What is “The Gospel Truth App?”
The Gospel Truth App is a unique and yes, God inspired way to share the absolute, unchanging and indisputable “Truth” of the Good News of Jesus Christ through everyone’s most personal channel… their mobile phone. Everybody’s got one and they use it religiously… so to speak, both day and night. It is the convenient means of 21st century communication.
The app is designed only to bring glory to the one true and only living, Creator God.
The ministry is based on Philippians 1:18, paraphrasing the Apostle Paul who said: “The most important thing is that in ‘every’ way… Christ is proclaimed.” We believe that using mobile technology to share the gospel message exponentially in the 21st century is one of those “every ways” to connect people to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
The app shares God’s plan of redemption with Bible based “Truths” to prepare minds and hearts to be used by the Holy Spirit so that “whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21 KJV)
“Get Connected to the Gospel Truth and Pass It On.”
This is the “Gospel Truth!“
The word gospel means “good news.”
“Truth” is something that is “absolute, unchanging and indisputable.”
The good news we are sharing is the “Good News of Jesus Christ,” for it is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.“ (adapted from Romans 1:16)
The Truth we are sharing is God’s “Truth” which is “absolute, unchanging and indisputable.”
The purpose of the app is to simply share the “Truth” of the Good News of Jesus Christ and let the Holy Spirit, God’s agent of salvation, do what only He can do.
If the app helps lead just one person to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, it will be well worth the effort.
The Source of the “Gospel Truth“
The Bible is the source of the “Gospel Truth” and proclaims one great theme… redemption through Jesus Christ. It points to the one true and only living, Creator God and offers to all one plan of salvation, by God’s grace, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The entire Bible is pointing you to Jesus.
It is the inerrant, authoritative, inspired Word of God, which presents powerful and convincing proof that Christianity is the one true religion, that the “triune” God is the one and only God of the universe and that God himself, through Jesus Christ, died to pay the penalty for your sins so you wouldn’t have to and then was raised from the dead to grant eternal life to all who put their faith and trust in Him.
“All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 AMP) The Bible was not written to us, it was written for us.
The entire Bible is about the Lord Jesus. The Old Testament says He’s is coming, the Gospels say He’s here, the book of Acts proclaims Him, the Epistles explain Him and Revelation says He’s coming again… without fail, to earth to bring history to its proper conclusion.
Compared to the other “holy books,” the Bible is the only one that stands up to the test and proves to be both historically and scientifically accurate where the others fail to do so.
Every word of the Bible is true. If you don’t believe Genesis 1:1, then you will have a hard time believing John 3:16 or Revelation 21:1-4 and all the others.
(Genesis 1:1 NKJV): “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
(John 3:16 NKJV): “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
(Revelation 21:1-4 NKJV): “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 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.’”
Every word from the Old Testament to the New Testament is connected and Jesus is the recurring theme from the beginning to… the end of the beginning and for ever more; all foretold.
In the Beginning….
The Gospel Truth actually begins in the first verse of the first chapter in the first book of the Bible…
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
The God referred to in Genesis 1:1 is “THE” God with a capital “G” and He is not just “a god,” with a lower case “g” like all the false ones; His name “IS” God, the great “I AM” who has always been. God is a greater, supernatural infinite Being, a mind who is not physical or material, a spirit outside of space, time and matter who was and who is and who is to come. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, and there is no other God besides Him. He is the Creator God, the Uncaused First Cause, the divine “intelligent designer of the universe and everything in it. He made everything out of nothing and spoke it all into existence; He is the “cause of the effect” just like science, which He also created, requires. And all this didn’t “just” happen. Nothing comes from nothing. The improbability of a universe conductive to life occurring by accident, luck and chance is one in 10¹⁰¹²³ (ten to the ten thousand one hundred and twenty third power), one followed by 10,123 zeros or 3374.33 sets of three zeros, which is not possible to show here. It is not just extremely unlikely, but absolutely impossible! (Source: mathematician Roger Penrose)
He is the Judeo-Christian God, the God of the Bible, the God of heaven, the God of miracles, the one true, sovereign God and the only living God and He is the only God who, by His grace, makes your redemption and salvation possible. He is perfectly righteous and just.
He is the ONE God, revealed in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, who each have essential roles in your salvation; The Father, who by His grace purposed it through His divine and perfect plan, the Son, Jesus, who accomplished it through His death and resurrection and the Holy Spirit, who applies it through regeneration, by transforming you into a spiritual rebirth, where you are born again from the inside-out, as a new creation in Christ. The Holy Spirit is fully God just like the Father and the Son are fully God and He is involved in every aspect of your salvation.
