Believe the Gospel and Be Saved

“And He (Jesus) said to them (the disciples), “Go into all the world and preach THE GOSPEL to every creature.  HE WHO BELIEVES and is baptized WILL BE SAVED; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15‭-‬16 NKJV, brackets and emphasis mine). “Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,  and that REPENTANCE and REMISSION OF SINS SHOULD BE PREACHED in HIS NAME to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46‭-‬47 NKJV, emphasis mine).

As clear as this instruction from our Lord Jesus Christ is, it is unfortunate that there are many ministers behind the pulpit today who don't understand it, who don’t have the true revelation of the gospel. They themselves don't even believe (the good news) that they have received the remission of sins through the one-time sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and so they themselves are not saved, since salvation is for only those who believe the gospel. (see Mark 16:15-16). Jesus told the disciples “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (see Luke 24:47 NKJV). This is the core message of the gospel. And so Peter, in response, preached on the day of Pentecost saying, “REPENT, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the REMISSION OF SINS; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 NKJV). “Repent” simply means change your mind. In another sermon, Peter proclaims: “For Christ also hath ONCE suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18, emphasis mine). And Paul adds, "In him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RICHES OF GOD'S GRACE.” (Ephesians 1:7, brackets and emphasis mine). Peter and Paul could boldly preach this gospel because they believed it. They believed they had received the REMISSION OF THEIR SINS in the name of Jesus. Thus, Peter and Paul were no hypocrites. They believed the gospel and preached it. But today, there are many preachers behind the pulpit who don't believe the gospel. How can you preach repentance and remission of sins to unbelievers when you yourself don't believe you have received it, when you yourself believe you have to work for it? How can you preach salvation to all nations when you yourself don't believe you're saved? Such is the sad state of many preachers today in our churches, and they are sadly self-deceived. They have been ordained by men, but they are certainly not ordained by God. They themselves live in sin, so all they preach about is sin, condemnation and death. Paul said such people walk as enemies of the cross of Christ  (see Philippians 3:18). Jesus said, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13 NKJV). Indeed, such preachers are not saved; nor are they saving any souls.

The Bible clearly states: "For by GRACE you HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH, and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God, NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 NKJV). No one who believes that salvation is by the works of the Law or by a combination of faith and works (of the law) can claim definitively right now (backed by Bible evidence) that he/she is saved. And this is where I pity some Christian religious denominations who are working for their salvation and wrongly believing they are on the path to salvation. No one can know he is saved when he is trusting in his good works for salvation, and no one can be saved in such manner regardless. But sadly, many stubborn people will hold on to their false doctrine and die before they find out they are not and cannot be saved by their works. For it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. (see Hebrews 9:27). Only those who believe or trust solely in Jesus Christ for their salvation are saved and can say for certain that they are saved. (see 1 John 5:13). So put your trust solely in Jesus Christ for salvation. Don't let pride lead you to hell. Salvation is not something any man can ever boast of having worked for; it ìs the GIFT of God that is given freely to those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, not to those who work for it. This is why all true ministers of God have been called to be ministers of the new Covenant. (see 2 Corinthians 3:6). We have been called to be ministers of the Spirit and of righteousness, and not ministers of death and condemnation. (see 2 Corinthians 3:7-9). We have been called to be ministers of reconciliation. And we are to preach the message of reconciliation, that God is no longer angry at us; that He is at peace with the world and has forgiven us all our sins because of the atonement of the blood of Jesus Christ; and that He is calling on us to accept His offer of reconciliation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ was and is the culmination of God's peace project. He is the Prince of Peace, and He has brought peace between God and man. Hence, the angels who announced the birth of Jesus were  joyous, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE, GOODWILL toward men!” (Luke 2:14 NKJV, emphasis mine). Paul declares that, "having been justified by faith, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1 NKJV, emphasis mine). The Bible further states that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, NOT IMPUTING THEIR TRESPASSES TO THEM, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (II Corinthians 5:19 NKJV, emphasis mine). This is the message we are to preach. It is the message all the early apostles preached. John preached that Jesus Christ “Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (I John 2:2 NKJV). Paul, in preaching the message of reconciliation also said, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to  be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (II Corinthians 5:20‭-‬21 NKJV). Now, this sounds like good news to me. We are being implored to accept Christ's sacrifice for our sins and accept that we have become the righteousness of God in Christ. We are to accept that just as Christ became sin without committing any sin, we have also become righteous (through faith in Christ) without doing anything righteous. This is the good news. It is also summarized in Paul’s letter to the Romans as follows: “But now apart from the law THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. THIS RIGHTEOUSNESS is GIVEN THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST TO ALL WHO BELIEVE. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and ALL ARE JUSTIFIED FREELY by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:21‭-‬24 NIV, emphasis mine).

