The Gospel = Good News!

The Gospel = Good News!

1Corinthians 15:1 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,

2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

According to these verses, what did Christ die for?

1Titus 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

Who did Christ come to save?

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Who has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God?

What does it mean to fall short of the glory of God?

God is perfectly holy and His law demands perfect obedience if we are to be worthy to be in His presence. No one can do that. We all fall short.

Isaiah 64:6 ¶ But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

What does this say are as filthy rags?

What are righteousnesses?

So our righteous good works are not any good in God's economy, are they?

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We read in Isaiah that our iniquities (sins) have taken us away. Here we see where they are taking us

Luke 16:19 ¶ "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20 "But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21 "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'
25 "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'

We see here where our sins are taking us. Separation between heaven and hell. None can pass from one to the other. But there is good news!

 Romans 6:23 told us the gift of God is eternal life.

Can a gift be earned?

Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Why can't we earn salvation by our good works?

Because we would boast and Isaiah 64:6 showed us they are filthy rags in God's sight.

So how can we be saved from the penalty of our sins and spend eternity with God in heaven?

Romans 10:13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

It's so easy, yet many make it so difficult.