God is simultaneously transcendent, which means He is not limited to space and time like we are and He is immanent, always present and operating within space and time and all other possibly existing dimensions. He constantly governs, fine tunes and controls all aspects of the universe He created.
God is omnipotent with unlimited power as evidenced by His creation of the universe, the virgin birth, the resurrection of Christ and the salvation and regeneration of souls. He is omnipresent and is everywhere all at the time. He is omniscient and knows everything… the past, the present and the future, all at the same time.
He is the God of the present, the God of the past and the God of the future, from everlasting to everlasting, and there is not any person or anything in this world that can change that or separate us from His love. God keeps His promises and Jesus Christ is our living hope, our only hope, for those promises which are sealed by the Holy Spirit until Jesus comes again.
And our God is so much more.
It Is Sin That Separates Us From the Goodness of God
When Adam and Eve, the first man and woman of creation, disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, they brought sin and death into God’s perfect world and Adam passed on the curse of his sin nature to all of mankind. Therefore we are all sinners, with no exceptions, separated from the goodness of God and fall short every day of His perfect standard of righteousness… His glory.
In the Bible, sin is defined as breaking God’s law, an act of disobedience or rebellion against Him; lawlessness. It is also described as “missing the mark” of God’s holy standard of righteousness, His absolute and perfect measure of moral and ethical behavior which reflects His own nature and character. In fact, all unrighteousness (all wrongdoing) is sin.
God’s law was first presented in the Ten Commandments. It proved very quickly that man could not keep the law. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen something, big or small? Have you ever taken the name of the Lord in vain? Have you ever dishonored your mother and father? Have you ever lusted for a woman, which Jesus says is committing adultery in your heart? If you answered yes to each, it confirms that you are a liar, a thief, a blasphemer, dishonorable and an adulterer; a sinner. But, in reality, it only takes one “yes,” just one sin, to be condemned… in the pit. So all have sinned. Everyone, with no exceptions.
“Now the practices of the sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality (of all kinds), impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control), idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies; beliefs or opinions contrary to Christian doctrine], envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and “other things like these.” I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21 AMP)
But simply put, sin means thinking, saying and doing things that do not please God. Your thoughts, what you think, and your actions, what you say and do, either please God or they don’t; they are either Christ-like or they’re not and these should be the only standards for Christian character and behavior. In any moment, is what you’re thinking, saying or doing pleasing to God in any way or is it not? Is it Christlike or is not? You will know the answer to those questions. They have been planted in your heart and conscience by God. And if you know that it does not please God or that it is not Christlike and you say it or do it anyway, then you must understand His wrath.
“For all (everyone, without exception) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (His perfect standard of righteousness). (Romans 3:23 NKJV; emphasis added)
Here’s the Bad News
There are consequences for sin. Our sin provokes God’s wrath, a powerful and just anger, and His rightful judgment. Because of even just “one” sin, you are spiritually dead in your sins, separated from the goodness of God and unacceptable in His sight. And because it is God who makes the rules and sets the standards in the perfect world He created, the penalty for sin, God’s rightful judgement, is physical and spiritual death and eternal punishment.
“For the wages of sin (the price that sin pays for even one sin) is death (physical and spiritual), but the (free) gift of God (by His grace) is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NKJV; emphasis added)
“Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death (and eternal punishment) spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12 NKJV; emphasis added)
That “eternal punishment” for sin is horrendous and is generally described as an “eternal fire (the lake of fire) prepared for the devil and his demons, as both physical and spiritual never-ending torment and conscious suffering where their “worm does not die” and the “unquenchable fire” of burning sulfur and brimstone with weeping and gnashing of teeth, as mentioned in Mark 9:48 and Luke 13:28. (emphasis added).
“And anyone not found written in the Book of Life (who was not born again… for a second time) was cast into the lake of fire (the second death).” (Revelation 20:15 NKJV; emphasis added)
This is God’s justice for sin… “just” what we deserve.
His justice required that all sinners “shall surely die” (said to Adam in Genesis 2:17) to pay the penalty for their sins, unless someone else dies to pay the penalty for them. But God’s justice required that the substitute for man be a human who had committed no sin, because if the substitute had sinned, his death would only pay the penalty for his own sin.
There was not one perfect, sinless human who could be that substitute. Not one.
But the Good News Is This….
There was no sin and no evil in the world until the first man chose through his own free will to rebel against God’s authority. God knew that Adam would sin, but His perfect plan included redemption, restoring the relationship with God that mankind had broken, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and that plan was already in place even before time began.
