The Gospel in Brief
1) Every person has sinned and lives facing eternal damnation under the wrath of God
· Romans 3 : 10 – 12 It is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
· Romans 3: 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
· Romans 1: 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness
· Ephesians 2: 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful naturen and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
2) God Is Holy and does not tolerate sin in any way
· Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy
· Leviticus 11: 44 I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.
· Isaiah 59: 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
3) Our good works aren’t good enough to make us acceptable to God
· Isaiah 64: 6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags
· If Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden for committing one sin then what would make us think that God will accept our good works rather than judge us for our many sins?
4) God is love and merciful but is also righteous and just
· Psalm 103: 8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
· Psalm 7: 11 God is a righteous judge
· According to God’s law that He set He will judge all sin – that’s every person because everyone has sinned
· However God is merciful and doesn’t want anyone to perish – 2 Peter 3: 9 The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
· If God upholds His justice and judges us then He doesn’t reveal His mercy. If He upholds His mercy then He doesn’t uphold His justice.
5) God’s judgement on sin and mercy to the sinner – that’s all of us
· Romans 5: 7 – 8 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
· Romans 4: 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification
· Hebrews 9: 22 In fact the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Sin = death
We are sinners therefore we must die – be put to death
God is merciful and wants to forgive us our sin but his holiness demands the shedding of blood (death) for the forgiveness of sin
Jesus shed his blood (dies) on a cross in our place
– he takes the punishment for our sin – and we are free
If we believe that Jesus died in our place and has forgiven us of our sins then we have been justified and declared righteous before God.
· Romans 5: 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
· Romans 6: 22 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
6) Our response to receive God’s mercy
· Believe that Jesus died for your sins and that He has offered you forgiveness through His blood that He shed on the cross
· Repent – turn away from your sins and your own self centered life and life a righteous life for God. This includes renouncing all sinful practices and false worship
· Make decision to follow Jesus as your Lord and Saviour
If you have responded to this message in faith please contact us so that we can guide you on your new life in Christ