We go about our lives mostly on autopilot. Life consumes us. Life beats us down. We often become tired, annoyed, restless, anxious, and even depressed when we do not view life through the lens that God has desired for us. Somehow our lens has gotten foggy and distorted with images of self, desire, pride, people-pleasing, control, and any other world-view that eagerly fights for a spot on that lens. How do we wipe away that lens so we can see clearly? The gospel.

Why is the gospel message so important?

It is our hope, our redemption, our purpose, our lens cleaner.

Get to know the gospel. Memorize it. Preach it to yourself. Share it with others… often!

THE GOSPEL BASICS

God created the world – He created you and me too! As Creator, He is in charge of everything and everyone. He made us to be holy, as He is holy. Sin entered the world through Adam and Even with the deception of Satan. The sin is now in every human and is our nature. Sin separates us from God and deserves ultimate punishment – death. Jesus, God in the flesh, came to earth and lived a perfect life that we should have, a holy life, died the death that we deserved due to our sin, and rose again to eternal life. We may have reconciliation to God and eternal life with Him through hearing the Father’s call and giving our life to Jesus by putting our entire trust, faith, and hope in Him as our Lord and Savior. This means being obedient to His commands as seen in His Word, the Bible, and trusting His will and plan for our life over our own.

TEN POINTS OF MEMORIZATION

• God is the Creator
• God is holy
• Sin separated us
• God is a just God
• God is a loving God
• Jesus is the way
• We must repent
• God gave mercy and grace
• We must have faith
• Christians gain eternal life with Jesus

TEN POINTS WITH SCRIPTURE

God is the Creator
See Genesis 1:1, John 1:3, Colossians 1:16, and Revelation 4:11.
He created everything, the world and people, to be perfect and without sin.

God is Holy 
See 1 Peter 1:16, 1 Samuel 2:2, and Revelation 4:8.
God is holy, which means set apart or without sin. He created us to be holy, too.
We can only be with God if we are holy like He is.

Sin Separated Us
See Romans 5:12-14, Isaiah 59:2, and Romans 3:23.
Sin entered the world through Adam and was passed down to us. Apart from Christ, sin is now our nature and manifests in our selfish desires and motives. This makes us unholy and separates us from God.

God is a Just God 
See Romans 6:23, Romans 5:12, and James 1:15.
The consequence of our unholy sin nature is death.

God is a Loving God
See John 3:16, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, and 1 John 4:8.
God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to pay the price for us by dying on the cross.

Jesus is the Way 
See 1 Peter 2:22, Matthew 14:33, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, and John 14:6.
Jesus, fully God and fully man, is God’s only Son who lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again. He is the only way to salvation.

We must Repent
See 1 John 1:9, Acts 3:19, and Ephesians 1:7.
We are to ask for forgiveness and turn away from sin and toward Jesus.

God Gave us Mercy and Grace 
See Ephesians 2:4-9, 1 Peter 1:3, 2 Chronicles 30:9b, and Daniel 9:9
God gives us mercy and grace. Mercy is not getting what we deserve, punishment in hell. Grace is getting something we don’t deserve, treasures in heaven.

We must have Faith  
See Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:9-10, and Romans 10:17.
We are to give our lives fully to Jesus and trust only in Him for our salvation.

Christians Gain Eternal Life with Jesus
See Revelations 21:4, Luke 23:43, Matthew 6:19-21, John 14:2, and Ephesians 2:6-7.
We will live forever in Heaven with Jesus in our resurrected, perfect bodies where there is no more pain and there is only perfect harmony with Jesus.