The Gospel
S4U is unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
God
Creator and sustainer (Acts 17:24-28)
The gospel begins with the wondrous reality that God created everything. Because God created everything and sustains everything, He is perfectly deserving of worship and obedience. He is holy, holy, holy. He hates sin, and He is perfectly loving, just, righteous, and unsearchable in all His ways.
Mankind
Sinners against a holy God (Genesis 1:27, Romans 3:23)
Men and women are uniquely made in God’s image and are given the divine responsibility to display their creator. However, every person has rejected their Creator by failing to live up to the standard He set for us in the Bible. We willfully rebel against Him, and we justly deserve His divine wrath for our sin. Sin ruins our lives, relationships, and any chance of having peace with God. Nothing we do, including all of our good works, can ever pay the debt we owe to our Creator. We need a Savior.
Christ
Savior of sinners (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Timothy 1:15)
Despite our rejection of God, He did not reject us. Nearly 2,000 years ago, God sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life and to die on a Roman cross in our place. The most innocent human being who ever lived received the most unjust punishment in human history. By His substitutionary death on the cross, Jesus paid our sin debt and opened the way to have a restored relationship with God. On the cross, Jesus bore the full wrath of God for sin, though He Himself had not sinned. Three days after His death, God raised Him from the dead to guarantee eternal life to anyone who trusts in Jesus alone for salvation.
The Holy Spirit
Regenerator of hearts (Ephesians 1:13-14, Titus 3:5-7)
In a mysterious, divine act, the Holy Spirit regenerates one’s heart as the first step of salvation. All who believe in Jesus receive the Holy Spirit as the deposit guarantee of their salvation, and also receive spiritual gifts that He imparts.
Our Response
Repentance and faith (Mark 1:15, Romans 10:9-10)
The only proper response to Jesus’ perfect work on the cross is to repent of our sins and believe in Him alone. Repentance means to confess and reject every sin. Believing in Jesus means to trust in His perfect life, death, and resurrection as one’s only hope for receiving eternal life and His own perfect righteousness.
The gospel can be condensed into a single sentence: Jesus Christ came to save sinners, and He calls all people to repent of their sins and trust in Him alone for salvation.
The gospel is for everyone. Anyone can trust in Jesus and be saved, regardless of the sins they have committed – including the sin of abortion, and the intent to receive one.
How Will You Respond?
Jesus is coming again soon to gather his people to himself for all eternity. He will come to judge those who have rejected Him, and He will also come to bring home to heaven those who have placed their trust in him.
Have you repented of your sins and trusted in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life?
If you have not, today is the day of salvation!
Speak to God as you would a Father, and tell Him how sorry you are for your sins, that you hate your sin, and you do not want to live in your sin any more. Tell Him that you want to be forgiven of your sins and be given eternal life. Believe in your heart that Jesus is your Lord, and confess with your mouth that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved. Tell the Lord that you will follow Jesus with all the strength the Holy Spirit gives, and that you will trust in Him all the days of your life, until He calls you home.
Freedom in Jesus Christ
When you place your faith in Jesus Christ and trust in his all-sufficient sacrifice on our behalf, you are free from our bondage to sin and are assured that heaven is your forever home. We have hope in Jesus that this world is not the end of the story.
Your Next Steps
Learn more about the gospel. Consider reading Greg Gilbert’s What is the Gospel?.
Repent of your sins and trust in Jesus alone for your salvation.
Get baptized and join a gospel-preaching, Christ-exalting, disciple-making local church.
Visit 9Marks’ church search tool to find the closest church in your community.