“The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Revised from 7/11/2013 & edited by Steve Macfarland)
Here is the truth about sin, and how God’s grace through saving faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ is given by God, to those who understand and obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…
Romans 5:12… Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (NKJV)
Most people believe sin began in the Garden of Eden, but it didn’t. Sin began when God’s top angel Lucifer, decided to flex his power and wanted to become equal to God…Isaiah 14:12-14…
Sin, by its very nature, is a part of every human being at conception… [Psalm 51:5]…since Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, to the serpent’s (Satan’s) temptations. This sinful nature is part of everyone’s natural make-up, from the time they are conceived, until the time that they die…
Romans 3:23… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (NKJV)
Little children, who are told NO by their parents, go right ahead and disobey… This rebellion against parents is emblematic of their self-centered and self-willed rebellion against the Creator…
God hates sin because it is independent rebellion against Himself… Sin will devastate the lives of everyone that continues to live in it… They are in bondage to sin, Satan, and the ways of the world… [1 John 2:15-16 & John 8:34]
The sad truth about sin is that it blinds the unbeliever…
2 Corinthians 4:4… whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (NKJV)
Satan is the father of sin (John 8:44), and a master of disguise. The Apostle Paul warns us about false prophets, and Satan himself, in...
2 Corinthians 11:12-14… For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. (NKJV)
Thanks to the grace of God, He sent His Son Jesus Christ, into our corrupt world, to be born of a virgin… [Isaiah 7:14 & Matthew 1:18] And to shed His blood on the cross at Calvary that we might be cleansed from sin, if we repent and receive God’s gift of eternal life… [Acts 20:21; Romans 6:23]
Upon understanding and obeying the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the sins of the unbeliever will be replaced with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ [Philippians 3:9 & 2 Corinthians 5:21]… 1 Peter 2:24…as God’s free gift of grace, through saving faith alone in Jesus Christ, fills the heart, mind, and soul of the new redeemed child of God…
Ephesians 2:8-9… For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. (NKJV)
Those who do not obey the Gospel (i.e., the good news) will experience the wrath of God due to their sin… 2 Thessalonians 1:8 & 1 Peter 4:17
There is nothing an unbeliever can do on their own merit. No amount of good works done in the name of the Lord can cleanse away sins. All of our own righteousness is absolutely worthless…Isaiah 64:6… Jesus warns those who falsely believe that their good works done in the name of the Lord (like going to Church every week), will forgive sins…when Jesus warns those around Him (and us) about this, in…
Matthew 7:21-23… “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (NKJV)
Having one’s lifetime of sins forgiven, is pure grace given to the unredeemed sinner by God. God’s grace is given by God to those who seek Jesus Christ to become their personal Lord and Savior, through a personal one on One relationship, that is established between the unredeemed sinner and Jesus Christ…
This is accomplished through saving faith alone in Jesus Christ, through obedience to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, when the sinner realizes they can in no way save themselves, and turns to the Lord to receive God’s grace… (More about obeying the Gospel of Christ later)
So why should you desire to become a redeemed child of God ?? Very simply, to be forgiven of your sins, have the gift of eternal life, be in-dwelt with the Holy Spirit by God, to be supernaturally empowered to defeat Satan’s temptations, and our own carnal fleshly desires constantly urging us to sin… 1John 2:15-16…
The Holy Spirit living within the “born again” Christian, has been given to every believer by God to guide and direct EVERY facet of the redeemed child of God’s life… It is the Holy Spirit that helps the Christian grow and mature by developing the fruit of the Spirit, which the Apostle Paul pens, in…
Galatians 5:22-23… But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (ESV)
Look at this list of attributes the Holy Spirit will empower you with !!
Love, Joy, and Peace are the most important of these 9 fruit of the Spirit…
How would you like to have a supernatural love that surpasses your knowledge (Ephesians 3:19)… A love empowered by the Holy Spirit that will enable you to love even someone screaming in your face, as Jesus tells us to do, in…Matthew 5:43-44…
supernatural joy that enables you to go through life’s most difficult trial, and still be able to find joy… The Apostle James tells us about this joy, in…James 1:2-4…
And wouldn’t you like to have a supernatural Peace that will allow you to look upon your own death…knowing without a shadow of a doubt that you will be face to face with Jesus in heaven, the instant you breathe your last breath here on earth !! [2 Corinthians 5:8]
This supernatural peace surpasses our mortal understanding, as the Apostle Paul pens, in…
Philippians 4:6-7… Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (NKJV)
All of these God-given blessings will be given to you by God if you understand and obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ… How is this done ?? You must pray to God, with what some call “the sinner’s prayer”, which should go something like this…
“Father I am sorry for my lifetime of sins… I believe sincerely in my heart, that Your Son Jesus suffered and died on the cross, shedding His blood to cleanse away all my sins… I believe that Jesus was buried, and rose again in 3 days… I repent and turn from my sins with godly sorrow and a repentant heart…seeking Jesus Christ to come into my heart to direct my life…”
Romans 10:9-10… “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (NKJV)
QUESTION: How do we know that our prayer of repentance from sin, in which we asked God for the gift of salvation was real i.e., from the heart ??
