What Is
the Gospel?
A message of salvation from our pastor.
I Urge You to Continue Reading
I have no idea how you found our website. Maybe you received a gospel tract from us. Maybe a friend or neighbor referred you here. Or perhaps you stumbled onto it while surfing the web.
However you found us, you’re reading exactly what God wants you to read — the glorious, saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the year 2000, I heard the gospel message for the first time:
“…how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
1 Corinthians 15:3–4Before hearing the gospel, I had placed my trust in a mixture of things — myself, my religion, and the comfortable belief that I was living better than most people my age.
But after hearing the gospel, I realized I had been trusting in the wrong things entirely. So I repented and put my full faith and trust in what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross at Calvary.
It wasn’t long after that I realized the most valuable life a man can live on this earth is a life lived for Jesus Christ — the One who so graciously saved me from my sins and from the eternal punishment in hell that I was headed for.
Praise the Lord God Almighty for His great gift of eternal salvation. God freely offers this same gift to you.
You Are Going to Die
Doctors, actuaries, and death certificates all agree on one thing: the death rate is 100%. Every soul that has ever drawn breath has either already died or is moving steadily toward it.
You are no exception.
You may be asking: Why do people die? To answer that, we go back to the first book of the Bible.
God declares in the very first verse of Scripture that He is the Creator.
Life Turned from Very Good to Very Bad
Adam and Eve were living in a world without sin, pain, suffering, or death. But it did not last. Read what happened in Genesis 3:
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
Genesis 3:1–6Instead of trusting God, Adam and Eve believed the lie of the devil. Their choice to disobey God brought sin into the world. And this, my friend, is why people die.
The 4 Unavoidable Truths About Life and Death
Adam and Eve needed a covering for their sin — and so do we. A proper payment is required for our sin debt. Without it, man is left utterly hopeless.
You Are a Sinner.
We are all natural-born sinners. It is part of our very nature to transgress against God.
Sin Will Cause You to Die.
Because of Adam’s sin, we have all inherited a sin nature. And because of that sin nature, we must all die. Your heart will one day beat for the last time. Your friends and family will mourn. Your body will be laid in a grave.
You Will Be Judged as a Sinner.
An honest judge righteously condemns a criminal for the crimes he has committed. No reasonable person considers that unjust. Neither should anyone think it unreasonable that the God of all creation intends to judge men for their crimes against Him. Every secret sin will be revealed. You may hide your crimes from men — but not from God.
You Will Be Condemned as a Sinner.
Imagine standing before a judge, guilty of murder. A righteous judge must abide by the law and condemn you. Only a wicked, corrupt judge lets a guilty man walk free without consequence. One day you will stand before God, the perfectly righteous Judge. You will be charged with sin and found guilty. No amount of good works will be sufficient to pay what you owe.
Do not count on standing before God and saying, “Can’t you just forgive me? I did more good than bad.” An honest judge would say: Justice must be served. And so will God.
God Is Love, and Christ Died for Your Sins
God is love. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He does not want you to go to hell. He created you, and He wants what is best for you.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
John 3:16–17“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
Romans 5:8–9What Jesus Did to Secure Your Salvation
God sent His Son in a body.“Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.”
Matthew 28:5–6Every other religious leader the world has ever known is still in his grave. Only Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That single fact changes everything.
Believe the Gospel
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you… how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
1 Corinthians 15:1–4What must you do to be saved?
A Real Cliff-Hanger
If you were hanging from the ledge of a cliff and someone walked to the edge and offered you his hand, what would you do?
If you let go of the ledge and the outstretched hand doesn’t catch you, you fall to your death. But if that hand grabs yours, you live.
Here is the thing — you would only let go if you fully trusted that the other person would save you.
If you stubbornly hold on, your strength will eventually give out, and you will fall anyway.
My friend, there is nothing you can do to save yourself. Do not cling to your good works as though they are enough. They are not.
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”
Jude 24–25Salvation Is by Grace, Not by Works
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Ephesians 2:8–9You must receive it. You cannot earn it.
What Must You Turn From?
Are you ready to let go of everything else you have been holding onto — your religion, your good works, your self-righteousness, your excuses — and put your full weight on what Jesus Christ did for you at Calvary?
That is repentance. That is faith. That is salvation. You must turn from something before you can turn to something else. What is it you are still gripping? That is what stands between you and God.
A Word About Prayer
You may have heard someone say, “Just repeat this prayer after me and you’ll be saved.” That is not the gospel. Repeating words after a preacher does not save anyone. Prayer is not a formula, and salvation is not a transaction completed by reciting the right sentence.
What saves a soul is genuine repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ — a real turning of the heart away from self and toward the Saviour. If that is happening in you right now, you do not need me to tell you what to say. A man who is truly drowning does not need someone to script his cry for help. He cries out.
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:13If God is drawing you right now, call on Him. He will hear you. He knows your heart far better than any printed prayer on a page ever could.
Do Not Wait
Right now, before you close this page, before you go back to whatever you were doing — call upon the name of the Lord.
Not tomorrow. Not when things get hard enough. Not after one more year of your own way.
Now.Trust the Saviour today. Admit your need for Him. He will catch you, save you, and keep you.
Please do not leave this page as a lost sinner still holding on to the ledge of your own righteousness. Cry out to God right now. He is listening.
If you have trusted Christ after reading this, or if you have questions about what you have just read, I would love to hear from you. Please visit our Contact page and reach out.
And I want to personally invite you to join us this Sunday. We have a place for you and your family to grow in the Word of God.
In His Grip,
Pastor Fortunato Pilgrim Baptist Church — Cookeville, Tennessee