The Gospel
Dear Friend,
- God loves you, and there are five things God wants you to know about Him, andI feels impressed by Him to tell you what they are. Jesus was born. Babies are born every day, but Jesus is different because although Mary is His earthly mother, God is His heavenly Father. That makes Him different than any other person that has ever walked the earth. Think of it this way, the egg inside of Mary was human, the sperm divine. Theologians call this Immaculate Conception, but to most of us, it is the Christmas story. God became a man in the form of Jesus Christ, Emanuel, God with us. God came to earth and joined humanity, like each of us, as a meek helpless baby. Jesus is not merely the son of God, but God the Son, the second person of the Trinity.
Jesus grew up, he became a man yet without sin. Although the Bible says little about his first thirty years, the baby we celebrate at Christmas did not remain a child, at thirty years of age, He withdrew from humanity and fasted forty days to come back in the power of the Holy Spirit to show the world what a person, walking with the Creator can be. He healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the multitudes, walked on water, stopped storms, and cast evil spirits out of people. He did all of this, without sin. Not one time did He ever break the laws of God or man, that qualified Him as the sinless, spotless, holy, Lamb of God, accepted by God, as the only fit sacrifice, for the sins of humanity. He is still the same and doing the same things today. Yet the day came on earth when He was betrayed, and sentenced by a kangaroo court to death. Religious people had Him murdered.
- He died on the cross. Not a pretty death. Deserted by his closest friends. Beaten beyond human recognition. His face pulverized. Weakened so much by blood loss that this formerly strong man could not carry His own cross. The sky turned black as night, the earth split open and dead people came out of the graves to testify. He spoke three words that still echo throughout eternity, “It is finished” The veil in the temple, was torn from top to bottom, signifying that the separation between God and humanity was now ended. God could again visit with the people He created even as He walked with Adam in the garden of Eden. Jesus bore the sin of the whole world upon Himself on the cross, an infinite sacrifice, for an infinite debt. Atonement!
- He rose from the dead. You know, the Easter story. HIStory. Not the tooth fairy, Lord of the Rings, or the Easter bunny. Though they laid the body of Jesus in a tomb for three days, His spirit was not there. He went through paradise, He went to hell, yet on the third day, His spirit rejoined His body, and He rose. The stone was rolled away, and He ascended into heaven. For the next fifty days He appeared to over five hundred eyewitnesses, and then while five hundred watched, two angels appeared, and He ascended bodily back into heaven. Many educated moral instructors have lived: Buddha, Mohammed, Gandhi, Plato, and others, yet each of these died, and their body remains in their tomb today. Jesus rose from the dead.
He reigns. He is Lord of heaven and earth. God is the spirit, seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. There is only one true God, maker of heaven and earth, yet He has revealed Himself throughout His Word in three separate and distinct persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Son of God, birthed of His Spirit. When He ascended back into heaven, God sat Him at His right hand where He reigns the universe.
In short:
He came, He lived, He died, He rose and He reigns.
Now the problem of Creation must be addressed. You and I. Each and every one of us have been created in the image of God. We are also spirits, we have a soul, and we live in a body. Jesus did not come to make bad people good, or good people better, He came to make dead people ALIVE! Except a man be born-again, he cannot even see the kingdom of God. God loves you personally and wants you to know Him on His terms. Religion has always been man’s set of rules and regulations attempting to reach God, Jesus is God’s attempt to reach man. He died for you, not because He had to, but because He loves you. Yet, He did not create robots, each of us has a free will. The question He would have me ask you is this: Do you want Him to be your king? Do you want to go to heaven when you die, to be with Him? If you do, the Bible makes this promise to each of us,
‘If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Rom 10:9,10’
Here’s what each of us need to do to come to God on His terms.
1. We must acknowledge Jesus as our personal Lord. That is, in light of this great love He has demonstrated towards us, we must make a decision as to whether of not we will choose to allow Him to rule over us.
2. We must believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.
3. We must confess, out loud to Him that we want Him.
Here’s a simple prayer.
‘God, I want to know you. I want you to be in charge of my life. I accept you Lord Jesus as my Lord. Forgive me Lord for all the things I have done against you. I believe, Father that you raised Jesus from the dead, and I ask you to come into my life and make me the best person I can possibly be. Amen.’
Now, that prayer will get you right with God, today. But what about tomorrow? Each day we need to grow spiritually, in our relationship with Him. That will involve talking to Him about your day, and involving Him in your day-to-day decisions. How do you do that? Well, begin to read your Bible, every day, first thing. Seek Him first thing, and He will add everything else you need to your life. When you see something in the Bible that is new to you, do what it says.
That’s where we come in. Eventually, you are going to need a good church. A place of love, friendship, and fellowship, where we can worship God and work together to make this world a better place. Any Bible-believing church would love to meet you and to hear about your new decision to serve God. There are many fine churches all over the world. Shop for one that believes the Bible to be the Word of God, and where you have peace.
If you would like more information about the church I attend, please contact Victory Christian Center at victory.com.
