The Gospel Message of Jesus Christ
What is the Gospel? The gospel is the good news about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ and Son of God. The good news is that Jesus provides complete deliverance from the power and penalty of sin according to God’s grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Why should I care? Most people are searching for meaning or purpose in their lives, and often express a certain emptiness that is difficult to explain. Inevitably people try to find a solution for their emptiness through relationships with another person, through material possessions, through drugs or the abuse of alcohol, or a myriad of other things or ideas. But predictably our relationships seem to fail more than they succeed, and none of these seems to fulfill this deep desire for meaning in life. This is because God created people for a personal and permanent relationship with him. What is missing in our lives is not things or people, but a true understanding and relationship with God. However, instead of pursuing this relationship with God, from our earliest beginnings humanity has followed self-centered desires against the desires of God. We expect other people or things to fulfill what only God can fulfill in our lives and refuse to acknowledge God as God. This rebellion against God’s purpose, called sin, has separated us from our intended relationship with God, both in this life and for eternity. We are blind to our condition and even our best attempts to end our separation from God by “being good” or “being religious” fail when compared to God’s holiness and perfection. With no other remedy, all people suffer the consequences of separation from God in their present life, and they will continue to experience separation from God’s grace for eternity in a place the Bible calls Hell – the likes of which fail our imagination.
What’s the solution? Fortunately, because of God’s love for us, what we cannot do, God has already done. Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, suffered the punishment and separation from God that we should have suffered for our rebellion against God. Jesus, by his life, death, and resurrection, ended the separation between God and humanity. You need only respond in faith to receive the blessing of grace (to be saved) and begin a new relationship with God.
How can I do this? To establish a relationship with God through the blessing of grace, you must accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. To accept Jesus as Savior (Christ means Savior) means admitting you sin and recognizing that only through Jesus’ atoning death are you able to have a true relationship with God. This also means abandoning all self-righteousness and self-confidence in your own abilities, and relying completely upon God for mercy and peace. To accept Jesus as Lord means exchanging your self-seeking desires and your natural rebellion against God, for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ, in every area of your life.
That’s it? Yes and No. This is not a fire insurance policy that is put away until needed. When you truly believe and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior in your heart and place full trust in him, your entire life begins to experience change or transformation. You cannot continue to live your life as you previously did. You should expect your old selfish-desires to begin to fade away and to be replaced by a desire to serve God. To serve God means to worship God and to be obedient to the will of God. However, in order to serve God, you must understand God and God’s expectations for your life. You cannot do this on our own; you must rely on the Holy Spirit’s power and the help of other believers. Through your association with a faithful and believing community (a church), you are able to grow in your knowledge and understanding of God, in order to serve him better. You also will experience new relationships with people who share a common belief and purpose in life. This is God’s desire if we are to grow in our relationship with him.
Questions or Comments? We would like to hear from you. Please feel free to contact our pastor at 512-258-1447 or email 
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