Gospel Guide
Introduction to the Gospel
There is an infinite, personal God who created you. He is infinite in that He created everything and has always existed. God created mankind and gives our life meaning and purpose. We are morally accountable to Him as the Ruler of Heaven and Earth. God is Holy and Just meaning He cannot sin and that He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. God is personal in that He loves us and wants to have a relationship with us.
However, we have sinned against God and have severed that relationship with Him. We are guilty and deserving of eternal separation from God in a place called Hell. But God loves us and provided us with a way to restore our relationship with Him.
In a relationship with God, we find the best of life! God can take our lives and transform it—giving us abundant life and ultimately eternal life. In God's son, Jesus Christ, we find the only means of forgiveness of our sins and eternal life with God in Heaven.
What is the Gospel?
The Gospel means good news. It is the good news that although we are guilty of sinning against God and deserve death, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die in our place and take the punishment for our sins. We must trust in the death of Christ alone and not our own goodness for the forgiveness of our sins and to get to Heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 tells us "Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures"
If you were to stand before God in judgment today and He asked you 'Why should I let you into my Kingdom?' What would you say?
Think about that question and ask yourself the following:
How good is God?
1—God is holy and He created us to be holy
1 Peter 1:16 says: "because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”"
How good are we?
2—We are not holy and have rebelled against God
Romans 3:10 says: "As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one."
Does God care about how good we are?
3—God judges rebellion
Hebrews 9:27 tells us: "Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment,"
Knowing that God's standard for being good is holiness (or sinless/moral perfection), do we meet God's standard for being a good person?
4—We are guilty
Romans 3:23 tells us: "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;"
If God was to judge us right now based on His standard of being a good person, would we go to Heaven or Hell?
5—We deserve eternal death (Hell)
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."
God cannot overlook our sin because He is perfectly just. Our guilt has incurred the ultimate debt to God—our lives. God in His love allows for our debt to be paid by another.
Who is the only person who is God, who has not sinned, who became a man, and willingly took the punishment for our sin?
6—Jesus Christ died in our place
Romans 5:8 tells us how Jesus Christ purchased the free gift of eternal life for us: "But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
If someone offers you a gift, is it possible to receive or reject it? If you want the gift what must you do?
7—We must receive the gift of eternal life (Heaven)
Romans 10:9 tells us how to receive the free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus: "That if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Are you trusting in Jesus alone to get to Heaven?
8—We must trust in the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross alone for salvation because it is impossible to go Heaven by being a good person because God's standard for good is that we have never sinned once in our lives.
Will you today trust in Jesus alone and not your own goodness for your eternal salvation?
If the answer is “Yes”, respond to God in prayer. The following is a suggested prayer:
“Dear God, I am a sinner, and I ask your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son and that he died for my sins and You raised Him again. I turn away from my sins and place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I trust in Jesus Christ alone and His sacrifice for me on the Cross for my eternal salvation. I thank you for the free gift of eternal life bought by Jesus Christ! In Jesus Name. Amen.”
On a scale of 0-100%: How sure are you now that when you die you will go to Heaven?
John 5:24 says "Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."
1 John 5:13 also tells us "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
What are the next steps?
Tell another Christian! Do the following as your next steps:
1. Attend a Bible believing church
2. Get baptized
3. Start reading the Bible and praying daily.
4. Apply God's Word to every aspect of your life and grow everyday to be more like Jesus.
5. Find another Christian to disciple you