The Gospel (Good News)

How and what are we made for?

 

In the beginning, God created humanity from one man, Adam. He was given a companion, Eve. They were created by God and were given purity and moral perfection. They enjoyed themselves having a close friendship with God. 

 

What went wrong?

 

God placed them in a beautiful garden and gave them authority over everything. He only commanded them not to eat a particular fruit. The Serpent who is a deceiver had already disobeyed God, deceitfully persuaded Adam and Eve to disobey God. After their conversation with the Serpent, Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation of experiencing something beyond, by eating the forbidden fruit. 

 

What’s the consequence?

 

God drove them out of the garden and they lost their purity and moral perfection. God is holy and just, punishing every act of evil. As a result, the whole of humanity became sinful and was made subject to His eternal punishment. In fact, Man’s righteous deeds are like filthy rags before God. Due to this fallen nature of man, he sins and his wickedness can be manifested in multiple ways. None is able to save himself from this punishment. None could pay a ransom nor could they atone for their sins by all means. The whole of Humanity is left helpless. 

 

Who can save us from the punishment of God?

 

God, out of His love for us, sent Jesus, His Son to save us all from our sins. 

 

Though we don’t deserve nor are we worthy of it, God freely offered us this gift of salvation. It is His gracious gift for all of us that we may be saved by His mercy.

 

Jesus, who is God, came as a baby born to Mary, a virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit. He led a sinless life as a man obeying God in everything. He is the only holy, and righteous one. He was the only perfect one who could give his life as a ransom, atoning the sins of the world.  

 

He shed his holy blood on the cross as a substitute for all of us, taking the wrath of God against sin. By his shed blood, Jesus brought us peace with God and saved us from getting eternally destroyed. He took away our sins and declared us righteous by granting His righteousness to us.

 

After Jesus died on the cross, he was buried. God rose Him again on the third day. 

By this we understand, He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Those of us who believe in His substitutionary death, are given eternal life. Though they die, they live eternally.

 

How can we be saved?

 

God knows we can’t be saved by ourselves. That’s why He sent His Son to take our place and all that we are to do is to believe in Him. It is all His work! Only by grace through belief, we will be saved. Once we believe in Him and place our trust in Him, God will make us His children. We will granted eternal life. Though we die we will live with Him eternally.

 

What are we saved for?

 

We will be granted His Holy Spirit to indwell and help us to grow into His likeness. Understanding God’s Word and obeying it is doing God’s Will. God wants us to have a holistic and thorough understanding of God’s Word so that we may please him with our lives of obedience to His Word. 

 

It is God’s Will that we grow more into the likeness of Jesus. 

 

What happens if we reject the Gospel?

 

When we listen to the Gospel, faith springs up in us. If we put our trust in Him and His work, we will be saved. The Bible says, that those who do not believe this good news of salvation would be eternally punished in the Final Judgement. 

 

God set a day when he will judge the world with justice by Jesus, the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.