Grace Baptist Church Gospel Message

1. What is salvation?
Salvation is deliverance from the penalty, pollution, and power of sin (Rom. 6:14,23;Ti. 3:4-6). It is eternally more important than being saved from fire, deep water, illness, or loneliness.

2. What is sin?
Sin is any thought, word, or deed that either violates or falls short of complete conformity to God's holy laws (Rom. 3:23; Jas. 4:17; 1 Jn. 3:4). In short, Jesus and His apostles taught that sin is anything that doesn't reflect selfless love for God and others (Mt. 22:34-40).

3. What has God done to provide salvation?
He became a member of the human race in the person of Jesus (John 1:1,14), lived sinlessly as our substitute to fulfill God's righteous demands (2 Cor. 5:21), suffered and died on the cross to bear the penalty for our sins (Mt. 20:28; Rom. 4:23-25; 1 Cor. 5:3-4), and rose from the grave to break the power of death and defeat Satan (Acts 2:24; Heb. 2:14-15). In other words, He accepted full responsibility to pay the price for the consequences of our sins.

4. For whom did Christ die?
Jesus died for all people (John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5: 14-15), for all have fallen short of their original purpose to know God (John 17:3), to glorify Him (1 Cor. 10:3 1), and to enjoy Him forever (Rev. 7: 15- 17; 21:1-4). Christ died for those who are sinners by nature (Ps. 5 1:5), disobedient by choice (Rom. 3:23), spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1,5), unable to please God (Rom. 8:8), and under His wrath (John 3:36; Rom. 1: 18).

5. What is repentance?
It is a term used by John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul, and Peter (Mt. 3:1-2; 4:17;Acts 2:38; 20:2 1). Repentance is that change of attitude about one's self, one's sin, and God, which involves the whole personality-mind, emotions, and will. In varying degrees, it always accompanies true faith. Sorrow for sin often accompanies it and helps give evidence that genuine repentance has occurred (2 Cor. 7:9-10).

6. Who will be saved?
Salvation is offered to everyone and is freely given to all who believe on Jesus Christ (Mt. 11:28; John 1:12; 3:15-16,36; 6:40,47; 11:25-26; 20:31; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9-10). Jesus said, "The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out!' (John 6:37).

7. How do we receive salvation?
By faith alone. Neither zealous commitment to good works (Eph. 2:8-10; Rom.4:1-2) nor careful observance of religious ritual (Gal. 3:1-9) play a part in obtaining salvation. Salvation is not found in our efforts for God but in trusting what Jesus has done for us. AIl God requires is that we call out to Him in faith and ask Him to save us (Rom. 10: 13). On that basis He gives salvation. Everything else follows.

8. What is saving faith?
It is personal trust in the Lord Jesus. It is believing that God, on the basis of Christ's substitutionary death and resurrection, forgives and accepts all who trust in Him and rely on Him alone for salvation (Rom.3:21-26; 4:1-25; 5: 1 -2; Eph. 2:8- 10). It is therefore not what we do but what we believe that counts. If what we believe is right, doing right will follow. Good works are the fruit and the evidence (Eph. 2: 10; 1 Jr. 3:7- 10), not the ground or the cause.