God’s Eternal Life-Changing Plan of Redemption
God, the Creator of the universe and everything in it, the one true God and only living God, loves you so much that while almost 2000 years before you were even born and yet already cursed with sin and condemned to death and eternal punishment for that sin, God Himself through His Son Jesus Christ, did what only He could do… He became that sinless human substitute that God’s justice required, the perfect lamb who became the slaughtered lamb, who suffered, bled and died on a cross, one time to pay the penalty for your sins and the sins of all mankind in order to deliver you from this present evil age and restore the broken relationship between God and humanity. Forgiveness, salvation and eternal life is offered to believers only through the blood of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. This is the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever.
“He (God) made the one (Jesus) who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 (emphasis added)
Think about that. We get to exchange our “sin” for His “righteousness!”
There is no other “god” who loved sinful man so much that He would be slaughtered and die for him… and yet, be raised from the dead.
Let this sink in…
The Creator of the cosmos was born as a human being, lived a sinless life and died on the cross in order to save mankind (you) from sin and evil.
God himself died in your place so you wouldn’t have to.
Jesus!
Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or [just] one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:13-14 AMP)
Be very careful who people and other religions say that Jesus is and how they explain salvation.
Some religions believe that Jesus was a revered prophet and messenger of God, not the divine Son, just a historical figure, teacher or rabbi, the literal created spirit Son of God, the offspring of the heavenly father and heavenly mother, the actual spirit brother of Satan, God’s first creation, a spirit being, not co-equal with God, died on a stake and not a cross, not part of the trinity, no view of Jesus at all, a compassionate, enlightened being, not a eternal, just the manifestation of God, a divine messenger, not God incarnate, an ascended master, enlightened teacher or spiritual guide.
All wrong. Not Biblical. Be careful. Do not be deceived, So many are!
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Jesus is Lord, the one true, sovereign God, with all authority in heaven and on earth, who died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all of mankind and then was raised from the dead to grant eternal life to all who genuinely repent and put their faith and trust in Him.
The Deity of Jesus Christ
“In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([1]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [2]the Word was God Himself.” (John 1:1 AMP)
- In John the Apostle’s vision (Rev 19), he sees Christ returning as Warrior-Messiah-King, and “…His name is called The Word of God…and LORD OF LORDS.” (Rev 19:13, 16).
- In this phrase, “God” appears first in the Greek word order, emphasizing the fact that “the Word” (Christ) was God—so “God Himself.” Jesus is God!
“And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).” (John 1:14 AMP)
Jesus, as Peter correctly said in Matthew 16:16, is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ means “the Messiah” or “the Anointed One,” consecrated, chosen, or empowered by God for a sacred purpose. He is life and light, full of grace and truth… grace, to redeem man and truth, to reveal God. Jesus is God incarnate, which means the deity of God in human form (Colossians 2:9). the Revealer and Redeemer. He is the eternal Word, who was in the beginning with God, made flesh, the God-Man… both God and man, truly God and truly human, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin named Mary. Jesus is the only human who lived a sinless, righteous life, making Him the only “human” who could pay the penalty for your sin, because He never sinned.
Read Colossians 1:13-20 – (The Incomparable Christ)
“Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
In John 1:29 AMP, John the Baptist is referring to the fulfillment of the need for the Old Testament Passover lambs which was now fulfilled in Christ’s sacrifice, the ultimate and final sacrifice for sins.
The timeless message of Isaiah is reflected in the Old Testament prophet’s emphasis on God’s sovereign control of history and in his many predictions describing the ministry of the Savior that God would send to deliver His people. The Savior, Jesus Christ, described so powerfully by Isaiah, has appeared with the offer of salvation for all. Ultimately, in God’s own time, Jesus will return to earth and then all things truly will be set right. (from Isaiah 9)
“And because God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (the one true, sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11 AMP)
Jesus was arrested, beaten, falsely convicted, had His hands and feet nailed to a cross, His side pierced with a spear, willfully suffered, bled and died and was placed in a tomb, to pay the penalty for your sin and the sin of all mankind. This was God’s plan of redemption.
“For indeed Christ died for sins “once for all,” the Just and Righteous for the unjust and unrighteous [the Innocent for the guilty] so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:19 (AMP)
But His righteousness is not yours until you hear the gospel message and the Holy Spirit draws you to Himself and convicts you that you are spiritually dead in your sin and leads you to surrender to Jesus with a “broken spirit and contrite heart,” through genuine repentance and then grants you a supernatural gift of faith in Christ.
