I don’t know what to believe about God and the Bible but, at times I over hear people talking about the gospel of grace. What is this gospel and why is it so important?
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Answers to Bible Questions
Scriptures are from the KJV of the Bible
(Q) I don’t know what to believe about God and the Bible but, at times I over hear people talking about the gospel of grace. What is this gospel and why is it so important?
(A) The gospel of the grace of God in the Bible is very, very important to all people living upon the earth. The reason it’s so important is that it can bring salvation or eternal life to anyone who will just believe this gospel by faith. To believe this gospel means you will live with God for eternity in complete peace and joy without pain or suffering of any kind. You will never be bored and will enjoy learning new things, accomplishing things you never dreamed of and it will all be done to the glory of God.
To find out more about this gospel let’s go back to the time of Adam and Eve. God placed the first man (Adam) and the first woman (Eve) into the beautiful Garden of Eden. Then in Genesis 2:16-17, God tells Adam: 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
God gave the above command to Adam before He created Eve as we see in verse 18 of Genesis 2: 18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Why then did God tell Adam he would die if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Because if he did eat of that tree, he would be disobeying God’s command not to eat of it. Disobedience to any command of God is called sin. That is what sin is, disobeying God.
After God created Eve, He placed them both in the garden to enjoy the fruit of every tree except that one tree. What happened? Genesis 3 tells the story. The serpent (Satan the devil) deceived Eve into eating the fruit of the forbidden tree, 1 Timothy 2:14: 13For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Adam told Eve they were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but, she was deceived and did eat, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate of the forbidden tree also. Eve ate of the forbidden fruit first but, God placed the first sin upon Adam because he was not deceived and knew better.
When Adam committed the first sin, God being true to His word cursed man with death, the penalty for sin. This is why it says in 1 Corinthians 15:22: 22 For as in Adam all die.
God explains why all men die in Adam in Romans 5:12: 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. All men are sinners by nature and death has passed to all men. Because God gave man free will we all would have made the same choice as Adam did. We all would have committed that same first sin as Adam.
God, who cannot lie, kept His word to Adam and Eve. They did die. God had two deaths in view here. One was spiritual and one was physical. If Adam and Eve would have passed the test by not sinning, there would not be any physical death today. We would all be living in a completely different world. They did sin and their sin immediately broke their previously unbroken fellowship between them and God. They also now died spiritually. They were now dead to God. They were no longer in a right relationship to their Creator God. They would also suffer a physical death sometime in the future. We know they both did die a physical death and all mankind from that time on have been cursed also with physical death.
Since we all have inherited Adams sin nature the apostle Paul reminds us of our position before God in Romans 3:23, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We learn here that in addition to having this sin nature, we all do commit sin even if we don’t admit it or don’t believe it. Romans 3:9-12: 9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Psalms 14:1-3: 1 (To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. 2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Romans 6:23 says: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. The wages of our sin is death. Again, God teaches that there are two deaths in view here. The first is our physical death, when our soul and spirit leave the body. Then the Scriptures talk about a second death. The second death takes place when God judges sinful man and casts the unbelieving into the Lake of Fire. Hebrews 9:27: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
In Romans6:23 stated above we see the little word, “but.” “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We learn here that God has provided and continues to provide a gift for man. The gift is eternal life and it is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the gospel that will save us from eternal death in the lake of fire. Our response should be, “How do I get the gift? How can I escape the penalty of my sin? How can I keep from being judged for my sin and being declared guilty and cast into the Lake of Fire forever? How do I receive the gift and have eternal life through Jesus Christ?”
God has not kept the answers to these questions hidden or a secret. The Word of God is where we go to learn what God has said. God has always provided a “gospel”- God’s word that is to be obeyed by faith for man’s salvation. Today in the dispensation of grace, God’s gospel that can save us can be found in the following scriptures:
Ephesians 2:8- 9, “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.”
Romans 3:24, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
I Corinthians 15: 1-4, verse 3 & 4, ” 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:”
It was the blood of Christ that was shed on Calvary’s cross that allowed God to be just in justifying sinners like you and me. Hebrews 9:22 ” and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
Ephesians 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
God’s gospel is clear and simple. It is a gospel of grace. Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again. God does all the saving and you do the believing. Salvation is a gift because it is provided freely for man by the grace of God. Salvation cannot be earned by anything you do. Salvation is not of works lest any man would boast. God is able to forgive your sin and save you because His Son paid the penalty for your sin when He died on Calvary’s cross. God is now free to save those who believe the gospel message.
Romans 3:24, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Grace is a marvelous word and a wonderful way for God to deal with His creation. Grace can be described as unmerited favor-in the face of demerit. Grace is God’s kindness to undeserving sinners.
In Romans 8:32 we see an example of God’s grace toward man. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?”
God did not spare Christ. Christ went to the cross and died there for your sins. This was an act of God’s grace toward all mankind. Man didn’t deserve it. There was no good thing in man to commend himself to God to encourage it. Romans 5: 8- 9, “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.”
You need to put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, NOW! God looks at your heart. God knows if your faith is resting in the Lord Jesus Christ and His subsitutionary death for you on Calvary’s cross or if your faith is in something or someone else. God sees the heart.
In Romans 4:3-4, “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” The scriptures are clear; God will save you by His grace when you cease trusting in yourself, your religion or anything else and believe the Gospel of Christ.
I Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” The Holy Spirit uses the preaching of the cross in the dispensation of grace to save men.
There is no soul salvation in trusting in or doing any of the following:
>>>> Obeying the Ten Commandments; doing your best; living a good life; doing good works; obeying the Golden Rule; giving money to a church; church membership or attendance; praying; being water baptized; taking holy communion; being confirmed ; doing penance; or by anything else you do or your church does for you!
Salvation is by the Grace of God! Your part is to simply believe.
Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”
Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
Salvation is not a result of your trusting in Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross and your work added to it. That is what religion teaches, not what the word of God teaches. Salvation is a gift. Salvation is a free gift. You cannot work for a gift. The gift of eternal life is free for us to receive but it cost God the death of His only begotten Son. We cannot add anything to His payment of our sins.
Christ did it all. Ephesians 1:13, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
You can be saved right now by simply believing the Gospel, that Christ died for your sins and that His blood is the total payment for your sins. The moment you believe in your heart, God will forgive you and save you by His grace. Ephesians 1:13 tells us that we are then sealed with His Holy Spirit, which makes us His for all eternity. This seal is God’s guarantee that your salvation is eternal, Ephesians 4:30; and II Corinthians 1:22.
Ephesians 4:30, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” II Corinthians 1:22, ” Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”
God did all the saving and He does all the keeping. We can never lose our salvation. We are saved and kept by God’s grace. God does all the saving by His grace and you can trust Him to keep you by His grace.
You need to know that the day of grace in which we are now living is coming to an end very soon. Salvation today is by faith in Christ plus nothing. Once the day of grace is over, the way to salvation is going to be much more difficult. The way to salvation will go back to the way it once was under the law. That means you will need faith in Christ plus works in order to be saved. You will also go through the tribulation period for 7 years. This will be a horrible time the likes of which man has never experienced before. To be saved during this time may mean you will have to die a horrible death. Those who escape death will need to endure this terrible time to the very end to be saved or until Christ returns in His second coming. This will not be a fun time!
You now know what the Gospel is and why it’s so very important to everyone on the face of the earth. Remember, life is short, don’t delay. Trust Christ today and be saved by the grace of God! Tomorrow could be too late!
Maranatha (Lord come)
John