The Basic Gospel

The Plan of Salvation: the Basic Gospel *All scriptures taken from the King James Version 1611. Someone professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Why do we need a saviour? What do we need saving from? I Our problem: sin and death. A. All have sinned. (Romans 3:23) - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; B. The penalty of sin is death. (Romans 6:23a) - For the wages of sin is death; C. Adam's sin brought sin and death to all mankind. (Romans 5:12) - Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: D. God gave Adam a simple command to obey. If he disobeyed, he would surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17) – And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. E. There are four kinds of death; stemming from the first kind, death in trespasses and sins. 1. Death in trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1) – And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2. Physical death. (Genesis 5:5) – And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. 3. Death to fellowship with God. (Genesis 3:8-10) – And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 4. The second death; the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:10a, 14) – And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,...and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever....And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. F. Sin makes us all unrighteous and wicked. (Romans 3:9-12) – What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. G. We have a sin nature from birth, and even in the womb as an unborn baby. (Psalm 58:3) – The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. H. In fact, we have a sin nature (which we inherited from Adam) from the moment of our conception. (Psalm 51:5) – Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. II The solution to our problem: God by his sovereign will decides to save some people from sin and death. A. God the Father elects (chooses) some sinners from the mass of fallen sinful mankind. (Ephesians 1:4) – According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: B. The Father gives the elect to Jesus Christ. (John 6:37-39) – All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. C. Jesus Christ dies for the sins of the elect. (1Corinthians 15:3) – For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (John 10:11, 15) – I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep....and I lay down my life for the sheep. D. Christ secured the forgiveness of sins and eternal redemption for the elect. (Ephesians 1:7) – In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Hebrews 9:12) – Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. E. The Holy Spirit applies Christ's finished work in time throughout history to the elect, making them born again (spiritually). (John 3:3-8) – Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. F. Phrased in different ways: passed from death unto life, born of God, everlasting life. (John 5:24) – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (1John 5:1a) – Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: (John 6:47) – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. G. Man's will and works has no part in gaining eternal salvation. God's will and work is sovereign in the eternal salvation of sinners. (Romans 9:15-16) – For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. (Ephesians 1:4-5) – According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (John 1:12-13) – 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: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. H. The elect are a multitude which no man can number from every major division of mankind: political, family groups, racial groups, and languages. (Revelation 7:9-10) – After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. I. Election tends to run in families. (Isaiah 59:21) – As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. (Acts 2:39) – For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. III How can one know they are one of God's elect and have everlasting life? A. Faith and good works performed in obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ are evidences that one is possession of eternal life. They are the effects, not the cause, of eternal life. (John 5:24) – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (1John 5:1a) – Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: (1John 2:29) – If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. B. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the means whereby an individual comes to know that they have eternal life. (1John 5:13) – These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye many know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (2Timothy 1:10) – But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: C. By believing and obeying the gospel one can gain assurance of his election and be delivered (saved) from ignorance, spiritual immaturity, and deception. (1Thessalonians 1:3-6) – Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: (Ephesians 4:11-15) – And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: IV Specifically, one's initial conversion consists of repentance, faith, and baptism, which adds you to the local new testament church. One should remain there for the rest of their life and grow and mature spiritually; sinning less and less, and living in obedience to God more and more. A. Repent, believe on Jesus Christ, be baptized, and added to the local church. (Acts 8:12, 35-39) – But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women....Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 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? 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. 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. And when they were come up out of the water,... (Acts 2:37-42, 47) – Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call....Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls....And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. B. For the rest of our life, we should regularly attend church, to learn more about God and how we should live our life according to his will. This is spiritual growth and maturity. (Psalm 27:4) – One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. C. We should also read the Bible every day for the same reasons; to learn more about God and how he wants us to live our lives, and thus grow and mature spiritually. (Psalm 1:2) – But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Matthew 4:4) – But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. D. If we are Christians, we should strive to sin less and obey God more and more over the years. (Psalm 34:14) – Depart from evil, and do good; (Romans 12:9b) – Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. (2Timothy 2:19) – ...Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. V Conclusion. (Ecclesiastes 12:13) – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.