Faith in Jesus Christ is not merely a human endeavor but is portrayed as a supernatural gift bestowed upon believers by the Holy Spirit. (Adapted from 1 Corinthinians 12:9)
His death to pay the penalty for other men’s sin would never have to be repeated. It would apply to all mankind for all time, although the Bible tells us that “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to (eternal) life, and there are ‘few’ who will find it.” (Matthew 7:13)
And Jesus did this for only one reason…
LOVE!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish (die) but have everlasting (eternal) life.” (John 3:16 NKJV; emphasis added).
“Begotten” does not mean that Jesus was a created being. As the second person of the trinity, the Son, He always existed (John 1:1). The word begotten comes from the Greek word monogenes, describing Jesus as “uniquely God’s Son—sharing the same divine nature as God.” And in one of God’s greatest miracles, the virgin Mary, through a spiritual “immaculate” conception by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit (the third person of the trinity), gave birth to Jesus. Jesus was “truly God and truly human” and lived as the only sinless human being, as God’s justice required, so that He could die to pay the penalty of sin for all mankind, as only God Himself could do.
“But God demonstrates (and proves) His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NKJV; emphasis added)
There is no greater love than this.
He is Risen!
And on the third day when God raised Jesus from the dead and He walked out of that tomb, everyone had the righteousness of Jesus set to their account which would make them right and acceptable to God, declared not guilty, “justified” for the first time and for all time, because of what Jesus did for you through His death and resurrection. It was Jesus who died for your sins. You did not. He is the righteous one. You are justified and declared righteous by God only through the righteousness of Jesus.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event in the history of the world. It is the foundation of our hope.
As Paul wrote:
“And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile (worthless and powerless); you are still in your sins (condemned and under the control and penalty of sin)!” 1 Corinthians 15:17 NKJV; emphasis added)
But God did raise Jesus from the dead!
The historical evidence for the resurrection is overwhelming and if the resurrection of Jesus really happened (which it did), it proves that Christianity is true and everything else is not, because it is simply not possible to mistake a man who was raised from the dead. With His resurrection, as it had been prophesized by others and even foretold by Jesus Himself, Jesus proved that He was God.
“There is simply no solution to the human problem of sin and its eternal punishment but by the grace of the one true and only living, Creator God and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.“
As we wait patiently and look forward to that “great day” of His second coming, Jesus is our hope, our living hope, our “only hope” in this lost world.
Thank you Lord Jesus!
“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, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation (judgement) that is ready to be revealed in the last time.“ (1 Peter 1:3-5 NIV; emphasis added)
You don’t have to believe any of this and nobody can make you believe it, but if you have heard the Good News of Jesus Christ and don’t believe it or outright reject it, you have absolutely no excuse and remain condemned.
You are already spiritually dead and condemned because of sin and when you physically die, as we all will, without receiving the free gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ, you are literally choosing to forfeit your soul for eternity.
“Whatever is the object (the worldly things, the types of sin) for which men forsake Christ, that is the price at which Satan (God’s enemy) buys their souls. Yet one soul (yours) is worth more than all the world.” (Matthew Henry Commentary; emphasis added)
The “objects,” whatever those objects are for you, are not worth the eternal “price” that must be paid for them… your soul. Do not be deceived!
Repent and be saved through faith and trust in Jesus Christ!
God offers redemption to every living person. The price of that redemption was paid for all on a cross. To receive His grace will require a complete surrender to Christ through genuine repentance and saving faith in who Jesus is and what He did for you.
There no other way to be saved!
Here’s the most important eternal life-changing question you will ever answer…
“Are you saved by God’s grace through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ?”
What was your immediate answer as you read that question?
Was it “yes?” or was it “no?”
This is exactly how all are saved. It’s the one way, the only way to be saved… by the grace of God (His unmerited favor for you) through repentance (turning from and forsaking sin and turning to God) and faith (belief, trust and complete confidence, without a doubt) that Jesus is Lord, the one true sovereign God with all authority in heaven and on earth, that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead to grant eternal life to all who put their faith and trust Him.
From Ephesians 2:8-9; emphasis added:
“For by (God’s) grace you have been saved through (repentance and) faith (in Jesus Christ) and that not of yourselves (you didn’t do anything to deserve it and cannot earn it; cannot boast); it is the (free) gift of God.”
“He who believes in Him (Jesus) is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 NKJV; emphasis added)
Some non-believers, when presented with the plan of salvation might ask: “What does it mean to be saved? Saved from what? There are over 4300 religions in the world, which God are you referring to? What does grace mean? What does it mean to repent? What is faith? Who is Jesus Christ? How did Jesus Christ “save” me?”
