The gospel

DE

Whenever people talk about Christianity / Jesus, the question inevitably comes up: who is a Christian? The big churches say, „If you are baptized and confirmed, then you are one of them.“ But is that enough? Am I a Christian when I do good works, go to church or something like that?

The term „Christian“ was used for the first time for people in the city of Antioch in ancient Syria (today Antakya in Turkey). These were people who in many parts of the world at that time became known for having recognized that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God who came into the world to bear the sins of the whole world, and followed that Jesus. Unfortunately, the concept of being a Christian has now been softened and moved into the realm of humanism.

The Gospel

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According to the Bible’s unequivocal statement, no one goes beyond this earth that could exist before God. So it says in Psalm 14: 2-3: The LORD looks from the heavens to the children of men, that he sees if any one is wise and asks about God. But they all deviated and all were corrupted; there is no one who does good, not even „one.“

The God who created us expects us to live up to his standards. These allow everyone a humane togetherness. But because we are part of a world that has renounced it, we can not do that. God’s standard is different from our standard. Jesus himself makes this clear with two examples. For example, he says about the 5th commandment (you should not kill):

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5, 21-22)

Regarding the 6th commandment (you shall not commit adultery) he says:

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matthew 5, 27-28)

Under these circumstances, who can remain without sin (= missing the target)? I can not. But the reward of sin is death! (Romans 6, 23)

This is the basis upon which we all stand, without exception. Is there a way out of this dilemma? To make a long story short: they exist! The apostle Paul calls them in the remainder of the verse Romans 6: 23b: the gift of God, however, is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
When a member of the high council (ruling class of the then Israeli people) came to Jesus in the night out of fear of the others and wanted to be clear about him, Jesus and others told him. this sentence: John 3:16:

So much did God love the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“

That is, whoever does not have the only-begotten Son of God is eternally lost. The apostle Paul writes of him (Philippians 2: 8): „He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even to death on the cross.“ That happened for our sake.
So that no one must be lost, so Jesus came to save us from eternal death, i. an eternal separation from God. As it stands, Jesus himself explains this in Luke 16: 19-25:

19 But there was a rich man, dressed in purple and precious linen, and living every day gloriously and in joy.
20 A poor man named Lazarus was at his door, full of ulcers
21 and longed to be satisfied with what fell from the rich table, yet the dogs came and licked at his ulcers.
22 And it came to pass that the poor man died, and he was carried by the angels into Abraham’s womb. But the rich man died and was buried.
23 When he was in hell, he lifted his eyes in agony and saw Abraham from afar and Lazarus in his lap.
24 And he cried, saying, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in the water, and cool my tongue; because I am suffering in this flame.
25 And Abraham said, „Remember, child, that you have received your good in your life, whereas Lazarus has received evil; now he is being comforted here, but you are suffering pain.

So that we, you and I, will be saved from the same fate as Lazarus, therefore God himself became man in Jesus Christ. That’s why Jesus sends and sends His followers into the world today with this good message (Gospel) so that everyone can have the opportunity to reach out and be saved. If we assume that Jesus exists in real life (which the accounts of Jesus correspond to the facts about, there is no doubt among historians) and the Savior sent to us by God, then it is extremely important that we listen to what he tells us say; because if he is really the savior, then we have only one chance to be saved: that we let him do what he was sent for: to forgive us our guilt and to pave our way to the Father in heaven, say: eternal to us To give life. It would be stupid to turn down that hand that reaches out to us, if it means the only salvation. The downfall would be the result!

 

But how does that work?
To be saved, you first have to realize that you need rescue. It is not possible without this insight.It is well-known that an alcoholic can only be helped if he realizes that he is an alcoholic and if he is seriously willing to accept help in order to become free. So it is basically in all other problem cases. Again, it is like that. In order to be saved by Jesus, I first have to realize that I need salvation because otherwise I am lost without salvation. At this point, Jesus lends you his hand. He tells you, (John 14: 6),

 

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. “ 
and elsewhere:

 

„Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. “ (Matthew 11; 28)
No one is saved from the Holy God by being baptized and experiencing confirmation or communion and going to church.  The Apostle John says so (John 1, 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.“
Solely a living relationship with Jesus, the Savior sent by God makes us friends and children of God!
I can and may come to this God as I am. I do not need to make any advance payments; I couldn’t do that either. No matter what I have “on the notch”, no matter what kind of person I am, what my past looks like, he says to everyone:

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37)
When Jesus was sitting at a table with tax collectors and sinners, the Pharisees were upset about it. As a pious person, you had to avoid such people. In their eyes, that was the scum of humanity. But what does Jesus say to them?

 

“When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. ”(Mark 2:17)

If you want this relationship with Jesus Christ, then continue here.

 

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