3. What is the Gospel (GOOD NEWS) of Jesus Christ?

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The Good News is that God loves us and doesn't want us to go to Hell. 

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Romans 5:8

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

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Acts 16:30-31

"30. And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 
31.  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 

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Romans 5:17

“17. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 
18.  Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."

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Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.” We now understand what that means. The payment for sins is death, not just a physical death but the second death of being cast into the lake of fire.

The second part of that verse says this, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).

The Bible says that God has a gift He wants to give us, and that gift is “eternal life” and it is “through Jesus Christ.” We can learn more about this gift from the Book of Ephesians.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9

“8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9.Not of works, lest any man should boast. ”

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What is a gift?

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Now let me use an illustration to explain this concept. Let’s say that today was your birthday, and I was going to give you a gift. Let’s say that I was going to give you a Bible, and I said, “Here you go and happy birthday” and handed you a Bible. What would you have to do for that Bible to become yours? Well, all you have to do is accept it.

Now, let’s say that once you took it, I said, “Well, you know, that Bible cost me $10. I’m going to give you this free birthday gift, but you need to give me $10.”

Is that a gift?

The answer is no, because as soon as you give me money for it, now you are paying for it. This is no different than going into the store and buying a Bible yourself.

What if I said, “Alright, I’m going to give you this free birthday gift, you don’t have to give me any money for it, all you have to do is wash my car.” Is that a gift? The answer is again, no. Because as soon as you wash my car, now you are earning it and now you are working for it.

A gift by definition is free. You cannot pay for it and you cannot earn it, otherwise, it is not a gift.

 

That is why the Bible says, “not of works, lest any man should boast.” Salvation is not something we earn (or “work” for) by the way that we live our lives or by being religious; instead, it is a free gift that God gives us!

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THE GOSPEL

 

The GOSPEL is that Jesus came to this earth, He was born of a virgin, He was God in the flesh.

 

He lived a sinless life (He never sinned):

Hebrews 4:15

"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

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He died on the cross, not to pay for His own sins (because He had no sins), but died to pay for our sins.

The Bible says that He was buried and that He rose from the grave three days later.

The Bible tells us that His soul, during the three days and three nights that His body was buried, went down to Hell.

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Acts 2:31

“He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption."

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Matthew 12:40

"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

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1 Peter 2:24

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

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BORN AGAIN

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John 1:12-13

“12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 
13. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

 

John 3:3

"...Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

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John 3:7

"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."

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John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

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John 3:18

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

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The gospel teaches that through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He paid for our sins.

That means that we do not pay for our sins by living a good life or being religious. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was the complete payment for all of our sins!

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REPENTANCE

 

Some people think, that you have to at least repent of your sins to be saved. They think that you must turn away from sin to go to Heaven.

In Jonah Chapter 3, we see how God classifies turning from sin as work.

 

Jonah 3:10

“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way.”

Here, we see an example of people who “turned from their evil way” and God referred to that as “works.” 

Salvation is not of works. So, if you believe that you must repent of your sins or turn away from your sins to be saved, you are actually adding works to salvation.

Salvation is a free gift that is not of works.

 

Matthew 21:32 - Jesus said,

“For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.”

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The Bible teaches that repentance is a change of mind. Here we see Jesus saying to the Pharisees, you did not believe, and if you would have repented, you would have believed. So, we see that repentance in regards to salvation is simply changing your mind or turning from unbelief to belief, or from believing in the wrong thing (like trusting in your works or in your religion to save you) and turning to trusting solely on the Lord Jesus Christ!

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Salvation is found in Jesus Christ and not in a religion. Notice what Jesus said in John 14:6.

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John 14:6 

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

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Any religion that causes you to put your trust (faith) in that religion or the works of that religion as opposed to Jesus Christ is a religion that you will need to repent of in order to be saved.

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Believe that Jesus Christ Paid for Your Sins

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You must believe that Jesus Christ paid for your sins.

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4. Who is Jesus?

 

The Lord Jesus Christ was not just a man, He was not just a prophet, and He was not just a good teacher. He was much more than that!

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Matthew 1:23

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

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One of the names of Jesus was Emmanuel, which means “God with us.”  

Why would you name a child “God with us”? Well, because He was “God with us.”

Jesus was not just a man; He was God in the flesh.

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John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

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John 1:14

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

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The Word that was God and became flesh was Jesus, “the only begotten of the Father.”

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The first part of 1st Timothy 3:16 says, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh...”

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The Bible says that “God was manifest in the flesh,” and it tells us “the Word was made flesh”, and it tells us the “Word was God.”

These are all references to the fact that Jesus was God in the flesh.

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Isaiah 9:6

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

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John 20: 27-28

“27. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 

28. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God."

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Titus 2:13

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"

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Hebrews 1:8

“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."

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1 John 5:20

“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life."

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Because he was God, He was also without sin.

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The Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 5:21

“For he hath made him…” referring to Jesus “…to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

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The Bible says about Jesus that he “knew no sin” meaning He never sinned and was therefore sinless.

 

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1 Peter 2:22

“Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:"

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5. Salvation can not be lost (Ones saved always saved)

 

Another thing you need to understand about salvation is that it cannot be lost.

If you look at the last part of John 3:16, it says:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

 

John 3:15, the verse right before it, says:

“That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

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All throughout the Bible, we are told that God wants to give us everlasting life, which is life that will last forever, or eternal life, which is life that will never end. Now let’s say that God said, “I’m going give you everlasting life starting right now, eternal life starting today, life that will last forever, life that will never end.” When would that life end? Would it end five years from now? The answer is no. Would it end a thousand years from now? The answer is again no. It is never going to end because it is eternal.

