Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ

 The most important thing in my life today is to share the message of Jesus Christ, which we Christians call The Good News. 

If you were to die today, would you know for certain whether you would be going to Heaven or going to Hell? This is a very important thing to know because the return of Jesus to rapture His Church and take us believers to Heaven to be with Him is close at hand, closer than you might think. We are living in the End Times and the End of Days is just around the corner. So, you need to be prepared. 

I’m sure you know that God created everything in Heaven and on Earth. This included the creation of Adam and Eve in the likeness of God. First He created Adam, then caused Adam to fall asleep and took one of his ribs to form Eve. In the beginning when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, the Earth was perfect and the Garden was perfect as well. There was no sin in the world. But, then things changed rather quickly when Eve was tempted by the Devil and ate of the Tree of Knowledge and gave some of the fruit from that tree to Adam. This opened their eyes and sin was born. God created humans to be in a relationship with Him, but when sin entered the world, that all changed. God was sorry that he had created human beings and He forced Adam and Eve from the Garden and forbade them from returning, placing an angel at the entrance of the Garden so they could not return. And, later, He brought rain to pour upon the Earth consuming all living beings with the exception of Noah and his family, and the animals that God called to join them in the ark that Noah had created under God’s direction. 

Paul says in Romans 3:23, speaking of the fall of mankind, that, “For all have fallen short of the Glory of God.” Now, you may be thinking, “Hey I’m a pretty good person. I go to Church every Sunday. I give to the Church. I help feed the poor. I look after those who need assistance. I even teach Sunday School.” But, in the eyes of God, that’s not good enough. God is perfect and He expects us to be perfect, too, if we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and live eternally with Him. What is God’s standard? God’s standard is perfection, and unless you’ve been good all your life and you haven’t broken any of God’s Commandments, then well you’ve fallen short of the Glory of God.

So, what are the standards that God has given us. Some of these are: Thou shalt not kill; Honor they father and thy mother; Don’t commit adultery; Don’t steal; Don’t lie; Don’t covet; and Don’t take the name of God in vain. These are just a few of God’s standards that we are expected to maintain if we want to be in a relationship with God. I know, as for myself, I have broken at least one of these—but more likely more than one—in my life time. And, James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” That demonstrates God’s perfection. Not 1 percent, not 99 percent, but 100 percent. But, we are human and no one can measure up and maintain God’s standard which He has given us. Therefore, as humans, we are sinful and Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” You see, God demands death to be a payment for sin. I’m sure you’re familiar with the traditions as mentioned in the Old Testament where every year the people of God would sacrifice a perfect lamb after they had placed their hands on the head of the lamb, offering the lamb up as a sacrifice for them. Such practices would not remove the sins of the people, but instead would cover their sins for the whole year. In the next year, they would repeat the ceremony. Thus, the sins of the people were covered in the eyes of the Lord and they could be in a relationship with Him when they worshiped and made the sacrifice. 

Now, God in His infinite wisdom knew before He created man that man would fall into sin and, therefore, He caused His Son to be born of a virgin and to live a sinless life among men so that His coming would take away—not just cover up—their sins once and for all. See, God’s love for us caused His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins so that we could be with Him in Eternity. Without Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, we would die and forever be separated from God. In 1 Peter 2:24, it says, “He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.” God took our sins—your sins—and died so that we might live.

So, what is our responsibility as believers? We are to accept Christ and we cross that bridge when we accept Christ’s free gift of salvation. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God.” There are a few things that you need to do to receive this eternal salvation from Jesus Christ. First, you need to admit that you’re a sinner. This is told to us in Romans 3:23. Secondly, we are to confess our sins. In 1 John 1:9 it tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This is the only way we can deal with this sin problem that each of us has. We are saved by faith through grace. Ephesians 2: 8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” And, lastly, Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Accepting Jesus, confessing your sins before God, and then declaring with your mouth and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. It’s just that simple. And, that’s why it’s called The Good News. God wanted us to be with Him in Heaven for eternity. That’s why in John 3:16 it tells us, “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.” Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” So, now it comes down to whether you are willing to put your trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and receive eternal life. 

So, here is a prayer that anyone can say to receive Christ and have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life:

 "Dear God, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. I believe that your Son died on the cross to take away my sins. And, I also believe that He rose from dead so that I can be justified and made righteous through faith in Him. Jesus, I choose to follow You and I ask that You fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thank you for saving me.

 -- Amen. "

Now, I know that this message may be offensive to some because the Gospel is offensive. It’s basically telling you that you’re not good enough. But, God is enough. In fact, Jesus came to Earth to take away your sins, and to follow Him is a decision that each and everyone of us has to make. 

Making the right decision to follow Jesus is very important because I believe that the return of Jesus to gather up His believers is closer than anyone of us may wish to believe. The End of Days is right around the corner, and if you aren’t saved when He does return, then, well, you will be separated from God in Hell forever. Jesus’ return is imminent and it will come when you least expect it. You need to be ready for His return, because just like the Old Testament story of Noah and the Flood, when God closed the door on the ark, it was closed and no one else could enter. Similarly, when Jesus returns to gather up his Church, if you aren’t prepared and aren’t saved, the opportunity—door—for you to be taken up into the Clouds with Jesus will be closed as well. I don’t want you—yes, YOU—to miss the opportunity to be saved. Won’t you say the prayer and receive Christ today? It will take you less than a minute to do so and you will be with God for all eternity.

Dan Calloway
Asheville, NC