ASU Challenge

What is the Gospel? 

The word gospel means good news. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news of what the creator God of the universe has done to deliver us from sin and death so that we can have an eternal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

Everything good comes from God, He is the source of life, love, beauty and truth. We were created to be in relationship with God. But ever since the very first humans used their free will to disobey and rebel against God we are all born into a broken world relationally cut off from God.

1.      Our problem is sin/ the human condition: Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Are you perfect? None of us are, except for God: 1st John 1:5 “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Although we may see ourselves as “good people” in comparison to others we fall miserably short when compared with God’s holiness and His standard of good found in the Ten Commandments and summed up by Jesus this way Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” . God’s perfect holiness means that He is completely separate from all evil, and sin creates an infinite gap between us and God cutting us off from relationship. God’s holiness also means that He will ultimately carry out justice for every sin and purge evil from His creation. We have all broken God’s moral law making us guilty of sin and justly deserving of the consequences.

2.       The Consequences: Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Because of our sin we are going to reap the consequences for sin which is death (and eternal separation from God). God hates evil, so justice will be served but God loves us and would rather extend mercy to us than see us experience the judgment we deserve. But since we can’t make ourselves perfect in the sight of God just by trying harder, God himself must step in and do something for us.

3.      The Solution: God serves justice but provides a way for us to escape the penalty of sin by paying our sin debt Himself. God accomplished this by entering His creation, becoming a man (Jesus), living a perfect sinless life and dying on the cross for our sin. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  2nd Corinthians 5:21 “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” … Since Jesus is God he conquered death and didn’t remain in the grave: 1st Peter 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has made a way for us to be restored to relationship with Him and experience an eternity where creation is made new. Revelation 21:3-4 “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

4.      You can accept Jesus’ payment for your sin and his gift of eternal life by repentance (confessing and turning away from sin) and faith (putting your trust in Jesus instead of your own effort):

Romans 10:9-10 “If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” 1st John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

5.      Living as a Christian: It's what God did for us, not anything that we can do ourselves that saves us and makes us part of the family of God. But once we are saved by God’s grace He expects us to live a life that brings us closer to Him and shows that we have truly given Jesus authority over our life. The Christian life is one of continued spiritual growth in following Jesus! 2nd Corinthians 5:15 & 17 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. To follow Jesus we must know Him and this is possible by reading what God has revealed about Himself through the Bible, and spending time in prayer. Those two things should be daily practices for a follower of Jesus. For true Christian growth it is also essential to take part in community with other believers and learn from more experienced Christians and godly teachers. This can be done through attending a bible believing church, and participating in bible studies etc. Being baptized is the way to make a public profession of your new faith, and it is an important step of obedience to God that shows your commitment to follow Jesus.