Gospel In A Nutshell

For I am not ashamed of this Good News (Gospel) about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life." Romans 1:16-17 (NLT), see also Habakkuk 2:4.

God loves ALL people, regardless of race, identity, sin, gender, or age (Acts 10:9-16). His love is endless and very wide (Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 3:14-21). No human can comprehend the never-ending depth of God’s love for all people of every tribe, nation, and tongue. God wants a close and daily relationship with everyone, from the least to the greatest, as Friend and Lord.

Yet, God also calls everyone to repentance from sin and to faith in Jesus Christ. The Gospel message declares we are saved by grace (unearned, undeserved favor from God) through faith (complete and genuine trust) in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross. Saving faith is simply trusting and believing in Jesus Christ, and sincerely reaching out to Him to accept His wonderful gift of salvation. As we turn and continually seek God found in Jesus Christ, God’s Holy Spirit cleans us from the inside with a renewed heart and soul. Plainly, God does the cleaning of our lives as we continually seek Him by faith. Our persistent faith in God found in Jesus Christ gives us strength, courage, and victory over every life challenges and struggles. Jesus Christ sends us the Holy Spirit as our Friend, Helper, Counselor, Guide, and Instructor (John 14:15-29).

The God who saved Israel from the Egyptian soldiers (Exodus 15:2), Jonah from the fish’s belly (Jonah 2:9), and the psalmist from death (Psalm 116:6), saves ALL people who believe in Jesus Christ and faithfully follow His message of love from sin and sin’s consequences. God relents from sending His judgment as we turn from our sins (Jeremiah 18). Through Jesus Christ, we are now free from the power of sin (Romans 6:1-23) and free to live like Jesus Christ in God’s everlasting love (Romans 8:38-39).

Only God found living in Jesus Christ saves humankind from sin and sin’s destruction: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8 NASB); “Salvation comes from the LORD” (Jonah 2:9 NASB); through Jesus Christ we can stand before God justified, “not guilty” (Romans 3:21-5:21).

In a nutshell, the Good News or the Gospel message is that Jesus Christ

1. Died on the Cross at Calvary on a Friday over 2000 years ago;
2. Through His death humankind can receive righteousness and salvation;
3. He was buried in an empty tomb;
4. Came back to life (resurrected) on a Sunday morning by the Holy Spirit;
5. By confession with our mouth and faith in our hearts that Jesus Christ is the risen Lord and Savior of the world, humankind can be reconciled and given peace with God;
6. Sin and sin’s consequences from the past, present, and future are forgiven; and
7. Finally, the Holy Spirit cleanses a person’s heart and gives that person a new start and new life.

God through Jesus Christ has instructed all believers to take the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to all people. The Gospel of the Kingdom is the power of God to give salvation from sin, heart peace and the hope of eternal life through the Person and life of Jesus Christ.

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever 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. John 3:16-17 (NKJV).

GOD LOVES YOU AND HE CARES ABOUT ALL YOUR NEEDS. God loved you so much that He became a Man through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God’s only Son. God gave His only Son Jesus Christ to die for the sins of the entire world on the Cross at Calvary on a Friday afternoon more than 2000 years ago. Then three days later on Sunday morning, God raised Jesus Christ from the dead to offer salvation to all people.

Salvation is God’s gift to all people. No one can earn salvation by work or effort, but only through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10). By having faith and belief in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross for your sins, you are made right with God the Father and declared holy and righteous (Romans 3:21-31). Most importantly, you will now have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. You can approach God about all your concerns and needs through prayer.

Now, this belief in Jesus Christ is more than an intellectual agreement that Jesus is God. This belief means placing your complete trust, hope, and confidence in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection as payment for your sins and acceptance of Him as Lord over your complete life. While our good works and efforts do not save us, God saves us so we can do good works of love for others.

After rising from the dead, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and His physical presence left the earth (Acts 1:1-11). Nevertheless, Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit so that His Spiritual Presence would still be among all humanity who had faith in His life, death, and resurrection.

Our next step is faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Bible tells us that everyone has fallen short and sinned against God, even with our so-called good and nice deeds (Romans 3:23). The wages of sin against God are death, darkness, and despair (Romans 6:23). Yet the GOOD NEWS is that God has sent His special gift, His Son Jesus Christ, to suffer for our sins. You can receive this gift from God simply by calling on the name of Jesus Christ, to accept Jesus with all your heart as your Lord and Savior, ask Him to cleanse you from all your sins, and then you are SAVED! (Romans 10:13). With that simple prayer, you have become a new creature in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Find a good Holy Bible to read daily. The Holy Bible is God’s love letter to you. Then, find a good Bible-believing church to serve and worship God. Church is a good way to find other believers in Jesus Christ to help you daily in your love walk.