The Bible is God's word that tells of his promise to save a world lost in sin and death.
The central theme of the Bible is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel means good news and it is the message of salvation, redemption, healing, and hope.
The Gospel begins with God.
God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchanging.
He is unchanging in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
God is one God and three persons.
The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
He is just, holy, without sin. He is God of love. And he is God who is all powerful.
He created the whole world by his Word.
He created the trees to live with the roots in the ground.
He created the fish to live in the water.
He created birds to fly in the sky.
But the greatest thing that God made was man in his own image.
In Genesis 1:27, it says that God mad man in his own image.
We have the image of God in us.
This is who we really are so that we might be with him.
We have the mark of God within us.
We carry his signiture in the DNA of every cell of our body.
We were made to know him, love him, obey him, worship him, and glorify him with our lives.
We are truly happy and at peace when we are with God.
Now the first people, Adam and Eve, were given the blessing to multiply and rule over the earth.
They were placed in the Garden of Eden to care for it and enjoy tremendous power and freedom.
God also gave them the command to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
This was the covenant of creation.
Man will enjoy eternal blessings and eternal life when he remains in fellowship with God, in perfect righteousness because God has no sin and he is perfectly righteous.
But something happened to destroy this beautiful and perfect relationship with God.
In Genesis 3, we see the fall of man.
Satan, the enemy of God entered into the serpent and tempted Eve to disobey God's command.
He tempted Adam and Eve to disbelieve in God's promise and to desire independence from God.
They lacked nothing when they were in fellowship with their maker, and the devil lied and said, "You will be like God."
Adam and Eve separated from God when they sinned against him.
Now the Bible says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
This sin leads to death. In Romans 6:23, it says, "The wages of sin is death."
The sin of Adam and Eve was a cosmic event which brought about all the curses and suffering in the world.
From this moment on, all mankind is now under the control and authority of satan.
In 1 John 3:8, it says, "He who is sinful is of the devil."
The root problem for all the problems on Earth is this.
Separation from God, our sin which leads to death, and satan's control.
All the suffering and curses we experience are the result of this.
So what are some of the problems that we see?
First of all, on a spritual level, our true identity is lost and we became slaves and children of the devil.
John 8:44. The Bible says we belong the our father, the devil.
We are people created in the image of God.
We naturally seek him, but our spirits are depraved because of sin and our minds suppress the truth.
This is the reason swhy we see so many religions and idols in the world.
This is the evidence that we are spiritual people, seeking to fill the spiritual void in our lives.
Everything we love and live for, if it is not the God that we have been created by, it is an idol.
1 Corinthians 10:20 says that all of our sacrifices, rituals and efforts are actually being offered to demons, and not to God.
No wonder we suffer emotionally and mentally.
Even with a loving family, enough money, success, or stability, we cannot solve the issues of our heart.
There are so many hurtful memories and childhood scars that are buried there.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest."
These emotional and mental scars eventually manifest on a physical level with actual diseases: relationship problems, family discord, poverty, disasters or even crime.
Acts 8:7 tells us that a city called Samaria was filled with diseases and filled with people with these kinds of problems.
And then one day, the Bible says that we will all face death and judgment.
We will face judgment before the God of all creation.
If you still have this original sin, then we will be condemned to eternal death and suffering in hell. That is Hebrews 9:27.
The worst problem is how all these curses are actually passed down to our next generation as promised in Exodus 20:4-5.
But here is the good news.
God did not leave man to solve his own problems becasue he knew that we could never do that.
He promised a savior who would come to solve the fundamental problems of man.
That savior will be called the Christ.
The Christ means Anointed One.
Anointed One means the one that God has chosen.
The one that will be sent to save all mankind and do what Adam could not do.
The work of Christ was done by Jesus.
Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Son of God.
He came into the world 2000 years ago as the true Prophet.
What is that mean? That means he has no sin.
He came as the Son of God to perfectly fulfill the law for us.
John 14:6 says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he is God himself, come into this world in the flesh, so that he can meet us and fulfill all the requirements of law for us, then you can meet God.
He not only lived the perfect life for us.
He came to die for us as the true Priest.
He who had no sin became sin for us.
It tells us this in Hebrews 9:28 that Chirst was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.
In Romans 8:1-2, it says there is no more comdemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for by the law of the spirit of life, he set us free from the law of sin and death.
It's by his own blood that we can be forgiven of this original sin.
But he didn't say dead. After three days, he rose again with all authority over sin, death, and hell.
When he rose again, he proved that he had the authority as the true King.
1 John 3:8 says this. The reason why the Son of Man came is to destroy the work of the devil.
If you believe that this Jesus is the Christ, and you believe you cannot solve your own problem by yourself but only through Jesus who is the Christ, the Bible promises us that you will be saved.
John3:16. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you believe in him, you will be saved and have eternal life.
In John 1:12, it says that "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed his name, he gave the right to become children of God."
From a child of the devil, you become a child of God. The moment you believe in Jesus.
He says in 1 Corinthians 3:16 that from now on, I am the temple of God, with the Holy Spirit living inside of me.
That is the restoration of the image of God inside of me.
He not only will be with me, in John 14:14 says, he will answer all my prayers. Why?
Because this is not a religion, this is a relationship, it's coming back in fellowship with the Creator, with the one who made us.
Not only that, but you have been given an amazing power.
Luke 10:19 says, I have given you all the authority to overcome the power of the devil.
Nothing will harm you. In the name of Jesus, we have power over sin, over satan, over death itself.
We can live in this world with that authority to conquer, rule, subdue the earth.
The Lord has told us that he will protect us by his angels in Hebrews 1:14. It says that "Are not angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who inherit eternal life?"
We have nothing to fear because our citizenship is in heaven.
Philippians 3:20. One day we will enjoy this eternal life with him. But until we do, until we meet him face to face, the Lord has given us one last blessing.
That is the blessing to be his witness.
In Acts 1:8, "It says you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
A witness to what? A witness to the blessings that we have received when we gained life.
True life inside of Jesus. Outside of that is death. The only way is Christ.
This is the Gospel message.
I pray that every day you will learn more of this.
Really learn to accept it, enjoy it and then, relay that to other people.
If you find this message believable, if you recognize your own problem of sin, the power of satan, and separation from God, I invite you to accept Jesus as your Savior today.
All you have to do is confess him as your Lord and repent of your sins, and he will come, he will forgive you, and give you eternal life. Would you like to pray with me now?
Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. I have lived my life on my own, separated from you, living in sin and curses. But I believe that Jesus is the Christ. I believe Jesus is the Son of God, who came into the world, to die in my place. I believe Jesus rose again and broke the power of satan. I open my heart and ask Jesus to come in.
Jesus, come into my heart right now. Please forgive all my sins. Make me your child. Grant me the eternal life you promised. Lead my life forever. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for loving me. Teach me more of this Gospel so that I can enjoy worshiping you and living for your glory. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.
Jesus, come into my heart right now. Please forgive all my sins. Make me your child. Grant me the eternal life you promised. Lead my life forever. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for loving me. Teach me more of this Gospel so that I can enjoy worshiping you and living for your glory. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.
Did you pray that prayer sincerely in your heart?
I really pray that from today you will learn what it means to be a child of God.
It's not based on your work at all. It is 100% by the grace of God.
And grace means gift. Salvation is a gift. May you begin to learn to enjoy that gift and share this gift with others. God bless you.
What is Salvation? (Matthew 16:13-20)
