We often hear the term: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ.” What is the “Gospel,” what does this mean and how does this principle affect the lives of every person who has been born on the earth?
The best news that man has ever received is that God is willing to forgive our sins. All of us have felt condemnation for the things we have done during our life. We all know instinctively in our hearts that we have done wrong, and we long for relief from the guilt that we feel.
Much of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew Chapter 5, called: “The Beatitudes,” is about finding relief from the guilt of sin.
Matthew 5:3-4 Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
Blessed or “Oh, how happy” are those who mourn for their sins and who are humble in their spirits concerning their sins, for they shall be comforted.
The Gospel or Good News is that Jesus came as the Messiah to declare that our time of captivity in sin is over. The poor and the brokenhearted, who are referred to in Isaiah 61:1, are the same poor who mourn over their sins whom Jesus described, in the Beatitudes of Matthew Chapter 5.
The Good news that the Messiah brings to those who are brokenhearted, genuinely sorrowful and repentant over their sins, is that “their time of deliverance is here.”
No person must ever carry again the guilt for his sins. All people, for all time, should know for certainty that God really loves them and has done everything that is necessary to forgive all their transgressions, by Jesus’ sacrifice.
Sin is a horrible and enduring burden that God never intended that we should carry. It destroys our lives and fills us with a great sense of regret for our past errors. Sin often makes it impossible for us to move forward in our lives because we spend so much time thinking about, and regretting, our past.
Jesus declares to all who have sinned: “You are forgiven.”
Luke 5:20 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
1 John 2:12 (John speaking) I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
When Jesus died on the Cross, He was paying for our sins and canceling all judgement and condemnation that was waiting for us at the end of our life. All that is required today to have your sins removed—as if they never existed, is to put all of your trust in the completed work that Jesus has accomplished for us on the Cross.
At the Cross, God took all of our sins and placed them in Jesus. He was made sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He (The Father) made Him (The Son) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The transformation from condemned to justified takes place at the moment that a person sincerely comes to God, in the name of Jesus Christ, and is willing to turn from all of their sins. When anyone asks Jesus for forgiveness based on what He has done for us at the Cross, all sins—past, present, and future, are removed by Jesus’ sacrifice—forever. The person who has made this profession of faith in Jesus’ completed sacrifice is viewed by God from that moment on as—Justified. This is to say, that all his sins have been paid; and therefore, there is no longer any judgment awaiting. Jesus took the punishment for us at the Cross. Today, God considers those who have received forgiveness by Jesus’ sacrifice—as perfect, righteous, and ready for heaven.
Everyone who believes what God has said about Jesus’ sacrifice: it is sufficient to remove their sins, have fulfilled all the requirements of God. In the same way, when we place our trust in Jesus, the righteousness that He obtained by His obedience to the Father’s will, is also imputed to us and we become righteous.
The Gospel—the Good News that the Messiah promised us, in Isaiah 61:1.
This is the promise that Jesus fulfilled when He arrived on earth and became the sacrifice for all sins and then rose from the dead on the third day. Jesus’ resurrection signified that all that He had done to pay for our sins was acceptable by God.
You can have great confidence today that Jesus is the promised Messiah, for He has fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming of the Savior of the world. Jesus has perfectly kept all the laws of God for you and then took all your sins upon Himself, as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
You can appropriate this Good News into your life right now, by simply coming to God in Jesus’ name and asking for the forgiveness of your sins, based on what Jesus has done at the Cross. When we continue to believe this truth for the rest of our lives and abide in Jesus all the days of our life, we are guaranteed salvation.
Categories: Forgiveness of Sin, How Salvation Occurs, Justification, Salvation is a free gift, Salvation through Jesus, The First Arrival of the Messiah, To Preach the Gospel, What is required for Heaven?
Robert Clifton Robinson 
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