The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

There's a chance that you might be here listening to me right now, and that you've never heard the gospel. It's the most important thing I could ever say to you or to anyone.

And even if you've heard the gospel, even if you've built your whole life around it, the reality is we all need to hear the gospel every day.

We all need to be reminded of the finished work of Christ because when we forget, we'll be tempted to try to earn our own salvation or to maintain it or some other lie that isn't possible.

Jesus didn't come solely as a good example or a good teacher. Yes, he was both of those things, but those things cannot save us.
Jesus came to do what we cannot do. So let me tell you what he did.

This is the gospel, literally the good news of Jesus. Romans 3.23 says all of us were born with a sinful human nature, and it separates us from a perfect, holy God.

Our sin has to be paid for somehow. We're all in debt to God.

Every false religion in the world will tell you some way you have to live or think or be, some ladder you have to climb to make your way back to God or to perfection or to some unattainable life without suffering or to pay for your sin through good works.

Most of those religions lead people to a life of fear, wondering if they've been able to earn or keep good standing with God. But here's the thing: none of us can do it.
We can't be good enough.

He made us good, but his standard is perfection.

So, God the Father sent someone to be perfect on our behalf. He sent his Son, Jesus, fully God, fully man, to bridge the gap that separates us from him.

Jesus not only paid our sin debt by his death on the cross, but he also granted us the righteousness he earned through his holy life.

When we come into a relationship with Jesus, we are welcomed into the family of God, filled with the spirit of God, and guaranteed eternal life with him.

No more striving. No more wondering if our good deeds will outweigh our bad deeds.
Jesus fulfilled all the Father requires. This kind of guarantee provides a certainty in our salvation.

When you surrender your striving and entrust your salvation to Jesus, when you believe his death is fully sufficient to cover your sin debt, and that his life is fully sufficient to grant you perfect righteousness, God grants you a new heart and a new eternity.

And along with that, you get the gift of his Holy Spirit who comes to dwell in you forever. You are a part of His family for all eternity.

He works in you to conform you to the image of Jesus.

He transforms you, sanctifying you, changing your desires to be the kinds of things that glorify God and reveal Him to the world around you, so that others might be drawn to Him too, for our good and His glory.

This is a relationship, an eternal relationship. God promises to never leave his kids.

In John 6, 37, Jesus says, all that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out.

Once He adopts you into His family and gives you His Spirit, He's not going anywhere. Even when you sin, His death has covered you.

And when you sin, you can walk in repentance, knowing that His forgiveness fully embraces you. He empowers you to obey Him and guides you in that process.
You're free to obey out of joy.

We've listed lots of scripture in the show notes that we encourage you to look up, and it all points to the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

We also encourage you to talk with someone at your church if you have questions. The God of the universe has invited you into this eternal relationship with Him.

Jesus is the only one who is able to save you, and He saves you fully. Trust in Him or keep trusting in Him today.

He's where the joy is.

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