“For I Am NOT ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16 NIV )
Oh the glorious life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ…IT IS the good news of salvation, of hope, of eternal life through following Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. AND…The gospel is Jesus Christ. “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9 ESV). The Gospel is believing in Christ as well as believing what has been written about him and then confessing him as our Lord and Savior before men. The Gospel is ALL ABOUT JESUS and who you believe HE is and what he did!
We like to break the Gospel down and compartmentalize it into our own neatly compacted and formulated theological positions, (our theology); our doctrinal statements, (our doctrine), and denominational affiliations, (our church affiliations); arguing amongst ourselves (“our Jesus and Salvation is better than your Jesus and Salvation”); or (“We live for the correct – REAL- Gospel and you don’t”)…and while all this goes on precious souls perish into a Christless eternity, forever to suffer in Hell without any hope of relief…EVER! Refer to Matthew 5;22; Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:44; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:9-15.
WAKE UP OH CHRISTIANS! PLEASE!
Jesus IS the Gospel. We need to be preaching Jesus Christ and his Word and living our lives in such a way as glorifies and honors him – in a way that lifts him and his name up for it is written in the Word of God that “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3;14-15. ESV). So just as the Son of God/Son of Man was lifted up on the cross that whoever believes in him may have eternal life – we need to lift him and his name up preaching him – Christ crucified – so that those who believe on him and his name may have eternal life. Do you want to know what the gospel truly is and have real eternal life? Then read THE Gospels - Start with the Gospel of John 1st, then Mark, Luke and finally Matthew. Read what Jesus taught and see how he lived and then do what he says to do…
THIS IS THE MESSAGE WE NEED TO LIVE OUT AND BOLDLY DECLARE TO THE LOST…
Repent (Matthew 3:2, 4;17; Mark 1;15, ) – See your yourself and your sin as God sees you and your sin which is that he sees you as unrighteous, unclean, defiled and wicked and that any good works that you do are like filthy dirty rags to him (Isaiah 64:6), and that because of that fact you are deserving of the full wrath and punishment of God for all eternity in Hell. Some people in Christian circles refer to this as “The Total Depravity of Man” – And on this point I agree with those who hold this position. Then change your mind about yourself recognizing that you are a sinner deserving all of the punishment of Hell, that God is Holy. Refer to I Samuel 2;2; Psalm 145:17; Isaiah 6;3; I Peter 1:16-25.
Believe and Confess With Your Mouth Jesus is LORD - “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is LORD and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9 ESV) Also refer to Matthew 10:32; Romans 1:10 and I John 4:15).
Follow him – Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24 ESV). Also refer to Matthew 10:38; Luke 14:27; John 21:19, 22 and I Peter 2:21.
Be Baptized as a way of showing your identification with Christ. Christ was baptized by John as is written in Mark 1:9-11. Also refer to Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:35-38; Acts 16:31, 33.
And then Follow and Imitate Christ. “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NIV). Also refer to I Corinthians 11:1; I Thessalonians 1:6. Live as Christ lived and love and Christ loved. You will note in the life of Christ that he quoted the Word of God so having a knowledge of God’s Word is important. So read the Word of God. Also Jesus spent time in prayer to his Heavenly Father. So too, we should spend time in prayer with our Heavenly Father. And Jesus ministered to and served others in a variety of ways. So following Christ means that we are called to a life of service for and to others…and not out of a sense of obligation, but rather out of a sense of love for Him who loved us so much that he gave his only beloved Son to die for us.
If you are a Christ Follower other than the Word of God there are a few books I would suggest you read and read prayerfully:
Radical by David Platt – Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
Crazy Love by Francis Chan – Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
Unashamed To Bear His Name by Dr. R. T. Kendall – Unashamed to Bear His Name: Embracing the Stigma of Being a Christian
Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian – Jesus + Nothing = Everything
If as a result of reading this post you have decided to follow Christ as Lord and Savior of your life or you have decided to get serious about living for God and want to share your decision with someone please email me at haroldcameron56@gmail.com. I will rejoice in hearing of your decision and will be happy to minister to you and serve you in any way that I can.
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Amen….thanks for the book suggestions!
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