The Components of Salvation
Salvation means you are set free from the penalty of sin; God’s rightful judgment, by His grace and through genuine repentance and saving faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, God’s agent for salvation, is involved in every aspect of your conversion and transformation. Salvation originates with God’s grace, the work of the Holy Spirit as He draws you near and convicts of your sin, your part… repentance & faith (conversion) and the divine part… justification and regeneration, which all happen at about the same time.
This is what has to happen for you to get saved:
How can people call on someone they don’t believe in? And how can they believe in someone they’ve never heard of? And how will they hear about Him without someone to share the message? You cannot “get saved” unless and until you have read or heard the Good News of Jesus Christ and without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.
You must know God’s plan of redemption to restore our broken relationship with Him that was caused by sin and also know who Jesus is and what He did for you by God’s grace through His death and resurrection.
Here’s the Good News adapted from Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8 and 10:9:
“For all have sinned, without exception, and fall short of God’s perfect standard of righteousness; His glory.
“And the wages of even just one sin (the price that sin pays) is death and eternal punishment, but the (free) gift of God’s grace is eternal life with begins immediately through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us to pay the penalty for our sin.”
“If you repent of your sins and turn to God and acknowledge and confess with your mouth that “Jesus is Lord,” (the one true, sovereign God with all authority in heaven and on the earth), if you put your faith and trust in Him and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved and transformed into a spiritual rebirth, born again, as a new creation in Christ.”
As you read or hear the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which tells about the ‘greatest life ever lived and what He has done for you,’ the Holy Spirit in His own timing, will submit to you “sufficient light” in the midst of the darkness of your sin, where you are unwilling and perhaps even unable to believe, draws you to Himself, unblinds your eyes, “tugs on” and softens your hardened heart, opens your mind and “convicts you about the guilt of sin, the punishment for it, your need for a Savior and about righteousness and judgment.” (adapted from John 16:8; emphasis added). The Holy Spirit does a supernatural work of grace to reverse your unwillingness or ignorance and releases you from the bondage of your sin leading you to genuine repentance and enables you to come to faith in Christ.
You cannot do it all by yourself. The Holy Spirit is involved in every aspect of your salvation.
Grace is God’s unmerited favor for you where He gives you what you need (a Savior) and not what you deserve (His wrath, a powerful and just anger, His rightful judgement… physical and spiritual death and eternal punishment). It is God’s grace that draws you to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit. It is His grace you accept when you become a born-again believer.
Repentance and Faith
Repentance means turning from and forsaking sin (the act of giving it up) by changing your thinking and changing the behaviors your thoughts produce and turning to a righteous relationship with the one true, living God; it’s literally making a 180 degree turn, going in one direction and then turning around and going in the completely opposite direction. Behavior is the way you act and react; your actions and reactions. Your actions are what you choose to say and how you say it and what you do. Reactions are what you choose to say and do (how you act) in response to what others say and do and how you act in response to things that happen. Remember, your thoughts, attitudes and actions are always either Christlike or they are not; they either please God or they don’t. If they’re not Christlike or if they don’t please God… that’s what sin is. Sin is thinking, saying and doing things that aren’t Christlike and don’t please God.
Repenting is being sorry for and regretting not only the act of sin, but also being sorrowful and regretful of yourself for allowing sin to separate you from the goodness of God for so long. It’s like thinking: “I used to think these things were okay, but now I don’t. I no longer do these things.” That’s repentance. It requires a “Godly sorrow” and a complete surrender to His will for your life. It must be genuine, heartfelt and real. The Holy Spirit will determine whether or not your repentance is genuine, heartfelt, and real. It is an eternal life-changing decision; the most important thing you will ever do in this world.
You cannot have genuine repentance without saving faith or saving faith without genuine repentance. They are inseparable, yet distinct acts.
Faith is the belief, trust and complete confidence, without a single doubt, in who Jesus is and what He has done for you.
It means turning to, trusting in, and relying on Him… all day, every day, in every situation and every circumstance of life.
“So faith comes from hearing the Good News (the gospel). And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.” (Romans 10:17 ERV; emphasis added).
That is exactly what we are doing here!
Saving faith requires a knowledge of what God has said through His Word. It is by hearing the the Good News that the Holy Spirit begins to do His work in you. It is the Holy Spirit who grants you the gift of faith, enabling you to believe in Jesus Christ.
Not “temporary” faith where you believe for a while and then fall away or “intellectual” faith where your faith in Christ is in your head, but not in your heart or “dead” faith where there are no actions to show the evidence of your faith, but real “saving” faith , a “conquering” faith, which does not compromise to the ways of this world; the Victor’s life, the only way to conquer death. With it God gives you a three-fold promise found in Revelation 2:17: ‘the hidden manna,’ ‘the white stone,’ a ‘new name’ written. With it you have been promised life that never ends in heaven. Without it you will die for a second time and be thrown into the lake of fire for conscious torment which never ends.
