What is the Gospel?

When I was 21, I understood for the first time who Jesus is. I had a nominal Catholic faith, but was introduced almost by chance to the meaning of salvation. I was never an overly religious person in my life, I had family members who were, but for the majority of my life I had a faith but it wasn't based on knowledge (Romans 10:2). What does it mean to be saved and believe the gospel? I believe I have a good explanation and I'll share it with you.

I was born again in 1995, in my childhood bedroom. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour. You don’t have to join a club to be saved, you have to hear the Gospel being preached. You must turn, (repent), of your sins confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart, that God raised him from the dead. You have to apply his death on the cross, as payment for your own sins, and you have to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour and commit to following Jesus, for all your life. Confession, (repentance), acknowledgement of your sins, receiving him as Lord and Saviour, and Committing your Life to Him. That’s what it means to be saved.

It seems like such a simple reality, so why aren't more people trusting Jesus for salvation. Part of the reason is that we have to have the right heart, or good soil as the bible says. When we only have a surface response to the Gospel, it fails to change our hearts and our natures. Of course, only God can do that, but we must be open to the change that the Lord is trying to accomplish through our hearing the gospel. People hear the gospel every day, but just hearing it doesn't mean that we are saved. We have to be born again, and that is something that only God can do. When we are ready for that change, I believe that God will bring it about in us through this gospel.

We are not qualified to enter Heaven unless we have received this new birth. When we are born again we become awake or born spiritually. We become reconciled to God through the death of Jesus on the cross, which by the way is the only way this new birth can happen. We receive full forgiveness for all our sins the moment we trust Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. All our sins are wiped away in the moment we trust Christ, this includes our past sins (from the moment of our birth) our present sins, and even all our future sins (all the sins we will commit after we are saved.) This is what it means to be born again, we are given eternal forgiveness in a moment, and we are told to live like we are forgiven sinners. Until the resurrection we will still be sinners, but after that we will be glorified in our spirits and bodies. This is Mike.

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