According to God's Word, the Gospel message is "good news!" The Apostle Paul wrote: "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand . . . For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
There are "three parts" to the Gospel message: 1. we are all sinners (Rom. 3:23; 5:12; etc.); 2. the payment, or wages for sin, is death (Rom. 6:23a); and 3. Jesus paid our penalty for sin by dying on the cross, shedding His own blood for that payment, those wages which were due to us (Rom. 6:23b)! According to Leviticus 17:11, when there is a sacrifice for sin, the "life blood" of the sacrifice is poured out. That is exactly what happened to Jesus:
Matthew 26:28 - "For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
Acts 10:43 - "To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins."
Romans 3:24-25 - "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."
Hebrews 9:22 - "And almost all things are by the Law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
According to Ephesians 2:8-9, our salvation is the result of our believing the Gospel; it is by God's grace (His unmerited favor):
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
It is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."
No comments:
Post a Comment