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Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He instructed His followers to go
into all the world, proclaim the gospel, and become disciple makers
(Matt. 28:19,20). He also promised that they would be given power by
the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses throughout the earth (Acts 1:8).
The message the followers of Christ were sent to proclaim is also the
essential message of the New Testament. It may be summarized as
follows:
Who Christ Is. The teaching of the New
Testament is based on the identification of Jesus Christ. He is God
the Son, born of a virgin in Bethlehem. He took on our human nature
so that He could be our substitute. He lived without sin, though He
was tempted with all the temptations that confront us (Heb. 4:15). He
fulfilled the Father's plan in exact detail, submitting to the
Father's will (John 4:34). He was the God-man: fully God and fully
man.
What Christ Did. The sinless life of Jesus
Christ was ended by His death on a cross. He was accused of blasphemy
by the religious leaders of Israel and executed with common thieves.
In His suffering and death, He bore the penalty for our sins--even
though He Himself was without guilt (2 Cor. 5:21). He took our place,
dying that we might live. In that act, He fulfilled the Old Testament
concept of sacrifice. As the animal died to atone for the sins of a
man or the nation, so Jesus shed His blood as our sacrifice.
Christ's Resurrection. But Christ did not stay
in the tomb. Three days after He died, He was raised from the dead.
Some women, His disciples, and more than 500 others at one time were
witnesses of the truth of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1-8). Because
death is the penalty for sin (Rom. 5:12-14), His resurrection
demonstrates that God accepted His death as a suitable sacrifice for
sin. Death's power is broken (1 Cor. 15:54-57).
Our Response. How does a person respond to the
message proclaimed by Christ's followers? How does he appropriate to
himself the merit of Christ's sacrifice on his behalf? By faith. He
first hears the gospel story--the good news of Christ's death for his
sin--and then he believes and is born again (John 3:16). This rescue
does not come by works, heritage, baptism, or self-denial--it comes
to all who trust in Jesus Christ a their personal Savior. And when a
person believes, he is forgiven of his sins (Eph. 4:32); he becomes a
member of God's family (John 1:12); he is baptized into the church,
the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), and he is justified in God's sight
(Rom. 5:1).
The Future. An inexpressible future awaits
those who accept the message of the New Testament. Jesus Christ has
promised to return for His own (John 14:13). When the endtime comes,
He will punish the earth for its evil and purge it of its sin (2 Pet.
3:10-16). The wrongs of this world will be made right by Christ the
perfect judge (Rev. 19:11), and believers will live forever in
heaven. They will be completely satisfied, filled with a knowledge of
God that will give them eternal joy and ultimate fulfillment in His
presence.
If you are already a believer, your heart
should be rejoicing at the message of salvation and hope that is at
the very core of the New Testament. If you are born again, you have
the assurance that a wonderful life in heaven awaits you.
The New Testament, as we have seen, is filled
with specific instructions for you. It calls for personal purity
through obedience to Jesus Christ. It commands you to witness. It
demands a life of self-sacrifice. It assumes that you will be an
active member of a local church. So how are you doing? Any review of
the glorious message of the gospel should fill you with renewed
dedication.
But what if you are not a Christian? Your next
step is clear. To know God through the New Testament, you must trust
in His Son, Jesus Christ, as your Savior, He died for you! To receive
Him, you must first acknowledge that you are a sinner and that you
cannot save yourself. Then, in simple prayer, ask Jesus to save you,
believing that He will. He has promised to give new life to all who
call on Him in faith.
Trust Christ today. The Bible asks, "How
shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Heb. 2:3).
When you receive Him, you will experience the freedom from sin and
guilt that Jesus Christ promises to all who trust in Him.
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall
be free indeed (John 8:36).
Curtis
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