ANSWER: by the evidence listed in God’s Word…
1 John 2:3-6… Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (NKJV)
1 John 3:14… We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. (NKJV)
1 John 3:24… Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (NKJV)
Ephesians 5:18-21… And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. (NKJV)
2 Corinthians 13:5… Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! (ESV)
Failure to obey the Gospel of Christ before you die will result in eternal separation from God, and you will forever forfeit your place in heaven…
2 Thessalonians 1:8-9… in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, (NKJV)
All Christians who are walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), will know for sure, that they are indeed redeemed children of God. The Apostle Paul tells us this, in…
Romans 8:15-16… For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,(NKJV)
The power of the Holy Spirit can give us victory over the power of sin in our lives… The Apostle James says this best, when he penned this, in…
James 4:7-8… Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (NKJV)
My friends, these blessings of spiritual fruit are totally indescribable, and have to be experienced to be believed !!
For those who have been blessed with God’s gift of salvation (Romans 6:23),
our logical response should be to follow Romans 12:1-2…i.e., live as led by God’s Spirit… We see this penned by the Apostle Paul, in…
Galatians 5:16… I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (NKJV)
We as Christians can only remain filled with the Holy Spirit (as the Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:18-21), if we live in obedience to God’s will and God’s ways… Any unconfessed sins will leave us out of fellowship with our heavenly Father, just as disobedience to an earthly father damages fellowship with him… Sin breaks fellowship but it does not break relationships… The solution is to admit our sin and obey, as expressed by the Apostle John… Our Lord will then forgive us (for Christ has already paid the penalty of our sin), and restore our fellowship with Him…
1 John 1:9… If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NKJV)
Living for the Lord, with the Holy Spirit in total charge of your life, is a blessing that I pray everyone will come to experience…
Heavenly Father, Your Word is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…Hebrews 4:12-13… I pray Lord, that You would draw those that don’t yet know You as their personal Lord and Savior, to Yourself…John 6:44… And that the truth from Your Word through obedience to the Gospel of Your Son Jesus Christ, would set them free from Satan’s chains of bondage to sin and shame…John 8:32… I pray for this fullness of Christ in all of our lives, in Jesus’ most precious name, and for His sake…Amen…
Blessings in Christ, bruce r. mills
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I especially love this part as I reread it again after a few years: “It’s not the prayer that saves us; it is a changed heart that is regenerated by God . . .”
I have seen too many of what I call Assembly-Line Salvations over the years and I don’t mean to be cynical, BUT – too many rely solely on the “prayer of salvation” as if it is some MAGIC formula, when it is exactly what you described, the regenerated heart wrought by God Himself!
Too many pastors have sat back on their laurels after a person has come to the altar and said the sinners prayer and there has been no follow-up or follow-through to help them understand salvation AND discipleship! Sadly this is one of the downfalls of the BIG churches, yet not always for there are always exceptions depending on the leadership.
If we as servants of God, help someone through the “sinner’s prayer” or the prayer of salvation, it is our responsibility to nurture them and be there for them if at all possible so they can begin their new lifestyle journey on a firm foundation!!
Great, GREAT article Brother!
By the way, I thought I have been following your Blog all these years, but the Follow button kept popping up! Anyway, I’ve been here plenty but I made sure you will show up in my reader as well! God Bless and have a JOYOUS and BLESSED Christmas Season AND New Year all through!!
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Roland I soooo appreciate the time you constantly spend commenting on my posts, and the questions I have given you in the past… You my friend, are discipling me !!… It is much appreciated !! May you and your family have a joyous Christmas as well!! Blessings in Christ, bruce
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Brother it is my pleasure that the Holy Spirit brought us together. You are an inspiration and it helps me in my writing! I pray the same blessings, Joy, and Peace to you and yours this Season!!!
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Again, I say…
Could God turn away from a Good Buddhist mother or a scientist like myself that can’t bring herself or himself to exclude most of humanity? Would God really like what’s going on in the Middle East or should we have left them alone? Shouldn’t those Jews be our neighbors and friends rather than taking over other peoples’ homeland and pretending it has belonged to them all along? And why would a loving God separate the sexes into rulers and ruled as the Bible does and as Islam adopted from Christianity?
