Monday, September 3, 2012

TRUE FAITH CHANGES US

I wonder how many of you who will read this, actually know what it means to be born again?  After forty years of being a child of God, it still amazes me that the vast majority of those who profess to be Christians, do not know what the Gospel is!  In light of that, I must assume that some of my readers fall into that category.  So, let me present the Gospel.

"Moreover, brethren (believers in Corinth), I (the Apostle Paul) declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand:  by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain (believed when you heard, but then doubted - (Mt. 13:1-23).  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ (the Messianic King longed for by the Jews - Mk. 14:61-62) died for our sins (Gal. 1:4; 1 Jn. 2:2) according to the scriptures (Ps. 22; Isa. 53; Dan. 9:26; Lk. 24:19-27); and that He was buried (Isa. 53:9; Mt. 27:57-61), and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures (Ps. 16:10; Hos. 6:2):  that He was seen of Cephas (Jn. 21:7), then of the twelve (Acts 1:2-3): after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once (1 Cor. 15:6); of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep (have died)"  (1 Cor. 15:1-5).

Note that it is the Gospel which, when believed, has the power of God to save the lost sinner (Rom. 1:16).  When a believer presents the Gospel, the Holy Spirit convicts the hearer of his sin, of Christ's righteousness, and of the certain judgment that awaits those who reject Jesus (Jn. 16:7-11).  We cannot win the lost by using enticing rhetoric (1 Cor. 2:4), because the agents of Satan are also capable of using enticing words to reject the truth (Col. 2:4).  But we can, and must, present the simple Gospel message:  because of God's love for us (Jn. 3:16), the self-sacrificing Lord deserves to be served and worshiped (Mt. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:6; 1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 4:11; 5:12)!

The Gospel is only "good news" to those whose lives are changed by it!

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