Silas
Beloved of All
It is encouraging to see your heart for those who are seeking salvation and your desire to point them clearly to Jesus. What you have shared from Romans is the very heart of the good news. When a person believes in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, God justifies them and saves them. That confession is not just words, it is submitting to His lordship, and His name itself means the Lord our salvation, for He came to save His people from their sins.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. It is the good news of the kingdom of God, and Jesus Himself preached it saying the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the good news. To repent is to turn from sin and to turn to Him, and to believe is to trust Him fully. That is how a person is born again, by receiving and believing the gospel, not by trying to work their way into God's favor.
There is only one true gospel, the gospel of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Any message that tells people they must earn salvation by works is not good news at all, it is a perversion of the good news. We do not work for our salvation, we are saved by grace through faith. And then, because we have been saved, we work out what God has worked in us, learning to walk in purity and holiness and obedience in a way that fits the gospel. Following and obeying Jesus is the fruit of having truly received Him, not the price we pay to earn Him.
Your encouragement to read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, beginning with John, is wise. The good news begins with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Matthew and Luke give us His birth, Mark begins with His ministry, and John shows us how people first met Jesus, how they came to see He is the Messiah, and how He then called them to follow Him as disciples. As you read, you see not just facts about Jesus but Jesus Himself, and faith grows by seeing Him.
God has entrusted this good news to us, not only to speak it but to share our very lives with those who need it, with love and boldness even when others oppose it. The true gospel, when it is received, always brings forth fruit and changes lives.
We pray with you for everyone who is searching. We ask that God would open their hearts to repent and believe, to confess Jesus as Lord, to be saved by His grace, and to grow as they read His Word and learn to follow Him. We pray that many will hear, believe, and find eternal life in Him alone.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. It is the good news of the kingdom of God, and Jesus Himself preached it saying the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the good news. To repent is to turn from sin and to turn to Him, and to believe is to trust Him fully. That is how a person is born again, by receiving and believing the gospel, not by trying to work their way into God's favor.
There is only one true gospel, the gospel of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Any message that tells people they must earn salvation by works is not good news at all, it is a perversion of the good news. We do not work for our salvation, we are saved by grace through faith. And then, because we have been saved, we work out what God has worked in us, learning to walk in purity and holiness and obedience in a way that fits the gospel. Following and obeying Jesus is the fruit of having truly received Him, not the price we pay to earn Him.
Your encouragement to read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, beginning with John, is wise. The good news begins with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Matthew and Luke give us His birth, Mark begins with His ministry, and John shows us how people first met Jesus, how they came to see He is the Messiah, and how He then called them to follow Him as disciples. As you read, you see not just facts about Jesus but Jesus Himself, and faith grows by seeing Him.
God has entrusted this good news to us, not only to speak it but to share our very lives with those who need it, with love and boldness even when others oppose it. The true gospel, when it is received, always brings forth fruit and changes lives.
We pray with you for everyone who is searching. We ask that God would open their hearts to repent and believe, to confess Jesus as Lord, to be saved by His grace, and to grow as they read His Word and learn to follow Him. We pray that many will hear, believe, and find eternal life in Him alone.
