SOCBC Resources: 25 Points

25 points: Gospel Presentation

Part I. TRUTH OF THE CROSS

What is the Gospel? The most valuable truth about the Gospel is:
  NOT asking you to do good or lead a moral life,
  NOT pushing you to join a religion, and
  NOT a way of emotional support. Many people have misunderstood   the Gospel. Then what exactly is the true Gospel?
The true Gospel is to save man from death. But you may say that you have Christian friends that have died. Why are there Christian cemeteries too?
This brings us to the definition of death. In the Bible, the word 'death' means separation. There are two (2) kinds of death. We know the physical death, the separation from the living world, separation from close ones, relatives and friends. But there is a second kind of death which is more critical - the spiritual death , the spiritual separation from God.
The Gospel solves these two separations. First, if you believe in Jesus, when Jesus comes back again - His second coming, even though you are physically dead, you will rise again. Second, the spiritual death is solved at the instant you believe in Jesus. You are making peace with God and can have fellowship with God - no longer separated.
Why is it so important to have fellowship with God? What's the big deal? Man needs love and there are three (3) kinds of love known to man. The love between friends, love between man and woman and love between parent and child. The greatest and most lasting - the strongest bond is the love between parent and a child. Why? Because there is a blood relation - genetic living relationship. If you visit an orphan, he has good housing, lots of toys, good food but there is a sadness/emptiness in him because he has no parents. On the other hand you may have read papers or seen TV news reporting of a person committing suicide. To your surprise he/she is from a rich and loving family and has lots of friends too - he has it all but yet killed himself (USA Today 9/22/89 reported 14% of teenagers under 17 consider suicide) Without the fourth kind of love - without this love, man finds life meaningless, filled with emptiness that no other love or materials can substitute. Man needs the fourth kind of love - love from God because he created us. He wants to love us. We also need His love. However, God's love cannot reach out to us. Why? New
Man's sin make him separated from God's love. Roman 3:23 "All have sinned.." 6:23 "and the wages of sin is death".
Many of my friends don't think they have sins. They may be right - by human standards. If you said that by American laws you may not have sinned or by the laws from your country you have not committed any wrong doings - you may be right! But God's laws judges not what we actually do but also what is inside us. God sees our heart. Jealously, hatred, anger, selfishness, dishonesty, lies, pride..etc all these are sins before God - even the unclean thoughts in our minds. That is why all people have sinned.
Why should sinners have to die? God is holy. Holy and unholy cannot be together. God is just and righteous. He rewards good and punishes wrong doings, and His punishment for sin is death.
But God is not only Righteous, He is also Loving. His love reaches out to help you, to save you from death.
God's love is not willing to let man die and be forever separated from Him but His righteousness demands judgment for we all have sinned and deserve death. Can Almighty God that can make all things possible save us and not punish us with death? NO! Without punishing us for our sins God would violate His own righteousness. But by letting us die violates His love. What a dilemma!
God's solution is to find someone to die in your place so that you are saved. That person must also shed his blood to cleanse your sins. God's righteousness is fulfilled - He punishes death but you didn't die, someone died in your place. His love is fulfilled - your live is spared and your sins forgiven.
But who is qualified to die for you and me? This person must be without sin because if he has sins he needs someone to die for him, he cannot even save himself how can he save you and me. Our ancestors are all dead. All man will die. Does Confucius qualify? Is he without sin? One thing we know - he is dead and his grave is in Shangtung - he could not help but die too. Is Guatama Buddha qualify? Mohammed?...They are all dead. If these founders cannot save themselves from death how can they save their followers? We are doomed - helpless and hopeless.
We cannot reach God. Finite cannot reach infinite. But unlimited can reach the limited. That is why God came down from heaven as a man - the invisible became visible - the Word became flesh. We called Him 'JESUS'.
How do we know he is God Himself? Is there any evidence? Jesus was born of a virgin Mary - it's impossible unless He is God the Creator. In his ministry he performed miracles that proved He is God. There was a Roman official, an enemy of the Jews, he came from afar to find Jesus because his son was very sick. He requested Jesus to come to his house 25 km away to heal his son before he dies. Jesus said, "Go; your son will live". That official went home and his son was well and he asked his servant what time it was when his son got well. "It was 1pm yesterday" - the official remembered that it was the hour when Jesus said that his son would live. How did Jesus know which son is sick? Where does he live? What is his sickness? How can Jesus heal with his word? (John 4:43-54). Who is Jesus? Unless he is God Almighty that is not confined by space or time. There is another incident following; there was a paralyzed man that was sick for 38 years. Jesus said "Stand up and walk" and he did - completely healed (John 5:1-8) One day Jesus was preaching to a large crowd of 5000 men, with children and wives whose number exceeded 10,000. They are from many villages and when the evening comes they cannot find food to feed this large crowd - Jesus use 5 loaves of bread and two fishes to feed all of them - all you can eat and there are 12 baskets left overs. Who is Jesus? Unless he is the Creator - the Provider. A friend of Jesus, Lazarus, was dead. Jesus went to Lazarus' tomb after he had been dead 4 days. The whole village went to witness this. Jesus said, "I do this so that they know God had sent me". Jesus commanded "Lazarus, come out". That dead man came out of the grave. Who is Jesus? He is the Lord God, Creator of Life (John 11:1-44). He raised 3 people from death to life. In history no man can perform such a miracle.
But Jesus was sentenced to death and nailed to the cross. Most of his disciples and followers went into hiding for their leader is dead. But Jesus said on the cross, "It is completed!". Why did he say that? It is completed - the salvation plan of God is completed. Jesus came to shed his blood to cleanse your sins and my sins. He died in our place so that we can be reconciled back to God - at peace with Him and can have fellowship with Him.
Before he dies Jesus said that he will rise again from death on the 3rd day. The Jewish Pharisee told the Romans and had them send armies to guard the tomb so that no one can steal Jesus body. On the 3rd day Jesus resurrected just as he had prophesied. His disciples went into the tomb and saw the cloths that wrapped around Jesus was still in place, lying on the tomb but no body. Like a mummy with no physical body in it. Later Jesus appeared to His disciples, ate with them, and stayed with them for 40 days and appeared to over 500 witnesses. Jesus resurrection proved 3 things. (1) He is without sin - he doesn't have to die - he died in our place, to redeem us so that we can have fellowship with God. (2) He has power over death. This is an assurance to those who believe in Him will not be condemned but has passed from death into life (John 5:24). Even though we die, we will raise again in Jesus second coming. (3) Jesus is superior over all religious leaders who are dead and cannot overcome death. This is the truth of the cross - God's Plan of Salvation.

Part II. BENEFITS OF BELIEVING IN JESUS

Part III. HOW CAN I BELIEVE?