviour (Isaiah 43:11; 45:21) and the Messiah had to be God (Isaiah 9:6; 45:15; Titus 1:3,4, etc.).
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus conquered sin and death (sin’s penalty) and the good news is that He offers to share that victory with us. Jesus said in John 14:19, “Because
__________________, you also ___________________.”
What is the bad news?
For us to fully understand the good news, we must first understand the bad news and why it is necessary for man to need saving?
We are all sinners: Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
The Greek word for “sin” is “hamartia” and literally means, “to miss the mark”. The mark is God’s perfect standard.
The penalty for sin is death: Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
A wage is something you earn. We all sinned and deserve to die and live separated from God forever.
What must I do to be saved?
In Acts 16:30-31 we read Paul and Silas’ answer to this question of the jailer who were greatly concerned about his salvation. They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”
It is important to understand that salvation is an act of God’s grace and encompasses what He has done for us and not what we can do for Him. God took the initiative by reaching out to man through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Believing therefore is not doing something to be saved, but rather accepting the grace gift of salvation that God offers to us through the redemptive work of His Son. Believing is to put one’s faith/trust in Jesus’ and His accomplished work on the cross.
Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
Faith also includes repentance and they are two sides of the same coin. “Faith and repentance are indissolubly linked together” (Ironside).
Acts 20:21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The person who has truly repented has truly believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. The person who has truly believed on the Lord Jesus Christ has truly repented. The Greek word for “repentance” is “metanoia” and means “change of mind”. The person who believes’ whole being is affected by his new outlook. It involves a different attitude about God, sin and self. The sinner must see himself as God sees him.
What questions do you have? Please write them down:
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