Friend, have you heard God's Plan of Salvation?
The word Gospel means "good news." It is
the good news "that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3,4).
Before you can understand and appreciate the good news, you need to understand
the bad news. Why did Jesus Christ die on the cross? Scripture says, "For our
sins." This is the reason you need to hear and believe the Gospel.
God says: "Be ye holy; for I am holy" (I Peter 1:16).
His standard of holiness is His written moral Law [the Ten Commandments]. "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good" (Romans 7:16).
Violating just one of God’s commandments
makes a person a lawbreaker: "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all"
(James 2:10). Yes, it just takes one sin to make everyone a sinner, yet we are all guilty of committing many sins. The Bible
declares: "There is none righteous, no, not one"
(Rom. 3:10);"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory [holy standard] of God" (Rom. 3:23).
The Bible says: "the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man
looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart"
(I Sam. 16:7). He sees you as a sinner by nature, "The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked: who can know it?"(Jer. 17:9) and a sinner by choice, "And
this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds
were evil" (John 3:19).
Not convinced? See if you are guilty of breaking
the Ten Commandments...
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Have you always put God first in your life? Have you ever valued anything more than God; possibly
your family, a job, money, pleasures or possessions? Guilty or Innocent
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. Who is God to you? Is he a god of love and mercy who would never judge anyone and cast anyone
into Hell? If that is "your" god, your god couldn't cast anyone into Hell because he doesn't exist. You've created a god in
your own mind you're more comfortable with, which is idolatry. It's the oldest sin in the Bible. Idolaters will not inherit
the kingdom of heaven. Guilty or Innocent
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD
thy God in vain. Have you ever used God's name as a curse word? If so,
you've taken the holy name of God -who gave you your life, your family, and everything precious to you -and used it as a filthy,
four-letter word. You’re a blasphemer and "God will not hold him guiltless who takes the name
of the Lord in vain." Guilty or Innocent
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Have you always set aside 1 day out of 7 to honor God? Has that day been set aside for no
other purpose then to worship God, thanking Him for His blessings? Guilty or Innocent
5. Honor thy father and thy mother. Have you always respected your parents? Ask God to remind you of the sins of your youth. You
may have forgotten them, but God hasn't. Guilty or Innocent
6. Thou shalt not kill. Jesus warned "Whoever is angry with his brother without cause, is in danger of judgment,"
(Matthew 5:22) and the Bible says, "He who hates his brother is a murderer," (1 John 3:15).
God sees hatred in the heart as wicked as murder. Guilty or Innocent
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Jesus warned, "You have heard, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
But I say to you whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Have
you ever looked at another person with lust? The Bible says adulterers and fornicators (those who had sex before marriage)
will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Guilty or Innocent
8. Thou
shalt not steal. Have you ever stolen anything; even something small?
Value doesn’t matter; petty theft is theft. If so, that makes you a thief. Guilty or Innocent
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against
thy neighbor. Have you ever told a lie? Then you are a liar. How many
lies make you a liar? Just one. The Bible warns all liars will have their part in the Lake of Fire
(Rev. 21:8). Guilty or Innocent
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house… Have you ever desired anything belonging to another person. Their house, car, money, wife,
lifestyle, or anything belonging to anyone else? “Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of
God.” 1 Cor. 6:10 Guilty
or Innocent
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags" (Isa. 64:6). “So then every one of us shall
give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12) On
Judgment Day, every sin you have ever committed will come out as evidence of your guilt.
Sin has consequences in this life and the next.
“The wages of sin is death. (Romans 3:23). The entrance of sin into God’s perfect creation brought immediate spiritual death,
"Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God" (Genesis 3:8); and the
sentence of physical death, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto
the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:18). Sin
also condemned man to an eternal death - separation from God for eternity, forever.
The Bible says: "it is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27). This judgment is not to see if your "good" outweighs your "bad”; there can be no
sin in Heaven, not one! "And there shall in no wise enter into it [the Heavenly city] any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are
written in the Lamb’s book of life" (Rev. 21:27). Judgment Day offers only eternal condemnation: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which
is the book of life: And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Rev.
20:12, 15).
That is the bad news. The bible says you are a sinner and facing a Christless eternity
in Hell without any hope, forever! If
you believe your sin deserves God’s judgement and punishment in Hell, you will understand
the good news!
The Good News is…CHRIST ROSE AGAIN
Christ died for your sins. He cannot and will not excuse even one of your
sins, yet He desires to save you from Hell and bring you into a relationship with Himself.
The Son of God died for no sin of His own. He is "holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26); He "did no sin" (I Peter 2:22).
As Jesus hung upon the cross almost 2,000 years ago, God the Father literally "made him to be sin
for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus took your place paying your sin debt- IN FULL! “But God commandeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans
5:8) God sent His sinless Son, to suffer and
die in your place to take the punishment of your sin. "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" (I Pet. 3:18); "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree" (I Pet. 2:24).
The payment God demanded for your sin was the blood of His own Son. "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb.
9:22); His precious blood can cover and cleanse all your sins: "In whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Eph. 1:7); "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?" (Heb. 9:14).
The Bible declares Christ "was delivered for our offences,
and was raised again for our justification" (Rom. 4:25) If Christ remained in the tomb, He’d be just a dead founder
of another dead religion. Because of His resurrection, we can stand justified
before our Creator. "Just-if-I’d never sinned!" "Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1a); "Much
more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through
him. (Rom. 5:9,10); "That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life" (Tit 3:7).
You have broken God’s Law, Jesus paid your fine. Can you see the Gospel is "good news?"
WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
It is not enough to know these facts. Jesus said: "…the
kingdom of God
is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15b). Salvation
is freely offered to every sinner, but it is a gift that must be received: "The gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:23b). To be saved, you must receive Jesus Christ as your
Saviour: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name" (John 1:12).
Believing the Gospel requires repentance AND faith on your part. Repentance means a change of mind leading to a change of action. "Except ye repent,
ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). You must desire to turn away from your life of sin and turn to follow Jesus
Christ. Faith means believing. Taking God at His Word, and acting upon it. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth" (Rom. 1:16).
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved. (Romans 10:9). "For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).
Dear reader, if you have taken the time to read this, then you have heard the Gospel.
The question is, What will you do about it? WILL YOU BELIEVE OR WILL YOU REJECT IT?
Will you now, humbly, come to Christ on His terms, receive Him as Savior so that God will forgive your sins and dismiss your
case? Today, repent and believe on Jesus Christ to save you.
RESOURCES FOR CHRISTIAN GROWTH
Defined King James Bible for Purchase
The Bible For Today, 900 Park Ave, Collingswood, NJ 08108 U.S.A. Fax: 856-854-2464
www.biblefortoday.org/search.asp Cat: Bible
Bible Studies:
Growth & Maturity ABC Series
Bible Baptist
Church Publications, 1701 Harns Rd,
Oak
Harbor, Washington 98277,
(360) 675-8311
www.baptistpublications.org
Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061 Toll Free: 866-295-4143
www.wayoflife.org/fbns/books/advanced-biblestudies.html
CHURCH DIRECTORY: http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/churchdir/!churches.htm
Read the Bible * Live for Christ * Join a Bible Believing Church * Be Baptized * Pray * Look
for Christ's Return * Share Jesus Christ with others! Use this track if you like.
