The Simple Gospel
All religions have one thing in common: they encourage their members to work as hard as they can to gain everlasting life, the celestial kingdom, nirvana, or whatever else they want to call it. Biblical Christianity, however, is different. Instead of earning our goal as a reward, it is offered to us freely as a gift through Jesus Christ as the perfect sacrifice, whose offering of Himself was complete to earn our way to everlasting life with God the Father. As Jesus Christ was dying, he said “It is finished” because from that point on, all anyone had to do was to trust His sacrifice to cover their sins. Everyone needs this sacrifice because the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that we are all sinners. We are in such bad condition that when we try to earn favor with God through our good works, Isaiah 64:6 tells us that our righteous deeds are like filthy rags to God. In Mark 10:27 Jesus is answering His disciples’ question, “who then can be saved?” He said, “with man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” God realizes that man cannot possibly save himself through door-to-door preaching or ordinances of a church. That’s why God did not send an organization or a church to offer us peace with God, but He sent His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but through me.” Will you accept Jesus’ free offer of eternal life instead of trying to earn it yourself?