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November/December 2017 Plan of Salvation: John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever shall believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
A Message From Good News Press
Why is the Gospel Message Good News? With his final words before his ascension, Jesus issued to his followers the task of conveying his message to the world. Armed with this directive, the total number of Christians exploded from a mere 120 to over 3,000 within the span of two weeks. By the end of the first century, an estimated one million people had responded to the Christian message by becoming followers of Jesus. Today, nearly two thousand years later, the Christian faith has grown to become the largest faith in the world with over two billion adherents. Still, Christians continue to treat Jesus' mandate seriously and persist in spreading his message far and wide.
to as the "Gospel," which means "good news." Specifically, it is the good news about Jesus—who he is, what he has done, and what he offers. Essentially, the message is that Jesus was God in the flesh, that he came into the world to reconcile humanity to himself, and that his salvation is freely offered to each person who will respond in faith.
contain a code of conduct as well as doctrinal and theological statements, the central message is more about placing faith in the person of Jesus than it is about conforming to any code. The primary emphasis of Christianity, then, is to point people toward Jesus and the salvation that is only available from him.
Furthermore, the Gospel message explains that salvation is only possible through the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. Though thousands of books have been written about these events, the core idea is that, through his sacrifice, Jesus paid the price for our sinfulness (rebellion against God), thus offering us forgiveness. Then through his Resurrection he conquered death, What is this message, though, and why removing it as the penalty for our sin is it so important? Why have countless and replacing it with the offer of eterChristians pledged and even given their nal life. lives in order to promote it?
The Christian Church has taken different forms throughout the centuries, but this central message has remained the same. It binds all of Christendom together. Despite the various branches of Christianity in the world today—most notably Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy—this Gospel message acts as a unifying element. Though adherents to the faith include people from every walk of life, this message binds them all together. Throughout the Christian Church, this message of salvation is considered to be the hope of the world.
The Christian message is often referred
Though the Christian Scriptures do
What Survey with Pastors Reveal In Retaining New Converts Lifeway Research study reveals what really mattered to retaining new converts by Pastors. Here are some of their findings. Among pastors of churches with the most retained converts:
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93 percent say their church engages in ministry outside the
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church at least every six months to share the gospel with the unchurched. 92 percent consistently hear reports of church members engaging in evangelistic conversations and sharing their faith with nonChristians. 68 percent offer classes for new attenders at least every six
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months. 66 percent ask people weekly to commit to Christ following a personal presentation of the gospel. 57 percent block out time on their calendar at least once a week for the purpose of sharing their faith with non-Christians outside the church office.
Cont’d See Survey Next Page
The Christian message is often referred to as the "Gospel," which means "good news." Specifically, it is the good news about Jesus—who He is, what He has done, and what He offers. Essentially, the message is that Jesus was God in the flesh, that He came into the world to reconcile humanity to Himself, and that his salvation is freely offered to each person who will respond in faith. The Gospel message explains that salvation is only possible through the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. Through his sacrifice, Jesus paid the price for our sinfulness (rebellion against God), thus offering us forgiveness. Then through his Resurrection He conquered death, removing it as the penalty for our sin and replacing it with the offer of eternal life that is only available from Him to all those that place their faith in Him.