Lesson 1
The Basics of the Gospel
Christianity has many important teachings, but the following five points are foundational:
1. Everyone has sin
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Sin does not have to be hideous crimes like robbery, murder, adultery, etc. Sin is FALLING SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. This standard is described in the Scripture as following:
a. Sin is lawlessness
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4)
This Scripture shows that those who do not keep the law of God are sinners before Him. God’s law includes the Ten Commandments as recorded in Exodus 20:3-17:
1. “You shall have no other gods before me.
2. “You shall not make for yourself an idol …You shall not bow down to them or worship them.
3. “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
5. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
6. “You shall not murder.
7. “You shall not commit adultery.
8. “You shall not steal.
9. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
The Lord Jesus Christ summarizes the above ten commandments into two commandments:
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Loving God and loving others are the two commands that we must obey. Lacking love for God or others makes us sinners before God’s eyes.
b. Sin is failing to do what one believes
… Everything that does not come from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
The word “faith” in this verse refers to that which we already know or agree in our heart. If we violate something we know in our heart to be wrong, we are considered sinful before God.
c. Sin is failing to do the good that one ought to do
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins (James 4:17).
Usually people are judged for their faults or for doing something they know to be wrong. But God’s Word shows us a higher standard: knowing the good yet failing to do it is considered to be sin before God already.
Based on that standard, no one is sinless. Mankind created by God, a creation by God, and yet fails to worship Him, that is sin (Romans 1:18-23). THE BASIC SIN of mankind is BELIEVE NOT IN GOD. Jesus said, “in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me” (John 16:9).
2. The result of sin is death
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
The word “wages” in this verse refers to the result. Just as we get paid for our work, so we receive the result of our sinful acts. That result is death. Death means separation. The most painful and frightening thing about death is separation. When a person dies, we are totally separated from that person. “The wages of sin is death” means we are separated from God. The holy God cannot overlook sins. We are sinful people, thus separated from Him. Though we are alive, but because of sin we are as good as dead before Him. The Bible teaches, “You were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).
Because of our separation from God, our lives no longer have any meaning, like a branch separated from its trunk, there is no life. That is the disappointment and restlessness in man, and that is the reason man always looks for a way of deliverance.
3. No one can save us
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved”(Acts 4:12).
The basic problem of mankind is sin and being separated from God. Knowing that, mankind looks for a way of deliverance, either by strict discipline, or by doing good works, or by keeping certain rules…. However, all are fruitless human efforts to reach God. Any person, be it a saint, also has sin and thus cannot use his own good works to redeem himself from sin. Man’s good work is like a filthy rag before God’s eyes: “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). A person cannot save even himself, let alone anyone else.
4. Jesus is the only way of salvation
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
This is the most important point of the Gospel yet many people find it hard to accept. In their thinking, all religions are equally good. All religions teach people to do good, why did Jesus declare that He is the only way? Jesus is the only way because of the following reasons:
(1) Jesus is God. The difference between Jesus and other heads of religion is that Jesus is God and others are just human. Jesus, being God, is sinless. Only a sinless One can die on behalf of sinful man.
(2) Jesus died for mankind. Other heads of religion only teach about a way of salvation, but Jesus is the way of salvation. The Lord Jesus was sinless but He died as a sinner to take our place and to atone our sins. No other religious heads died to save mankind.
(3) Jesus resurrected. Jesus is also the only One who has victory over death. The Lord not only died for the sin of mankind, He also resurrected from the death.
5. We receive salvation by trusting in Christ
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).
All have sin, the penalty of sin is death, no one can save us, and Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, all these lead to the fact that we must trust in Christ for our salvation. The word “believe” includes the following meanings:
(1) Accepting. Believing in Christ means to accept Jesus Christ as God, the sinless One who died for our sins.
(2) Dedicating. Believing also means dedicating, that is to hand over our entire lives into God’s control.
(3) Committing. Believing in Christ also implies a lifetime of commitment to follow Him and never to forsake Him.
(4) Worshiping. Many people believe the Lord Jesus died to save them, but they refuse to let Him be the Lord of their lives. Believing also means to worship, giving Him the highest place in their lives.
In the above Scripture, God promised those who believe in Christ will receive the power to become children of God. Adam, the representative of mankind was called son of God by creation, but that right was lost when he sinned and rebelled against God. Now we can receive the power to become children of God by putting our trust in Christ.
Consenting to the first four points and doing the fifth point, that is to trust in Christ, we become children of God and enjoy all the privilege of a child of God—forgiveness, salvation, and redemption.
Lesson 1
Study Questions
1. Five foundational points of the Gospel are:
(1) ____________________________________________
(2) ____________________________________________
(3) ____________________________________________
(4) ____________________________________________
(5) ____________________________________________
2. Sin is falling short of the __________________ of God.
3. “The wages of sin is death” means we are ___________________ from God.
4. Why mankind cannot save mankind?
____________________________________________________
5. Three reasons showing that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation are
(1) Jesus is _______________________________________
(2) Jesus _________________________________________
(3) Jesus _________________________________________
6. “Believing” includes the following meanings
(1) _______________________________________________
(2) _______________________________________________
(3) _______________________________________________
