What Is the (True) Gospel Preached by the Lord Jesus?
“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” JESUS, Mark 1:14-15
“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” PETER, Acts 2:37-38
REPENT and BELIEVE. That’s the gospel Jesus and his disciples preached: not come as you are and accept Jesus in your heart. Neither Jesus nor the Apostles preached such a gospel that’s very popular today. The gospel message is one of REPENTANCE and RIGHTEOUSNESS.
What does this mean? It means to acknowledge that we are filthy sinners who have sinned against a HOLY God, offended him, fallen short of his glory, and have no righteousness of our own. It means to acknowledge and confess our sins and our own righteousness, TURN away from them, and then accept Christ’s free sin offering of himself as our ransom from sin, placing no more trust in ourselves but in his righteousness, which he imputes to us. And after this, to then CONTINUE in his righteousness in the fear of God, daily becoming more like him by the sanctification of the HOLY Spirit to the END.
The Gospel Message Is Not an Event
The salvation preached by the apostles was an ongoing one. It was not an event but a walk, a race, a fight, a journey with a destination. We are saved, being saved, and shall be saved. Our salvation culminates when we leave this world and finally when we receive our resurrected bodies on that great day. It is a process, and that’s why we are called to ENDURE because it is possible to lose our salvation by giving it up and going back to our past sins. The Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul made it clear that it is possible to be disqualified.
Salvation is not cheap. It cost Jesus, the son of God, his life. It is not a matter of saying a sinner’s prayer and remaining unregenerated. It is a real conversion experience where one comes face to face with their utter depravity and cries out, “What must I do to be saved?” like the 3,000 first converts who heard Peter on the day of Pentecost.
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men, and brethren, WHAT SHALL WE DO?” Acts 2:37. Peter then told them to REPENT, not accept Jesus in their hearts, and repeat a prayer. True salvation comes with a conviction of one’s sinfulness and need for salvation. It is a personal cry to God.
Or like the jailer who was so convicted by the power of God, where Paul and Saul were prisoners, that he asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). If you need to be cooed and wooed to be saved by sweet words, then there is no real conversion.
The Gospel Transforms!
When the Holy Spirit convicts a man, he knows he is a sinner and cries out in repentance for salvation. That’s the real gospel. It is sinners being saved and made righteous by the atonement of Jesus’ sacrifice of himself and then being made and kept righteous for the coming kingdom because heaven is for the holy, for saints, not sinners. You must be born again! (John 3:3)
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Are you born again? Do you have eternal life?
Have you given your life to Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? He loves us so much that he, our creator, left heaven and came to earth, dying for us on the cross, taking our sins upon him so that we may be forgiven and receive his righteousness. He conquered death by rising from the dead and made a way for us who were dead in sin to be reconciled back to the Father (God). What’s more, he has prepared a wonderful home for us in heaven, where those who love him and obey him will spend eternity with him. Learn more here about how to be born again and have eternal life after this brief life on earth.
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