The Gospel
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."The Gospel is Good News
The Bible shows us how we are so lost and broken that we cannot fix ourselves. That might not sound like good news and yet it is because, God in his goodness, came to earth to find us and to save us.
Read on…
If you want to think more about who Jesus is, why He came to earth and the impact that has for us today – but aren’t ready to come to church yet – we would love to suggest visiting the Christianity Explored website
The Gospel Story
CREATION
The story begins with God, who has always existed exactly as He is now. If it seems confusing, it’s because He is beyond what anyone can fully understand with our limited human minds.
In the beginning of the world as we know it, God simply spoke and everything came into existence. The entire universe was filled with a dramatic display of Galaxies, stars and planets – including Earth, on which there was a perfect garden, called Eden.
Of all God’s creations His masterpiece was a man and woman called Adam & Eve. They were made in His image and were created with the purpose of worshipping, loving and serving God and enjoying relationship with Him. There was no pain, suffering, sickness or death; only complete love and acceptance between God and human, and creation.
Bible evidence: Genesis 1:1 & Psalm 90:2
THE FALL
But something tragic happened. Adam and Eve were given freedom to make decisions and govern earth with one rule: not to eat fruit from a specific tree.
God’s enemy, Satan, wanted to overthrow God so he took the form of a serpent and deceived Adam and Eve into thinking God was not good and did not have their best interests in mind.
They chose to rebel against God and ate the fruit they were not supposed to. The consequences of this action were devastating! Sin entered into all of creation and into the hearts of humans.
Creation was distorted from its original perfection; suffering, pain, war, poverty, disease greed, scandals, death – all that plagues our world today are a result of sin. If we are honest with ourselves we know we have sinned. Can anything be done? Is there any hope?
Bible Evidence: Romans 3:10 & Romans 3:19
RESCUE
As God dealt with Adam & Eve as punishment for their sin He did something extraordinary – He left them with a promise of rescue and hope. That one of their descendants would someday rescue mankind.
Over the centuries to follow, God prepared the way for this Saviour and kept reminding humans of His promised rescue. The whole Bible ultimately points to this one person as the focal point of history.
This was God becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ.
His life was unique, His birth miraculous, as He perfectly served and obeyed God, living in a perfect relationship with Him. Ultimately He died willingly and obediently on the cross to pay for the sins of the world – the greatest display of grace and mercy ever known. The perfectly innocent died to rescue the hopelessly guilty from sin and brokenness.
Jesus might have died on a cross but the grave couldn’t hold Him and 3 days after dying He rose again fulfilling his mission to defeat sin and death – just as God promised.
But the story doesn’t end there…
Bible evidence: 1 Peter 3:18 & Galatians 1:4
For all those who trust in Jesus, God has promised a future made new – completely free of sin and selfishness – a place of perfect friendship with God, others and all creation. Just imagine, no more earthquakes, or storms or pain or broken hearts or lying or death or sickness to trouble us.
Everything will be restored to the way it was meant to be. The new earth will once again be the perfect home God intended for His creation. Those who trust in His rescue will enter into the grand purpose of worshipping Him by loving, service and enjoying relationship with Him forever.
Bible evidence: Revelation 21:4
God is writing an amazing story from creation to restoration. He created you to be a part of that story to worship Him, serve Him and enjoy relationship with Him. By joining God in His story, you will find forgiveness, purpose and satisfaction as you come to know God.
God is inviting you to be part of the story. Embrace His offer of rescue by simply:
- Admitting your need to God
- Asking Him to forgive you
- Trusting in Jesus alone to rescue you
- Following Jesus Christ in all parts of your life from this day forward
For more information about the Gospel message or how to respond to Jesus and the rescue that God offers through Him why not come along to our church services or one of the activities we offer. Or send us a message and we would be happy to speak to you about any questions or doubts you have.