How do I believe a book that fantasizes about God giving the world to mankind when I KNOW that dinosaurs owned the world for over a hundred million years? And how do I ignore the fact that self-anointed “holy” men sponsored wars, bigotry and killing for centuries and seem to continue to do so even today?
I agree we’re blessed.
I agree to be grateful.
I just think we should start treating the rest of the world as equal to ourselves — in our eyes even if not in our God’s. Thomas Jefferson said, “…all men [and I add women] are created equal.” Communists are men and women. North Koreans are men and women. Russians are men and women. Citizens in dictatorships are men and women. And atheists and agnostics are men and women. I reject a man-made “God” that favors only the credulous among them. I firmly believe that Saul of Tarsus created this fiction because he’d found a way to influence and control others. He bullied and cajoled his way into our minds and our churches and taught us bigotry and misogyny in the process — something that doesn’t bring happiness or joy to either side of this arbitrary divide. Ditto all the other divisions in your holy book.
Blessings — whether or not you believe what I believe,
Dave from DavesWorld.org
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My friend, I thank you.
I don’t doubt the Bible out of spite or malice. I don’t offer dissent from your well-read and well-meaning readership for personal gain. I do it because it arbitrarily and capriciously divides us into “believers” and “non-believers,” into “saved” and “damned.” I choose to believe that all men and women are created equal. This includes people born in Communist countries, people born within the borders of a dictatorship. It includes Buddhists and Hindus, Agnostics, Athiests, and heretics. I choose to believe that our opinions about things outside of our awareness matter much less than what we say and do. I choose to believe that whatever created us does NOT seek to divide us with the harmful and disunifying messages found in the writings of Saul of Tarsus such as those he penned in his letters to the Galatians.
And,
The Holy Bible had 1500 years to “save” humanity and all Christians did was rob, steal, kill and exclude throughout the non-Christian world and much of their own throughout the Dark and Middle Ages … all the while congratulating each other on their righteousness and unique position in the eyes of the Creator. The U.S. added “under God” to our pledge and then we killed Vietnamese in Vietnam for 20 years and we Killed Afghanis in Afghanistan and Iraqis in Iraq for more than ten years, believing without a bit of doubt yet massive evidence to the contrary that this foreign killing would somehow “make the world safe for democracy.”
I know you feel unified, but there is a vast gulf of misunderstanding and a history of abuses between Christians and the rest of the world — and between Christians of slightly differing faiths. While you and your fellow Christians are unified in you steadfast, unflinching beliefs, the rest of the world is, in my strong and steadfast opinion, just as good, just as worthy, and just as capable of meriting God’s grace.
It isn’t your beliefs about yourselves that I take issue with, though I disagree, it’s your disdainful views about everyone else.
Love and Peace,
Dave, blessed by the inclusive God of my own understanding
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Dave, I keep approving your remarks, in hopes that God can use my words to witness to a man that cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit that God gives to ONLY His redeemed children… God uses the “good news” Gospel of Christ message to save sinners…
I again give you this link to print out, and leave laying around in your house… Pick it up and read it, ONLY when God draws you in (John 6:44), and seek Christ with ALL of your heart, mind, soul, and strength…
God knows your heart, and will grace you with eternal life in heaven, if you seek Him with ALL of your being !!
Blessings in Christ, bruce
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Why didn’t you respond to Dave’s comment in a manner that at least showed a modicum of respect for his view?
He is spot on in his view of Christians and their actions.and all you did was hand wave his comment away.
Have some damn integrity, Bruce, for the gods’ sake!
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Ark, I don’t think I saw his response, forgive me… But I will check into it today !! 🙂
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Dave, I re-read your response, and Ark says I didn’t treat you well… And I understand that you believe every human being deserves God’s grace… I don’t hate anyone… But I cannot sugar coat the truth that God has given us in His inerrant Word, the Bible…
I am commanded to share the “good news” gospel message to everyone I come in contact with… You believe in heaven and hell ??
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I want to become a Christian but I need your guidance. I can’t live in a Muslim country and worship Jesus Christ, but I need your help. If the Muslim scholars find out that I became a Christian, I won’t be safe anymore
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How can I help ??
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Today is Valentine’s Day, and what better a day that to tell you about God’s love for us… God loves us so much, that He gave up His only Son to shed His blood to cover the sins of those who seek Jesus Christ to become their personal Lord and Savior… God doesn’t want anyone to perish, as we see in…
2 Peter 3:9… The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (ESV)
We also see this penned by the Apostle Paul, in… 1 Timothy 2b-4… that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (ESV)
What is this truth ?? That we can receive God’s free gift of grace and eternal life in heaven, if we humble ourselves, and obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ… Open this link for a presentation of the Gospel of Christ…and be filled with the love of Christ as a new child of God’s kingdom…
Blessings in Christ, bruce
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