Faith in Christ is not something you can obtain all by yourself; it’s saving faith, real faith, permanent faith, conquering faith, which is granted by the Holy Spirit who only grants it when your faith is “authentic.”
For more information about repentance and faith, go back to the main menu and look under “The Components of Salvation.”
Justification and Regeneration
Once your faith is granted, justification follows. “Because of your faith and trust in Christ, God graciously credits the righteousness of Jesus to you, the believer, and declares you to be acquitted (absolved, not guilty, freed of all charges, no longer an enemy, right and whole with God, pardoned and just) and then designates you to be brought into right standing before Him.” (adapted from Acts 13:39)
This is the ultimate success of your earthly life.
It is God who “justifies” you by His grace, by faith alone, apart from works. You did nothing to deserve it. Jesus paid the penalty for your sins. You did not. It is by His righteousness you are justified, not your own. God sees you in Christ and in His eyes, it is “just” as if you had never sinned!
“(We, you are) justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24 NKJV; emphasis added.
Once justified, the Holy Spirit transforms you (called regeneration) through a spiritual rebirth, where you are born again, for a second time, as a new creation in Christ, completely changed from the inside-out for all to hear and see. The old you no longer exists and everything about you is new. It is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you.
You simply cannot be saved and remain the same.
Let’s take just a moment to explain that the eternal life we are granted through faith and trust in Jesus Christ begins not when we die, but the very moment we are saved. This explains why you can’t be saved and remain the same.
In John 17:3, Jesus says, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God (as opposed to all the false gods), and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Jesus is the one true God and eternal life.
Eternal life is personally knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ, his Son. It is not only what we can have after death, it’s the quality of life we can enjoy right now. It is a personal, intimate relationship with both the Father and the Son where eternity begins now and extends for evermore; a present reality and a future hope for those who believe. It was Jesus who brought God glory through finishing his work… dying on the cross, making eternal life possible for us. We can also bring glory to God by the way we live our lives through Christ beginning the moment we are “born again.” Christlike and pleasing to God in everything we think, say and do; all day, every day.
This life eternal, then, is not mere conscious and unending existence, but a life of acquaintance with God in Christ and we don’t have to wait until we die to receive it.
For more information about justification and regeneration, go back to the main menu and look under “The Components of Salvation.”
“The greatest of all God’s miracles is the salvation of a soul.” C.H. Spurgeon
When you are “saved” it means you are a Christian, an unashamed follower of Jesus, a born-again believer (born for a second time), a new creation in Christ, an adopted child of the one true and only living, Creator God and a joint-heir with Christ to eternal life.
How Do You “Know That You Know That You Know” You Are Saved?
The first reason is through the testimony of the Holy Spirit where He provides new believers with the assurance of their salvation and of their adoption into God’s family. The Holy Spirit reveals this “truth” to your spirit.
“The (Holy) Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [born again believers] are (beloved) children of God.” (Romans 8:16 AMP)
“And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba! (Our) Father!’” (Galatians 4:6 AMP)
The second reason you know is because when you are “saved,” born again, the Holy Spirit completely changes you from the inside-out as a new creation in Christ, with a new heart, a new way of thinking, new attitudes, new behavior, new Christ-like character and identity, new priorities and a new way of living your life which all mature each day until God calls you home.
So because you have been “made new” from the inside-out, let others hear and see Christ in everything you say and do and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you to explain about your new attitude and how you have changed and the hope you have, but answer them with gentleness and respect, just as Christ would do. (Adapted from 1 Peter 3:15)
Learn more about the Good News of Jesus Christ by reading the four gospels, beginning with the Gospel of John, for it tells us of Christ, of the ‘greatest life ever lived,’ and what He has done for us.
With this app, your Bible is always with you everywhere you go, just like your mobile phone is. You’ll never again be without instant access to “God’s Word,” which is available only when you want it, but especially when you need it.
The Cosmic War Between Go(o)d and Evil
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden defined the two distinct paths that mankind takes by their own free will, each going in opposite directions and drew the lines for the cosmic war, spiritual warfare, between “spirits,” both good and evil; between God and His enemy Satan, that will end only when Christ returns and eliminates sin and evil from the world.
“Jesus, the Lord of history, will return without fail to earth to bring history to its proper conclusion.” (Revelation 1:7) (from Holman New Testament Commentary- Revelation; Kendall H. Easley)
Thank you Lord Jesus!
