The Simple Gospel

Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, really lived and really died on a real cross, and shed real blood, bearing the real sins of every real man, past, present and future.

This is the simple truth, the simple gospel; the question is, how many of us really believe this?

There’s no mark in history recorded or not, greater than the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether your Christian, Muslim, Buhddist, Atheist, or indifferent, there’s no denying that the name of Jesus Christ stirs up something in each one of us. The feeling you get is up to you. Whether His name makes you joyful, angry, confused, sad, timid, or just flat out disconnected, there has to be a massive amount of power in this name to cause this amount of conflicting feelings.

What is it about the name of Jesus Christ that just stirs things up?

The bible tells us, that there is no other name greater than that of Jesus Christ. It also says that every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. You see, we were created by the Living God, and when God created us, we were given a measure of faith to accomplish the individual tasks that God created us for, and to believe in Him, for the ability to accomplish it. Now because we were created by God, who is indeed Spirit (John 4:4), our spirit recognizes God. Jesus being God’s son, the very word of God who became flesh (John 1:14), is recognizable to us.

The problem is that there’s a line drawn in the sand, and on each side of this line there’s a division. On one side, you agree with the fullness of God, understand who God is, and accept God’s offering of His son Jesus Christ to pay for your sin debt. The other side of this line, you deny God, or even believe He exist, but believe the lie, that your sin is not actually sin, that God is not correct, and that your goodness can outweigh your bad, therefore putting you in charge of your own destiny.

The problem with the second part of this line is that no matter how much good you do in life, your bad outweighs it. God calls sin an abomination. The amount of weight that sin carries is astronomical. Sin is the very shackles of life that keep us from accomplishing goals. Sin is a sickness. This sin problem will burden you for your entire lifetime whether you recognize it or not, because you are indeed spirit made by a spiritual God, and it’s your spirit that God put in you that recognizes sin. Sin has to be dealt with.

So how do we deal with this sin? The real answer is that we can’t. There’s nothing inside of us as natural beings that can rid ourselves of our sin. The only way to confront our sin is to recognize that we are sinners in every way, and confess those sins to God, ask Him to save you and cleanse you from the inside out. The bible says that, if we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us of those sins, and cleanse of all unrighteousness.

So what side of the line are you on today? Maybe you’re on the right side and you’re living hard for God, calculating every step to please Him and abide in His will. If you are, I commend you, and I encourage to continue to fight the good fight of faith and to finish strong.

Some of you may be on the right side, and trust God, and believe God, but have a hard time applying The word of God to your daily life. I want to encourage you, to stay seeking God, praying, fasting, dying to yourself, and put on the character of Christ, so that you can become more like Him. Get involved in a small group that is teaching sound biblical doctrine, and is committed to discipling you and concerned about your needs. Do yourself a favor and be a reciprocal of what you receive from others, so that everybody benefits. Also, be in fellowship regularly with the same local body, that has birthed this small group. If this small group cares about your well-being genuinely, what more will the entire body of Christ care about you.

Lastly, if you’re on the other side of the line, and have separated yourself from God, I want to encourage you that God is a loving God, and He has your best interest in hand. God will meet you where you are, and He will guide you, but in order for this to happen, you have to let down your defenses, and ask Him into your life.

Let’s pray, Father God, I thank you for your everlasting and continuous love. It is your love that cautions us, and draws us closer to you, and it is your love that breaks our shackles, and opens our eyes to the fact that we’ve been free since the cross; all we had to do is walk out of bondage. Help us Lord to recognize our bondage, and strengthen us to seek you more, and want you more than we ever wanted anything in our entire lives. We Love you Lord, and we ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen!