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The Simple Gospel of Jesus

We may have heard, read, or are familiar with John 3 vs 16, or maybe not. I even quoted it in my prior post here. It says "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life".

So God gave His only son (Jesus), but why? 

To keep it simple, man fell in the book of Genesis (the first book of the bible) due to their disobedience and for this reason man was separated from God. 

From then onward, God in His love had a plan to reconcile man to Himself in fellowship and communion. This plan was for Jesus, the only begotten (son) of the Father to die and take on the sin of man. To do so, God chose a man named Abraham. Abraham and his wife Sarah gave birth to a child of promise Isaac, who birth Jacob (Israel). Through Jacob's direct descendants came the 12 tribes of Israel - see Genesis 49. 

Ultimately, Jesus came through the lineage of David (the tribe of Judah - see Matthew 1), with a simple purpose - to die for the sins of men and to make us right before God. 

Jesus who is also God, became flesh and dwelt among man (John 1 vs 14), performing many miracles , doing good, and teaching His word (John 1 vs 1). At the end of His ministry, He was crucified, but the good news is that He rose again after 3 days. By His crucifixion, He took on our sin and shame - He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might be made right with God (2 Cor 5 vs 21).

From Romans 6 vs 23,  "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord", we see that man deserves death (eternal separation from God), but by reason of the sacrifice of Jesus, those who believe and receive the message of His gospel (the good news) that He saves will live to experience eternal life, reconciliation to God.

This gift of salvation is not earned or worked for, it is received by faith. Ephesians 2 vs 8/9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Also, Romans 1 vs 17 says, This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

To receive this message of the gospel, you must be like a child. Children have a simple/pure heart, believing without seeing (faith). See Matthew 18 vs 3 - 4 and Psalm 119 vs 130

So how do I become saved?

  1. I must humbly (as a child) acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of a Savior - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3 vs 23)
  2. I must confess it with my mouth and believe it in my heart that Jesus saves - because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10 vs 9)
  3. I must repent, turn from my sin, and surrender my life to God - see Galatians 5 vs 24

How do I live right? How do I please God on a daily basis? How do I surrender?

We do so by the power of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5 vs 16 - So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

Are you wondering about living by the power of the Holy Spirit daily, surrendering etc.? We will revisit the topic of the Holy Spirit we started here, in the coming weeks by God's grace.

My prayer is that this post will bless you, and spark a desire in you to go digging for answers on salvation, redemption, reconciliation etc.

Please stay tuned for more, comment, leave questions, and share. 

God bless you and thanks for reading 😊

Mayowa O.


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