God deliberately allows every human being to be exposed to this evil and its source in the spiritual realm… Satan and his demons. The apostle Paul explains:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness (the Devil and his demons) in the heavenly (supernatural) places. Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].” (Ephesians 6:12-13 AMP)
Evil (sin) can only exist if good exists and good can only exist if God exists. God is the moral authority in this world, which proves that He exists.
There are only two sides in this epic battle, a winning side and a losing side, each revealed in the book of Revelation. God is the winning side, representing goodness, making the rules and setting the perfect standards for life and death as only the Creator of the universe could do.
The Adversary
Satan, also called the Devil, is the enemy (adversary) of God, who through unrighteousness in the form of self-generated pride as a high-ranking, holy angel named Lucifer (which means Morning Star), rebelled against God and was banished from Heaven along with his army of rebel angels (one third of the total number of angels; now known as “demons“) (from Revelation 12:4) who assisted in the plot. They were thrown down to Earth and will ultimately be condemned to the Lake of Fire. (adapted from the writings of E.W. Kenyon)
Satan is the personification of evil who was given a temporary right by God to rule over the world system. He is the god of “this” world on Earth, the prince of the power of the air and the father of lies, who is now at work in those who are dead in their sin and separated from God. “He is “evil” on a supernatural level with a force of demons who use their powers to seduce and deceive humanity and to fight the purposes of God and are primarily involved in the development of false religion systems of all kinds. False religion has massacred Christians and it’s happening right now while we speak. They are the purveyors of doctrines of demons and are very sophisticated and relentless in their efforts to deceive.” (John MacAuthur)
The devil is the source of unbelief and every moral and spiritual evil. You see his influence all around us. Satan hates God because He is God and he, the devil, is not and he wants you to hate God, too. He and his minions, including Godless human beings in every walk of life, work to make bad things look good and good things look bad, to make right look wrong and wrong look right; confusion, one of his masterful traits.
Satan’s goal is to destroy man or make man destroy himself and wind up in a fiery torment which never ceases. He has influence over every living human, but he can’t “make” you do anything. He can only lie, deceive and confuse in order to tempt you to make the wrong choices and turn away from God. But he does not make the choices for you. Only you can do that.
When there is evil anywhere in the world, Satan and his demons are right in the middle of it all. He even recruits fellow humans beings, maybe even family and friends to help with the deceit. The devil is the author of confusion who makes it difficult for you the discern the “Truth.” He will never tell you the “Truth” because he is evil and absolutely incapable of telling the “Truth.” But for “born again” believers in Christ, the “Truth” is imbedded in your heart through the presence of the Holy Spirit. You have help against the devil because the Holy Spirit is God just as the Father and the Son are God.
Satan and Evil Will Ultimately Lose!
Because of his pride Satan took on a task that he had no chance to win, but his chaos and destruction continues all around us on the Earth, but ultimately God’s justice will be served and Satan, his demons and all of God’s enemies (the Anti-Christ, the False Prophet and all those who reject Christ) will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10) where they “will be tormented (consciously), without ceasing, forever and ever.”
Once the full number of individuals willing to receive God’s offer of forgiveness and transformation has been reached, God will permanently remove them from this creation and also remove from their presence anything less than perfect goodness (all evil). In His greatest miracle, God designed every aspect of this vast universe, with over 200 billion galaxies and 400 billion, trillion stars, and not by coincidence, a tiny blue speck called Earth which was perfectly placed with all the right conditions making it the only place in the universe where human life could exist for a limited time, only for the eradication of sin and evil, to separate the “wheat from the chaff” (Matthew 3:12) and good from evil. Woe (judgment) is coming for evil (all non-believers) in our world; God’s justice; “just” what we deserve when we deny Jesus Christ. (Source: Romans 8:18-25; Revelation 20-22; emphasis added).
We are all participants in this great battle every day of our earthly lives… willing or not, on one side or the other, but you cannot be on both sides at the same time. You must choose a side. One will win…
One will lose… for eternity, and eternity is a long, long time to be wrong.
Don’t be wrong!
All non-believers, those who have never accepted or outright reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior, are also the enemies of God. And just to make it clear, if you are a non-believer, you too, are the enemy of God. You do not want to be the enemy of God! It does not end well; in fact, it never ends.
“You do not want to be outside those who follow Jesus because all that’s left is judgment. If you are not with God through His Son by the work of the Holy Spirit, then you will be tossed into the lake of fire.” (Dr. Greg Belser)
It Is God’s Will That All Be Saved; That “You“ Be Saved!
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior (Jesus), who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the (divine) truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4 NKJV; emphasis added)
Salvation is offered to everyone, but to receive it each individual must choose to accept God’s gracious offer through conversion by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. It’s the only way.
