Gospel essentially means...  good news

The good news that Jesus brought to the world!

**Jesus traveled along the dusty streets throughout Galilee and beyond, healing the sick and diseased, and proclaiming the Kingdom of God. He loved the poor and needy, and he took his message to the outcasts of Israel. He was a Rabbi (a teacher of The Law),  and he invited anyone who would hear his words to become his disciples (students). This means he was calling them to trust his teachings and obey his instruction for daily life. And he is calling me and you to do the same!

**The Holy and Mighty God who created all things, has declared that everyone is guilty of sin. We are stained with our own guilt. We have not loved God, and obeyed him. And we have mistreated and hurt others. God will not accept us into His presence as guilty sinners. We must be clean.

**Jesus came to Israel in fulfillment of many promises that God had made throughout their history. But he ultimately came to die on the cross for the sins of the world. He is the promised one, the Son of God who had no sin of his own. God accepted his death on the cross, as judgement and justice for the sins of all people- that is for all who will receive the good news and trust in Jesus as their savior! Jesus once touched a man with leprosy and made him clean, and His touch will make you clean.

**The writers of the New Testament described His message as the gospel or good news!

Hear the invitation from Jesus.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  Matthew 11

We are called to trust Him. To believe.

                                                                                                                                           From John's Gospel, 3rd chapter

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 

**What does it mean to believe in God? To believe in Jesus Christ?

 Many people that I know or meet will readily tell me that they "believe" in God. Is that you?

If so, what does that mean?

** A person who comes to trust in Jesus as their savior is in the beginning moments of a new life. The gospel message has moved him to faith. He has found in the mirror, a man who is guilty and bankrupt with nothing to offer God in exchange for forgiveness. But he has found hope in this message of good news. A hope that promises forgiveness, peace, joy and life forever in the loving care of a Holy God. 

 Jesus once said, "Don't worry or surrender to your fear. For you’ve believed in God, now trust and believe in me also.."

Jesus calls us to trust him for salvation; to believe that his death and resurrection has made a way for us to come to God and be accepted by Him.

**Believing is embracing this truth. Trusting him is starting a new life of learning his ways and leaving the old things of our life behind...

Jesus said...

24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.  John 5:24

We are called to turn to Him. To repent.

                                                                                                           From the Gospel of Luke, 5th chapter

31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”                                                                        

 **What does it mean to repent? We find a simple answer to that question from Isaiah...

                                                                                                                                 From the prophet Isaiah, 55th chapter

7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. 

**Simply put, we are told we must turn away from sin. To believe in Jesus and trust his message is to turn away from sin through repentance. Jesus came preaching the Kingdom of God. Listen to the words of Mark's gospel...

...Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” 

**The bible makes it very clear what sin is. Below is a sampling of God's definition of sin; Sin that we must turn from...

 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.   Galatians 5:19-21

 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.  Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

Well, remember that if a man knows what is right and fails to do it, his failure is a real sin.

James 4:17 

**As one who trusts in Jesus, what do we do when we fail? Because we will fail. The disciple John has the answer...

 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.  1 John 1:8-9

**The believer's life, is a life of repentance; A life of turning from sin and finding acceptance from our Heavenly Father.

The apostle Peter...

“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord"...  Acts 3:19