Thus, the good news is not the depressing and scary fact that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23), and that the wages of sin is death. (see Romans 6:23). In fact, that is the bad news. But the good news, which immediately follows the bad news, is the liberating and joyful truth that all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (see Romans 3:24), and that the GIFT of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (see Romans 6:23). Hallelujah! I know, without a doubt, that many of you have been going to church for a long time, and yet, for some of you this is the first time you have actually heard the gospel (or the good news). The question then is, do you believe this good news? Unfortunately, many so-called Christians today don't believe it. But this is your chance to believe it, and be saved.

Christians today just need to believe the Word of God and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. There is a big problem of unbelief in the church today, which is quite unfortunate, because without faith, it is impossible to please God. (see Hebrews 11:6). Just as the message that was preached to the Israelites did not profit them or do them any good because it was not mixed with faith (see Hebrews 4:2), so is the gospel of Christ not profiting many people today because they are not mixing it with faith. In fact, I find it difficult to use the word "believers" to describe all Christians, because many so-called Christians don't truly believe the good news of Christ. Unless they can sense something that sounds like bad news in your preaching, they won't accept it. They just want to hear you preaching about sin, condemnation and death, about how they are all going to burn in hell if they don't stop sinning. But that is not the good news. That is not the gospel of Christ. The gospel of Christ doesn’t just name the problem of sin; it offers Jesus Christ as the solution. So the truth is that sin is not the problem in the church today; faith is. You know why? Because Jesus has taken care of the sin problem already; people just don't want to believe it. People crave for something they can also do to "earn" their salvation so that they can boast in themselves. The natural man is predisposed to pride, and is driven by a lust for achievement through self-effort. So, No, they don't want to accept salvation as a gift by faith. They prefer to work for it. And that's all the problem I see in the church today, and I believe God sees the faith problem also, as revealed in His letters to the 7 churches. (see Revelation 2 - 3). It is only by (faith in) the blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of our testimony that we overcome. (Revelation 12:11, with 1 John 5:4). When we believe right, we will definitely live right. Knowledge of the truth of the gospel makes the believer truly free (see John 8:32) -- free from every form of bondage and oppression of the devil, including the dominion of sin.

I admonish you, therefore, to believe what Jesus has accomplished for you at the cross, and be saved. And yet, I know some of you wouldn’t believe or accept this message. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to SAVE THOSE WHO BELIEVE. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (I Corinthians 1:18‭-‬25 NKJV).

Today, you have heard His voice, may you not harden your hearts. (see Hebrews 4:6-7). If you believe in Jesus Christ and confess Him as your Lord and Savior, He will come to live in your heart, and you too will have eternal life. “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (I John 5:11-12 NKJV). If you desire to receive Jesus and make HIM your Lord and Savior today, pray this prayer from your heart: “Almighty God, Your Word says that if I confess my sins, You are faithful and just to forgive me my sins and to cleanse me from ALL unrighteousness. Today I acknowledge and confess that I am a sinner in need of salvation, and I thank you for sending your beloved Son, Jesus Christ to die for me and to bear the judgment for my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ was crucified for my sins and was raised from the dead for my justification. I accept Jesus today as my Lord and Savior. And I thank You that I have received eternal life in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

If you prayed this prayer sincerely from your heart, I’m happy for you. Welcome to God’s Family. I encourage you to join a local church that preaches the gospel of grace so that you can grow further in your knowledge and understanding of the Word of God. You’re now God’s beloved child. You're now a new creation in Christ. The devil had a hold over your old man because of sin, but he has no hold over you as a new creation – because of righteousness. I thank God that you have been born again as a new creation in Christ. Stop regarding yourself according to the flesh (see 2 Corinthians 5:16). You are no longer a sinner. There is a permanent change in your spirit. You have the life of God in you. You have the new nature of Christ in you. You have His ability in you. You are no longer held back by the past and you can live for the future in Christ, according to all His promises. You are an overcomer. (see 1 John 5:4-5). You can experience the overcoming life by renewing your mind with the Word of God (see Romans 12:2), walking by faith and not by sight (see 2 Corinthians 5:7), and allowing Jesus to live through you. (see Galatians 2:20). The victory that overcomes is your faith. Here's one more thing: You know it when you're saved. And it feels very good. Remain blessed.

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