The Greatest GODStory Ever Told!
The Greatest GODstory Ever Told is the story of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ!
God revealed Himself to man by becoming a man in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the son of God, but he is also the Creator God. He is God in the flesh.
Read the passage below carefully.
John 1:1-18
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] The same was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
[4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
[5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
[7] The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
[8] He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
[9] That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
[10] He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
[11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
[12] But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
[13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
[14] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
[15] John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
[16] And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
[17] For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
[18] No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
The Good News from God to You
God loves you so much; Jesus Christ loves you so much that He went to the cross to die in your place. Jesus Christ, God's Son never committed a single sin, so He was the perfect, sinless, sacrifice for all men. His resurrection in His physical body proved that God accepted His sacrifice in your place and in my place.
If you will turn from your sins and call upon Him, He will deliver you.
Why did Jesus have to die?
To begin with, He did not have to die. He wanted to die because He did not want you to die. He did not want you to live forever separated from God. He wanted you to live forever united with God.
God the Father sent Jesus Christ to the earth because of Hs great love for you. God the son, Jesus Christ became a man and came to the Earth because of Hs great love for you. The Father and the Son were in complete agreement.
The perfect holiness of God and God's perfect justice required death as a payment for my sins and your sins. Death is separation. In physical death man's spirit is separated from man's body. In spiritual death, man is separated from God in his human spirit. We are born in this condition, which is why we must be born again. in eternal death, man is eternally separated from God -- eternally dead. This is the ultimate death that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has delivered us from.
Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God is our Savior. He is our deliverer!
You Need to Be Delivered from Your Sins
1) It is not possible for you to please God without Jesus' deliverance.
God created man in His own image. We are each free moral agents. The image of God is in every human being. We share attributes (characteristics) with our Creator. To be made in God's image means when someone sees us, anything that is good about us is a reflection of our Maker.
Adam and Eve, the first pair that God made in this creation story failed by disobeying God. This resulted in every human being that came from them sharing God's image as well. Unfortunately, the image of God that was passed down from them (Adam & Eve) to every other human being was born in a condition of separation from God.
We still retain a human spirit, but it is not quickened by the Spirit of God at physical conception or birth. Each one of us are born alive physically, but our human spirit that would have been 100% good by default has been corrupted. In fact, it is NOT born at the same time as we are physically.
That is why Jesus told Nicodemus, you MUST be born again.
We are born as flesh, and we are simply natural people.
We begin our lives naturally disconnected from God.
We are not pleasing to God in this condition.
2) In addition to being born with a nature that is disconnected from God you have committed personal acts of sin as well.
Rom.3:23 states "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
God is Holy-- which means he is completely separate from sin and in order to be in his presence you must be holy as well (that is completely separate from sin). We can't accomplish this on our own. Calling on Jesus Christ and asking him for forgiveness of sins and accepting his sacrifice in your behalf accomplishes what God demands.
Rom. 10:9-13
[9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
[11] For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
[12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
[13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
2 Cor. 5:17-21
[17] Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
[18] And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
[19] To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
[20] Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
[21] For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
When Jesus died on the cross, He took all of our sins upon Himself and he gave us all of His own righteousness. I call this Divine arithmetic.
Essentially, we traded our sins for the Holiness of Jesus Christ. Because of this transaction, we are reunited to God through Jesus Christ.
What is the difference between being delivered and being saved?
There is no difference. To be saved means to be delivered. Usually the word is translated in the English Bible as "saved" but it could be translated "delivered" and would mean the same thing.
2 Cor. 1:9-10
[9] But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
[10] Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
We ...
- have been delivered or we have been saved from sin's penalty
- are being delivered or we are being saved from sin's power
- will be delivered or we will be saved from sin's presence.
The Joy of Jesus on the Cross!
Heb 12:1-2
[1] Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
[2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, endured death on the cross. It was physically painful, spiritually painful, and emotionally painful. He endured all of the pain because of His great love for you, and He was able to endure it because He knew that he would have the JOY of being reunited with you forever! He loved you and me that much THEN, and He loves you and me that much NOW.
Rejoicing in the Presence of the Angels!
Luke 15:1-10
[1] Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
[2] And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
[3] And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
[4] What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
[5] And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
[6] And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
[7] I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
[8] Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
[9] And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
[10] Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
You Can Make it happen again right NOW!
Rom. 10:9-13
[9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
[11] For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
[12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
[13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Proclaim your Faith Immediately by Being Baptized!
Have you called Upon Jesus Christ for salvation and forgiveness of your sins? if you have believed with all of your heart, you may follow him in baptism and you must do so if you are serious about your commitment but to Him as your Lord.
The Bible has no teaching about followers of Jesus that have not submitted to believer's baptism. We are saved because of the sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's Son. Prove your dedication to Him by being baptized. To be buried in deep water and raised again. Your old life is gone, and you have a new life. Put that dead man in the grave and come back up and walk with Jesus!
Acts 8:26-39
[26] And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
[27] And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
[28] Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
[29] Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
[30] And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
[31] And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
[32] The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
[33] In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
[34] And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
[35] Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
[36] And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
[37] And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
[38] And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
[39] And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
Notice that the Ethiopian was asking to be baptized. The evangelist told him that he would baptize him if he believed with all of his heart. He confessed that he believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and then Philip baptized him, right then and right there!
Mark 16:9-16
[9] Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
[10] And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
[11] And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
[12] After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
[13] And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
[14] Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
[15] And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
[16] He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
It is those that who do not believe that are condermned, not those who are unbaptized. But it is just understood that if you have believed you will be baptized.
request baptism in the most public way possible for you. Gospel preaching churches will have baptismals in the buildings where they assemble to worship.
I grew up in Texas but have lived in the Pacific Northwest in Washington State since 1985. we love to baptize people in the cold salt water of Port Angeles or in the cold lake water right out in public for the witness of God and of every man that is there! Baptism is supposed to be a public declaration of your faith in Jesus Christ.
A man that was a guest in a men's Bible study for our assembly just last week confessed before everyone at the table that he had committed his life to Jesus Christ, and he was asking about baptism. I asked him if he had called upon Jesus for salvation and was wanting to follow Him and he said that he was, so I commanded him to be baptized. We had an annual event at a local lake (the water is not Texas warm it is Washington cold) that following Sunday, and I'm expecting that he is going to have that old man buried at that time!
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