The Gospel
Every person in the world—including you—is unique. You have your own beliefs, desires, and wants. That’s an undeniable fact. But while every person is unique, we all ask the same questions: Why am I here?, Why does the world feel broken?, Why do I need God?
We all ask these same questions because every person was created in the image of God, meaning God knows you, God loves you, and God wants to do something incredible in your life. But there is a problem. And it’s a big problem. But there is also good news. And it’s great news.
Let’s start at the beginning.
God’s Design
The Bible tells us that God created the world and all people with intentional design, beauty, and pur- pose.
Because God designed everything, He cares about every aspect of our lives.
He cares about our marriages, our kids, our jobs, our plans, and even our hobbies.
And the Bible says if we’ll operate our lives according to God’s design, then we’ll experience the greatest joy and satisfaction in life.
What Happened?
The problem is that every single one of us tend to want to do things our own way. The Bible has a word for it when we depart from God’s design, and that word is “sin.”
The Bible says that all of us have sinned and fall short of God’s design for our lives. That sin separates us from God, meaning our relationship with Him is broken.
Brokenness Everywhere
That is why we live with brokenness all around us.
We’ve all experienced brokenness in our lives (for example, family, friends, neighbors). We feel it in our guilt, shame, fear, regret, emptiness, and loneliness.
We try to break out of this place of brokenness by trying to change things. For example…
• Diving into a new relationship
• Trying to make more money
• Using drugs and alcohol to numb the pain
There are lots of ways we “try” to fix the brokenness we are experiencing in our hearts.
But we soon realize that the change we need doesn’t really come from anything inside of us. The change we really need only comes from outside of ourselves.
The brokenness you feel is real, but there is something good that can come from it—for us to see our need for real change.
Good News
The Bible says there’s very good news for every one of us. The good news is that God wants to heal the broken places in your life.
The Bible has a word for good news, and the word is “gospel.”
The gospel is the good news that God made a way to fix our sin problem and restore us back into rela- tionship with Himself through Jesus.
The gospel is the simple story of how God, who is rich in mercy, so loved the world that He sent His Son to earth as a man.
Jesus Christ
Jesus, the Son of God and God Himself, lived a perfect life and died on the cross for the forgiveness of your sin.
Sin is rebellion against God. And like any crime, it must be paid for. In God’s design, sin must be paid by sacrifice.
Now, when Jesus was dying on the cross, God did a miracle. He took the sins of the world—that’s your sins and my sins—and He put them on Jesus.
Christ’s sacrifice on the cross paid your sin in full. In other words, Jesus died on the cross in your place as your substitute.
He died the death you deserved to die so that you can live the life He wants you to live.
Jesus died, but God raised Him from the dead on the third day. And when God raised Jesus from the dead, He proved that Jesus could do everything for us that He promised to do. He can forgive us of our sins, and He can heal the broken places in our lives.
Repent and Believe
So, the kind of change you need doesn’t come from out there; the kind of change you need comes only from God.
And the Bible has a word for the kind of change that we need, and that word is “repent.”
To repent means to change one’s minds, which leads to a change of heart and to a change of action.
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God, in which you confess your need for God’s forgive- ness through Christ.
But repenting is only one side of the coin. The other side is faith.
Coming into agreement that you are a sinner is a step away from sin, but you have to step toward some- thing new. That’s where faith comes in. You have to step toward Jesus in faith to save you.
Faith is accepting the truth about Jesus Christ (namely His life, work, and promises), submitting to Him as Savior and Lord, and trusting Him alone for salvation and eternal life.
When you repent of your sins and place your faith in Jesus, the Bible says that Jesus comes into your life, God forgives your sin, and the Holy Spirit begins to heal the broken places in your life.
Another way of looking at it is to say that Jesus has restored your relationship with God.
Recover and Pursue
And now that you have been reconciled with God and the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, you can recover and pursue God’s design for your life.
But God doesn’t want to just work in your life; He also wants to work through your life. When God comes into your life, He then sends you back out into a broken world so that you can tell others about how Jesus can heal them as well.
What Now?
Answer these three questions:
1. Where do you see yourself in this story?
2. Is there anything that is keeping you from repenting and believing the gospel right now?
3. Are you ready to place your trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord?
To give your life to Jesus, you need to consider the As, Bs, and Cs.
Admit & Ask: Do you admit you have sinned and want to ask God to forgive you?
Believe & Belong: Do you believe Jesus was God, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for your sin, rose from the grave on the third day, and will one day return for you? And do you want to stop living for yourself and belong to Him?
Confess & Commit: Do you confess Jesus as your Savior and Lord and commit to follow Him with all your heart from this day on?
If the answer to all of these questions is “Yes,” then you can give your life to Jesus by praying a simple prayer from the heart. It goes like this:
“God, I know I am a sinner. But I know you love me and sent Jesus to die for my sin on the cross. I believe He rose from the grave, proving He was God and that His promises are true. I want to stop living for myself and live for you. Please forgive my sin, give me your Holy Spirit, and help me follow Jesus as my Savior and Lord. From this point on and as best as I can, I want to live my life for Jesus.”
Does that prayer reflect what you are thinking, feeling, and experiencing? If yes, then pray that prayer from the heart to God right now wherever you are. Go ahead, God is listening.
What’s Next?
If you prayed this prayer or have questions you need answered, let us know. We would love to help you begin this new chapter in your life.