The Gospel message is the most important message ever shared. When the Gospel is received and believed by the listener, that person is transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God (Acts 26:18). As you read the contents below, please remember that I am an imperfect person being sanctified by Christ; therefore, my delivery may be imperfect. It is my desire to rightly divide the word of God and deliver His message as accurately as possible.

If you are new to the Gospel or perhaps curious, here is a breakdown of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The passages referenced are not exhaustive but do provide biblical evidentiary support for each point. If you have questions about Jesus, the Gospel, or Christianity, please send a message on any of the P31 Cottage social media pages or email us at info@p31designs.com so we can answer your questions or discuss any challenges you may have. Also, if you are a believer and you see that I missed an aspect that is vital to the gospel, please let me know so that I may make that correction.

Creation

God created all things and said, ‘It is good.’ He created mankind in His own image and declared it to be “very good.” Sin entered the world through the sin of Adam, creating a separation between mankind and God. God promised that He would send a Redeemer, the Messiah, to reconcile His creation to Himself. (Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 3:1-7, Genesis 3:15-21, Romans 5:12)

The Law

God gave Moses the Law, which He required His people, the Israelites, to abide by. The Law was given to demonstrate the depth of our sin and our inability to live a life holy and pure. God is Holy; therefore, He requires His people to be Holy to dwell with Him. (Galatians 3:24, Leviticus 11:44) The Law required animal sacrifice for atonement of sin for the people of Israel. These sacrifices took place at different times of the year for the sins of all of Israel, known as The Lord’s Feasts. His appointed times. The animal to be sacrificed would need to be perfect, without spot or blemish. Think of an animal that would win Best in Show. (Leviticus 23:1-22)

Cost of Sin

Everyone is imperfect and needs reconciliation with God. All have sinned against God, and the cost of that sin is death.  Since we are spiritually dead apart from God, we either must pay the price of the spiritual death caused by sin, or a substitutionary sacrifice for sin would have to be made in our place. Our good works will not reconcile us, but the grace of God shown to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus does. (Romans 3:23-24, Romans 5:6-12, Ephesians 1:2-3)

Jesus the Redeemer

Jesus is the fullness of God and Man who lived a sinless life. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of a virgin as prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 and Micah 5:2. He was crucified like a criminal on a cross. The death was for our sins as prophesied in Isaiah 53. He was buried, rose from the dead on the third day as He had said He would in Matthew 12:40. He visited His friends for a while, appeared to many other people, and ascended into heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Acts 1:10-11) It was the death of Jesus on the Passover that fulfilled the Law of God that required a sacrifice to be made for the atonement of sin given to the Israelites thousands of years earlier. He is the sacrificial Lamb of God. Without spot or blemish. Perfect and Holy.

John 1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” regarding Jesus.

He will Return

Jesus is coming back. When He does, those who are His people will be saved from punishment and will remain with Him. Those who have chosen to not follow Him will be judged for their sin. Jesus in His Holiness is the righteous judge. (Malachi 4:1-2, Matthew 24:30, Acts 1:11, 2 Timothy 4:8, Revelation 1:7, Revelation 20:11-15)

Jesus is God

Yes, God, Creator of the Universe and all things seen and unseen, came to earth as a human baby to redeem His creation to Himself. He came as a man. The man called Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus never came out and directly said, “I am God”. But he did declare His divinity in statements that the ancient Jews would have taken as that declaration. In John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” The statement “I am” is directly correlated to the time God told Moses “I am who I am” in Exodus 3:14. If Jesus was not claiming to be God, why would the Pharisees call Him a blasphemer and demand He be put to death? The documented conversation in John 10:33 tells how the Pharisees (the religious leaders) wanted to stone Jesus: “The Jews answered him, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” Additionaly, there are facts that only one claiming to be the one true God would have:

• Jesus had followers who claimed Him as God – John 20:28; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1; Hebrews 1:8 (Psalm 45:6)
• Jesus accepted worship (in Rev 19:10, an angel declares that God is to receive worship) – Matthew 2:11, 14:33, 28:9, 28:17; Luke 24:53: John 9:38
• Jesus will return and state He is God – Revelation 1:8; 22:13 (we are still waiting for this one to come to pass)

Conclusion

In conclusion, this is the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Believing in Jesus as God and the one who gave His life to reconcile us to Himself for our sins and trespasses against Him provides forgiveness. When putting your faith and trust in Jesus, you choose to follow His ways and His teachings. But you are not alone. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to send a helper, His Holy Spirit, to not just dwell with the believer like in the old covenant, but in them. (John 14:26; Acts 1:5-8, 2:17-18) A believer and follower of Jesus is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. He will lead you to all truth (John 16:13). If you are choosing to follow Christ, the next step is to find a Bible teaching church and get baptized. Yes, you do need to be amongst other believers, be baptized, and be discipled. Welcome to the Kingdom of God!