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Ephesians 1:13-14

"13. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 
14.  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."

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Romans 8:16

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:"

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What if I Sin after I Am Saved?

 

Now what if God said, “I’m going to give you everlasting life, starting right now” and let’s say hypothetically that five years from now you walk in a bank and you rob it and kill somebody.

 

In fact, let’s take it a step further, and let’s even say that you killed yourself.

Do you think God would take away your everlasting life?

Well, the truth is that He cannot take it away because if he takes it away five years from now, then it did not last forever.

If that happened, that would make God a liar.

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Titus 1:2 says: 

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”

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Our hope for eternal life is that God “cannot lie.” When God makes a promise, He keeps it. So, if God says, “I’m going to give you everlasting life,” then God will keep His promise and it will last forever!

 

By the way, please realize that the act of suicide can only kill your physical life and not your spiritual life.

The point that we are making is that once God forgives you of your sins, He forgives you of all your sins, including the sins that you will commit in the future.

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Does This Give Me a License to Sin?

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Now, please do not misunderstand what we are saying.

We are not saying that because you are saved you can go around robbing banks and killing people.

You should know that, on this earth, there are consequences for our sin.

On this earth, we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7), and, on this earth, God does chastise His children and disciplines them for their sins (Hebrews 12:5-8).

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Galatians 6:7

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

 

Hebrews 12:5-8

“5. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 

6. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

7. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 

8. But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.“

 

But what we need to understand is that once God saves you, once He gives you everlasting life, He will never take it away.

 

The beautiful thing about salvation is that when God forgives you of your sins, He forgives you of all your sins: your past sins, your present sins, and your future sins. Because, if you think about it, all of your sins were in the future when Jesus died to pay for your sins over 2,000 years ago.

So, we can rest securely in the belief that once we are saved, we are always saved!

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6. Call Upon Jesus Christ to Save You

 

You must call upon Jesus Christ to save you.

Let us continue with our gift illustration.

Let’s say I gave you a Bible as a gift. Let’s say that I went out and I bought a Bible, wrapped it up, put a bow on it, put a tag on it, and wrote your name on it. Then I said, “Here you go and happy birthday” and let’s say that you said to me, “Thanks, but no thanks,” and you rejected my gift.

Did this Bible ever become yours?

The answer is no. Why not? Because you did not accept the gift.

Was the gift that I am offering you paid for?

Yes, it is paid for because I bought it.

Was it meant for you?

Yes, it was meant for you, it even has your name on it.

But it never became yours because you did not accept it.

 

The gift from God is the exact same way. Jesus Christ already paid for it on the cross and He offers it to all of us freely, but we get a choice, whether we would like to accept it or reject it. Now if you could accept the gift of God would you do it? Well, the Bible tells us how you can do that.

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How Do I Accept the Gift of God?

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In Romans 10:9, it says this:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus.”

 

The word “confess” means to admit. What are you admitting?

Well, you are admitting that you are a sinner, and you are admitting that you deserve to die and go to Hell because of your sins.

Also, when you confess, you are also calling upon Christ to save you from your sins and Hell.

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The Bible says in Romans 10:13 

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

 

However, it is not just saying words in a prayer that saves you.

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Romans 10:9 begins with: 

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,” but it also goes on to say, “and shalt believe in thine heart,” that is referring to your faith. What are you believing? It continues, “That God hath raised him from the dead.”

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You are believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried and rose from the grave as a payment for your sin.

Not that I pay for my sins by living a good life, or doing good things, or turning (repenting) from my sin, or being religious.

Instead, I am believing that Jesus’ sacrifice was enough to purchase my salvation.

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Notice the last part of the verse, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

It does not say, “You might be saved,” it does not say, “You hopefully will be saved.”

God says, “I will save you, if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.”

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Do You Believe?

 

I don’t know if you noticed, but everything I have explained to you in this booklet came straight out of the Bible.

• If you believe what I have shown you from the Word of God…

• If you are willing to admit that you are a sinner…

• If you realize that your sin has condemned you to Hell…

• If you accept the fact that salvation is a free gift, which means you do not earn it and you do not work for it…

• If you believe that Jesus Christ, who was God in the flesh, died, was buried, and resurrected as a payment for your sin…

• If you understand that salvation cannot be lost because it is the gift of “eternal life” and it will last forever, no matter what you do…

• If you believe that if you by faith call upon Christ for salvation, that He will save you…

…Then all you need to do is pray and ask Jesus Christ to save you.

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Pray the Sinner’s Prayer

 

I would like to help you say a prayer so that you can receive the gift of salvation. Please understand that this is not a magical prayer.

The prayer in and of itself does not save you, but God tells us that He wants us to confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts to be saved!

 

If you believe all of that, we would like you to pray this prayer, in faith to Jesus from your heart.

 

“Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I deserve to go to Hell.

Please forgive me of all my sins and give me eternal life.

I am not trusting in myself. I am only trusting in you. Amen.” 

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If you believed in your heart when you said that prayer, I would like to congratulate you because, according to the Bible, you are saved.

You never have to worry about where you will spend eternity.

 

The purpose of this booklet was to explain to you clearly and thoroughly how you can know for sure that you are on your way to Heaven.

We pray you do know that now. However, you should also know that this is just the beginning.

God now wants you to grow as a Christian and develop a relationship with Him. You do not have to do this in order to be saved, but we hope you will want to do it because of the fact that you are saved.

 

This journey begins with a believer’s baptism, and we hope you will take that step of publicly identifying with Christ by being baptized.