The Good News - The Gospel

It's been said that no one is truly ready to live until they are first ready to die. Because God has created us with an eternal soul, each person must ask themselves this question: What will happen to me when my life here on Earth is done?

The Bible gives us solid answers. Have a look at the video below, and read through some of the attached Scriptures to understand the good news of Jesus Christ: YOU can be 100% certain that Heaven will be your eternal home.

Understanding the Gospel

Recognise Your Condition

All of us have sinned, and the penalty for our sin is death - eternal separation from God. This is a problem shared by every person on Earth.

Religion + Good Works = Futile

Many believe that the key to the problem of sin is just doing more good works than bad works. But the Bible makes it clear: No one is good enough to earn Heaven.

The Good News:
Jesus has made a way!

Jesus Christ was the Son of God, literally God in the flesh. As God, He was able to perfectly keep God's Law, making Him the only One who could save us!

Keep reading below!

Everyone is a sinner

The first step to fixing a problem is acknowledging that there is a problem in the first place. Each of us needs to acknowledge our problem: We are all sinners. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Sin is anything we do that goes against the commands of God, and every single one of us are guilty of breaking those commands.

Not convinced? Take a look at the Ten Commandments, given by God in Exodus 20. How many of these have you broken?

I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image (idol worship).

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain (using God's name as an expletive).

IV. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

V. Honour thy father and thy mother.

VI. Thou shalt not kill.

VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

VIII. Thou shalt not steal.

IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness (lie; tell an untruth) against thy neighbour.

X. Thou shalt not covet.

In the book of James, we are told, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

We need to stop making excuses and agree with God: Everyone is a sinner.

Sin has a penalty

When someone is guilty of breaking the law, there is a prescribed penalty for that crime. It is no different with God, who has set the penalty for sin as death. Romans 6:23a tell us, "For the wages of sin is death..."

It goes beyond the death of our physical bodies. Remember, God has created us with an eternal soul. When we die, our soul continues to exist. The question we're endeavouring to answer is this: Where will you go once you have died? In our current state, it goes to a place of eternal death. Revelation 20:14-15 tells us, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Do you wish God could just ignore our sin and let it slide? If He did, He would cease to be God, because God is perfectly just. And thus, God cannot allow sin to go unaddressed.

Jesus paid the penalty in our place!

Here's where the good news comes into play. God does not intend for us to be eternally separated from Him. But sin is a problem that needs to be addressed. So God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to come and pay the penalty of our sin in our place. John 3:16 tells us, "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."

Jesus was only able to do this because He was without sin. He lived a perfect life, and perfectly fulfilled God's Law. He was then crucified - put to death - so that He might pay that penalty of sin for the world. II Corinthians 5:21 explains it this way: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

We did nothing to deserve it, but God loved us enough to do it anyway. This is the good news. And this good news leaves us with a choice to make.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

Imagine it's your birthday and your best friend has come over to celebrate. He or she reaches into a bag and pulls out a beautifully wrapped gift. They hold it out to you with a smile on their face, and you say, "No, thank you!" That gift will do nothing for you, because you have refused to receive it.

Eternal life is a gift made possible by Jesus. Romans 6:23b tells us that "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." But just like any other gift, it must be accepted if it is to be effective. In other words, God will not force you to accept eternal life...but He does offer it to you freely if you're willing to accept.

How do we accept it? How can we be saved from Hell and know we have a home in Heaven? A man asked a preacher in the Bible that very same question once. We read about it in Acts 16: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..."

Believe on Jesus Christ! Another word we might use is the word faith, or perhaps trust. We might be tempted to trust in our good works, our church, or something similar. But religion and good works has never saved anyone. Jesus is the only One who can save, and thus, we must trust Him and Him alone.

You can accept this free gift of eternal life today. All you need to do is ask for it. Romans 10:13 tells us, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." There are no magical words to say. It's all about sincerely trusting Jesus and asking Him to save you. You could say something like this, though it doesn't have to be exactly this:

"Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I understand that sin has a penalty, and that You have already paid that penalty in my place. I am asking you today to forgive me of my sins and give me the gift of eternal life. I am trusting You and You alone. Please save me today. In Jesus' name, amen."

If you have made this decision today, there is one more verse you need to see. It's in I John 5:13:

"These things have I written unto that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

Want to know more? Have a chat with someone about the Gospel? Reach out to us at info@lighthousebc.co.nz