Our Response to the Gospel Message

Most of us consider ourselves to be good people, and by cultural standards we are good.  But by God’s standards, NO ONE can measure up to the perfection of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus was a sinless man, sent by God to save a world full of evil.

We respond to the Gospel Message with humility.

Admissions each person needs to make before they die in response to the Gospel Message:

1/ I AM A SINNER.   (Romans 3:23)  What happened in the Garden of Eden separated us from God.  When Adam and Eve sinned, they forever destroyed God’s perfect plan and changed that perfect plan for everyone who would ever be born on earth.  Their sin was passed down through the generations.  It is called “original sin” and we are all born with it.  This is confirmed by our rebellious nature.

2/ I DON’T DESERVE GOD’S REWARDS.  Romans 6:23 says that death is the wage for sin.  The consequence of breaking God’s law here on earth is spending eternity apart from God.

3/ I KNOW GOD WILL GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE.  The good news of the gospel is that we can join Him in Heaven after our physical bodies pass away. God demonstrated His love for us by sending His son, Jesus, to die on the cross in our place.  In an inexplicable way, Jesus took the punishment for us and paid the penalty for our sins (Romans 5:8).

4/ IN ORDER TO MAKE IT INTO HEAVEN, I MUST RECEIVE GOD’S GIFT OF FORGIVENESS (John 1:12).  We do this by praying a simple prayer: 

“God, I know that I am a sinner and I deserve to be punished. I am sorry for my sins.  Please forgive me for all that I have done that is wrong.  I have faith that Jesus is my Savior, and I accept your free gift of salvation.  Please come into my life and teach me to become the person you created me to be.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

Questions to Consider

Do you believe in God?

Do you believe God’s Son, Jesus Christ, is the Savior of the World?

Do you believe you need to turn from your sin in order to receive God’s forgiveness and have eternal life in Heaven when you die?

Do you believe taking action (turning to God) will provide some relief about the fear of death and where you will be spending eternity?

Next Steps

When we go to God and ask for forgiveness we can then go forward as a new person, turning from our sin and living a life as close to the example of Jesus as possible. The result will be a life of humility, compassion, and kindness; one that is filled with faith and boundless and abiding joy in the knowledge that we have been forgiven.  We are comforted that we will spend eternity in Heaven with God and with our loved ones who have passed away before us.

God wants us to commit to Him as Christians in 3 ways:

· Grow in and strengthen our faith, by attending a bible-teaching church to study the Bible and support/help fellow Christians.

· Continually pray to Him in humility for the needs of ourselves and others.

· Continually share our faith with others, so that they may have the same chance to be saved.

These are the commitments we make as Christians to our Lord and Savior.

WHEN WE FOLLOW JESUS

WE ARE SAVED BY GOD’S GRACE ALONE, THROUGH FAITH ALONE

GOOD WORKS DON’T SAVE US

BUT GOOD WORKS ARE EVIDENCE OF OUR FAITH

ONCE WE ARE SAVED