Explore the World of Soft…ids, Adults, Educational/RocelcoInc-ExploreTheWorldOfSoftware-KidsAdultsEducational-Vol2-Shareware.iso/educate/disk097/gospel.txt

Text File | 1991-01-03 | 9.7 KB | 200 lines

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     |     The following is certainly the most important message |
     | you will ever hear in your life, "The Gospel of Jesus     |
     | Christ".  It's the reason He died on the cross and rose   |
     | again.  The word "Gospel" means "good news".  The bad     |
     | news is that our race has been condemned to hell for its  |
     | rebellion against God.  The good news is:                 |
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              "THE GOSPEL (GOOD NEWS) OF JESUS CHRIST"

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     |                       THE PROBLEM                         |
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          The Lord God created man to glorify Himself and to have
     fellowship with Him forever, but because of the sin of Adam in
     Eden, the first man and his posterity became by nature, sinners
     against God.  The power of sin has rendered us dead in terms of
     our ability to fulfill this primary purpose.  We are a lawless
     people having failed the test of His Ten Commandments.  The Lord
     did not give us the Ten Commandments as a way back to Him, but as
     an opportunity for our sin nature to operate, that we might
     conclude along with Him that we are lost and helpless, bound by
     the shackles of sin. (see GALATIANS 3:19-25, ROMANS 3:19-31)

     ROMANS 3:10 "There is no one righteous, not even one;"

     ROMANS 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
     God"

     ROMANS 5:12 "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one
     man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all
     men, because all sinned."

     ISAIAH 53:6  "We all, like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has
     turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity
     of us all."

     JEREMIAH 17:9  "The heart is deceitful above all things and
     beyond cure.  Who can understand it?

     1 JOHN 1:8  "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves
     and the truth is not in us."


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     |                          THE RESULT                       |
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          The Bible, God's Word to us, teaches us that the result of
     sin is spiritual, physical, and finally eternal death in the lake
     of fire.  A dead person lacks the power to regain life.  We could
     not prevent our dying, neither can we through our own efforts
     resurrect our selves back to life.

     ROMANS 6:23  "For the wages of sin is death."

     EZEKIEL 18:4b  "The soul who sins is the one who will die."

     JAMES 1:15  "Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to
     sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death."

     EPHESIANS 2:1  "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions
     and sins."

          If we continue on this course, the final result is eternal
     death -- conscious torment forever in the lake of fire.

     MATTHEW 10:28  "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but
     cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can
     destroy both soul and body in Hell."

     MATTHEW 13:41-42  "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and
     they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and
     all who do evil.  They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
     where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

     REVELATION 20:14b  "The lake of fire is the second death.  If
     anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was
     thrown into the lake of fire."


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     |                          THE REMEDY                       |
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          In Acts chapter sixteen, the apostle Paul and Silas were
     asked of their jailer at Philippi, "What must I do to be saved?"
     If you believe the foregoing scriptures concerning your position
     before God, then your response must be the same.  If we are lost
     in sin and headed for eternal death with no hope of saving
     ourselves, how then can we be saved?
          God loves you so much that He placed your sin upon His Son
     Jesus Christ, Who suffered the eternal penalty as he gave His
     life being crucified on the Cross.  You can appropriate this
     "gift" to your life by exercising simple faith, that is, YOU MUST
     CLAIM BY PERSONAL CHOICE TO RELY EXCLUSIVELY UPON CHRIST'S
     FINISHED WORK ON THE CROSS TO BE SUFFICIENT PAYMENT FOR YOUR
     SINS.  Paul's answer to the Philippian jailer was, "Believe in
     the Lord Jesus and you will be saved -- you and your household"
     ACTS 16:31

     ROMANS 10:9  "...That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is
     Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the
     dead, you will be saved."

     ROMANS 4:5  "However, to the man who does not work, but trusts
     God Who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as
     righteousness."

     ROMANS 8:1  "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those
     who are in Christ Jesus."

     JOHN 3:16  "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and
     only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have
     eternal life."


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     |                         NEW LIFE                          |
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          If you have believed these scriptural truths, you have been
     born again into a new life.  As your first act of obedience to
     your new Lord, you must be baptized or immersed.  In 1 Peter
     3:21, the apostle told us that baptism is not the cleansing away
     of sin, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.  If you
     were baptized as an infant, you did not have this good conscience
     which results from the righteous new nature you now possess.
     All you got from your infant baptism was -- wet!  If you cannot
     find a biblical assembly in your area where you can be baptized,
     feel free to call us and we'll try to arrange it for you!
          At this point there is little sensitivity to this new birth,
     in the same way that you have no memory of your physical birth.
     You need to grow from spiritual infancy to adulthood.  Salvation
     is eternal.  You did nothing to earn it, you can do nothing to
     hold on to it, and as Paul taught in the last half of ROMANS
     chapter eight, you can never lose it!
          As Christ's death removed the penalty of death, His
     resurrection provides you with the power of a new life, the seed
     of which has been planted in all those who are born of Him.  In
     addition, the Lord has come to live within you to energize this
     new creation inside of you.  (See ROMANS 6:4-11, 1 CORINTHIANS
     2:9-16, EPHESIANS 1:13-14, 3:16-21, 2 CORINTHIANS 3:17-18.)
          As a spiritual infant, you need food upon which to grow in
     the Lord.  Your sustenance is to be found in the Word of God, the
     Bible.

     1 PETER 2:2  "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so
     that by it you may grow up in your salvation."

     2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17  "All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful
     for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
     so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good
     work."

     JOHN 12:48  "There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does
     not accept my words; that very Word which I spoke will condemn
     him at the last day."


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     |                      A PLACE TO GROW                      |
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          When an infant is born into the world he is added to a
     family.  Similarly, when one is born into the kingdom of God, he
     is added to a spiritual family called the "church."  The first
     century greek word translated "church" in our Bible is
     "ekklesia."  It is formed from two greek roots: "ek" -- (out of),
     and "kaleo" -- (to call).  The church is not a building, but the
     assembly of those whom God has called out of this sinful world to
     Himself!  God has placed others in the church with special gifts
     to minister to you and help you to grow.  He has given some of
     these gifts to you as well for the building of His church.  These
     must be nurtured, and you are needed; to love and to be loved.
          It is very important, if you have been born again, to find a
     church in which you may grow.  It must be an assembly which
     teaches the Bible, and teaches that salvation is a gift by faith
     in Christ's death and resurrection.
          If we can be of assistance to you in this manner, or answer
     questions about the Bible, and this message, please don't
     hesitate to contact us.  We want to love you and do whatever we
     can to help you.

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                   |  Resurrection Life Fellowship  |
                   |  Call [phone]           |
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     Copyright (C) 1989 by Kenneth R. Casey, Jr.  All Rights Reserved.

     Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version,
     Copyright (C) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
     Used by permission.