Few Will Be Saved, But Most Will Not.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction (eternal separation from God and never ending punishment in hell) and “many” enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life (salvation and eternity in Heaven) and only “few” find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14 AMP).
Are you one of the “many” or one of the “few?”
Which side are you on? Which road do you travel? Which gate will you enter? Be one of the few. Seek Him. Accept God’s free gift of grace through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. God will justify you and declare you “not guilty” only through the righteousness of Jesus. The Holy Spirit will transform you into a new creation in Christ and you will live for Jesus until that great day when He comes again. Tell others about His love. Share the app.
Jesus made it perfectly clear when He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
When He said “I am the way”… He was saying He is THE way for those who are lost. He is the ONE way, the ONLY way to salvation. Without Him you remain “lost” and condemned.
When He said “I am the Truth”… He was saying He is the divine incarnate Word of God, the deity of God in human form, truly God and truly man, the source of all “Truth” which is absolute, unchanging and indisputable for those who have been deceived.
And when He said “I am the life”… He was saying that He has “overcome the world” (John 16:33) through His substitutional death and resurrection for all those who are dead in their sins. He has conquered death and through repentance and faith and trust in Him, you too, will conquer death. When you are “born again” you are no longer “dead” in your sin, but granted eternal life which begins at that very moment. Jesus died so you could live for Him. Because He lives, your earthly and forever lives are changed the moment your surrender to Him as your Lord and Savior. Jesus said, “I come that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows”]… abundant life in Christ, both here and for eternity. (John 10:10 AMP; emphasis added)
God created you to know Him, to love Him and to have a perfect eternal relationship with Him. He loves you and He wants you to love Him back, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength… with everything you have. But He won’t mandate it because that wouldn’t be true love. It has to be your choice. His love has already been demonstrated and proven by the death and resurrection of His Son to pay the penalty for your sins and grant you eternal life.
But be aware that Satan, his demons and even some human beings you know and even some you don’t, will do everything in their power to keep you from making the choice to follow Christ and to tempt you to turn away from Him after you’ve become a Christian. The enemy is relentless, although “woe” is coming for them. Do not be deceived. It is the difference between eternal life and eternal death; between heaven and hell. Everyone will die, with no exceptions, and everyone will spend eternity either in a place where God is or a place where the goodness of God is not.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, there must be a great sense of urgency to come to Him. It is imperative for you to understand that because of the curse and consequences of sin we are all born “not saved,” “lost,” without faith in Christ… condemned without hope and spiritually “dead” in our sin.
Nobody is born a Christian. You don’t inherit it or magically become one. Everybody doesn’t just go to heaven when they die. We don’t become angels. We don’t receive “our wings.” If your family and friends are not Christians, you will not see them again in Heaven one day when you die and if they are and you aren’t, you still will not see them again. There are not millions of ways to get saved. Just one. Works won’t do it. Your family and friends can’t save you, you can’t save them and you certainly can’t save yourself.
To be saved, you must be “born again,” only by God’s grace, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and the transformational power of the Holy Spirit. That’s the ONE way the ONLY way to be saved.
Your life on earth is short, like a vapor and time passes by quickly with no time outs or do-overs. Your physical body will die, but your soul & spirit will live forever in heaven with God or die forever in a fiery torment in hell without Him. You are not guaranteed another day in this world, not another breath, not one more heartbeat and you do not know the day and the hour when you will die or when Christ will return for His final judgment. But there are two things that are absolutely sure in this short life…
You are a sinner and you need a Savior.
Read this gospel message over and over every day, as many times as it takes, and ask God to forgive you of your sins, to fill you with His Holy Spirit and to deliver you from the darkness of your sin. Earnestly repent of your sins and confess with your mouth for all to hear that Jesus is Lord (God) and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. (Romans 10:9-10; emphasis added) Repent and put your faith and trust in Jesus.
”If you, then, being evil [that is, sinful by nature], know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him?” (Luke 11:13 AMP)
Here’s the plea…
Be persistent! Keep asking! Keep seeking! Keep knocking! Keep pleading!
We are living in a “grace period” and there is not much time. The redemption of sin and evil by God’s grace through your repentance and faith in Jesus Christ is the reason you exist on the earth. It is the only reason you are here. It is the ultimate success in this world.
Today is the day of salvation!
Don’t live here and leave here without it.
Please share the app with others who need to make this eternal life-changing decision for Christ. thegospeltruth.app (thegospeltruthapp.com)
This is the greatest expression of love in the history of the world! Thank you Lord Jesus!
To God Be The Glory!
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