By what you believe and by whom you love.
- Do you believe the true facts of the gospel?
The word gospel means “good news” and the good news we are sharing is the Good News of the person and finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ, “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
Who Jesus is and what He did fills the essence of the gospel which is empowered only by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
“And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” (1 Peter 1:8)
One of the most recognizable verses of the Bible reveals what God promises to those who belief in the truth of the gospel—
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever ‘believes‘ in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.“ (John 3:16)
“The gospel… is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (from Romans 1:16).
Non-believers don’t believe the gospel. It is a stumbling block for many and foolishness to the rest.
When you hear the gospel, it is more than just words—it is the supernatural power of God. The Holy Spirit is the divine messenger who leads you to repentance and takes your genuine belief and applies it as saving faith, making you alive in Christ.
There is only one true, sovereign, living, Creator God — One Savior — One Mediator between God and man — One Holy Spirit — One true religion — One holy book — One gospel — One way to be saved — One way to eternal life.
Jesus—the Christ, the Son of the Living God—is that WAY. He is the ONE way— the ONLY way to salvation.
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— spiritually “dead” in our sin through Adam, and condemned without hope. (Ephesians 2:1)
We are all sinners, without exception, and have fallen short of God’s perfect standard of righteousness— His glory, and there is a penalty to be paid for that. (Romans 3:23, 6:23)
Because of God’s wrath, the powerful and just anger of a holy God, and His rightful judgment, the ultimate penalty for all sinners is death (both spiritual and physical), separation from God and eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Romans 6:23) (Hebrews 9:27) (Revelation 20:15)
So that sinless human being had to be God Himself— God incarnate, God in human form, truly God and truly man— Jesus. So, God did what only He could do. He added humanity to His deity and God himself through His Son Jesus Christ, born of a miracle virgin birth, became that perfect, sinless substitute, “the perfect lamb,” who took your punishment and died in your place so you wouldn’t have to. (John 1:14)
And on the third day God raised Jesus from the dead and He walked out of that tomb in a victory over sin, death, hell, Satan and all the powers of darkness. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event in human history. It is the foundation of our hope for eternal life. (1 Corinthians 15:4)
The absolute, unchanging and indisputable “TRUTH” for every living person is this:
“There is simply no solution to the human problem of sin and its eternal punishment outside the grace of the one true and only living, Creator God and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
If you genuinely repent, turning from sin and to God, completely surrender your life to Christ and put your faith and trust in Him as the Holy Spirit leads you, God, by His grace, will forgive you, declare you righteous through the righteousness of Jesus and give you eternal life.
“Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].” — (Romans 8:1 AMP)
And when Jesus returns to bring history to its proper conclusion, those who are saved by God’s grace, applied by the Holy Spirit through genuine repentance and saving faith in Jesus Christ, both Jew and Gentile as the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16), will spend eternity in His presence in that great city called New Jerusalem— the eternal city of God, the final dwelling place of believers, the capital city of the new heaven and new earth where God lives with His people forever. (from Revelation 21)
God is the Creator of the universe and everything in it, the one true, sovereign and only living God.
God the Father, who purposed my salvation because of His love and mercy and by His grace, through His divine and perfect plan of redemption that was in place before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5).
God the Son, Jesus, who accomplished my salvation through His sinless life, substitutional death and victorious resurrection, conquering sin, death, hell, Satan and all the powers of darkness. (John 19:30).
God the Holy Spirit, who applied my salvation through conviction, regeneration, and sanctification (Titus 3:5). The Holy Spirit is fully God just as the Father and the Son are fully God.
2. By whom you love — Jesus Christ.
You love Jesus Christ for who He is and what He has done for you. He is the one true, sovereign God with all authority in heaven and on earth and you must surrender to His authority and submit to His will for your life and believe with all your heart that He is the Son of God who willfully died to pay the penalty for your sins and that He was raised from the dead to grant you eternal life.
You live to love Him each day with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength (Mark 12:30)— with everything you have, and will obey Him faithfully, trust Him fully, and serve Him gladly.
The outcome is the eternal salvation of your soul!
Do you believe the facts of the gospel?
Do you love Jesus Christ?
