ATP 13 Gospel
Q: What is the gospel, and how long do we have to decide what we will believe?
A:
Gospel Message: There are many ways of describing the gospel, but the main idea is that God became human in the form of Jesus Christ to die in payment for our sins. When we accept this gift of forgiveness and submit our lives to Him, we receive true life, which is reconciliation with God. Our original design was for a personal relationship with God. Our sin, disobeying His standards, creates a barrier preventing this relationship. God in His great love did what was necessary to remove the barrier, knowing that we were unable to pay the debt ourselves. Here is what some call the Romans Road:
A: admit that you have broken God’s law and are unable to pay the price
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
B: believe that God paid the price for you when Jesus Christ died on the cross
Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
C: call on God to forgive you and to help you not to sin
Romans 10:9-10 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. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
D: decide to give your entire life to God so that you may truly live
Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
Gospel Exclusivity: The only way to God is through Jesus Christ. There are no other ways or religions.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Yet, God has given this opportunity to all of mankind so that no one has any excuse.
John 3:16-17
Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Gospel Hope: While there is life, there is hope. Once you have physically died, your chances are up, and your soul awaits judgment before God.
Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
The greatest hope is that once you are saved, have given your life over to God, no one can snatch it away and your salvation is guaranteed.
John 10:27-28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.