Walking through the open door of the gospel of Christ'

1
Walking through the open door of the gospel of
Christ.
A Basic Presentation of the Gospel of Christ
Colossians 43 And pray for us, too, that God
may open a door for our message, so that we may
proclaim the mystery of Christ
2
Jesus would want me to talk to you about
something very important.
He wants you to find the path that leads to
heaven.
3
Lets begin with a question Imagine that you
were to die right now or that Jesus returned
right now. Would you be saved and spend eternity
in heaven with God?
YES _____ NO _____
IM NOT SURE _____
Whether your answer is yes, no, or Im not
sure, I would like to share some truth from the
Word of God with you. We can never spend too
much time listening to God or seeing what God
has to say to us.

This may be the open door you've been looking for!
4
So What's Your Answer?
If your answer was yes, then I would like to
hear about how you came to be so confident in
your salvation. I still want to speak to you
about scripture, but as a Christian I am very
interested in your story. There are some
questions on the next slide for you to answer.
If your answer was no or Im not sure, then
lets talk about what God says so that you can
know that you will go to heaven when you die or
Jesus returns.
5
What is your story?
For those who answered Yes to the question.

• Are you or were you a member of a religious
  group?
• If so, which religious group is it?
• When and where did you become saved or know you
  were saved?
• How old were you when this happened?
• Were you asked to do anything?
• If so, what did you do? Why?
• Were you baptized? If yes, how?
• When did this happen?
• Why did you need to do this?
• Did you do this before or after you were saved?
• Are you still a faithful member of this religious
  group?
• Do you have to do anything to stay saved? If
  yes, what?
• Is there anything else I should know about your
  conversion
• or the process that you went through to be
  saved? If so, what?

Let's see what God has to say!
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Just answer these questions from the Bible "yes"
or "no".
Some people think that you cant know the answer
to our question, but the Bible would disagree.
You can know if you have eternal life or not.
Listen to these words from the Apostle John. 1
John 513 I write these things to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God so that you
may know that you have eternal life. A question
for you Can you know that you have eternal
life?
Your answer Yes ___ No ___ So, we can know
that we have eternal life. Thats great!
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But what is eternal life? The Bible is clear on
this as well. Listen to these words from Jesus
Himself. John 173 Now this is eternal life
that they may know you, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. A question
for you Is eternal life a result of coming to
know God and Jesus Christ? Your answer Yes
___ No ___ So what have we learned so far? We
discovered that when we come to know God and
believe in Jesus, the Son of God, we can know
that we have eternal life.
The Bible has the answers we need!
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Obviously, we need to know God and the special
truths that He has for us. How do we do this?
The Apostle Paul has the answer for us. We will
see this answer in Ephesians 32-5. God told Paul
and the other Bible writers about Himself in a
very special way so that they could write words
that tell us what we need to know.
Let's see what Paul has to say!
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Ephesians 32-5 Surely you have heard about the
administration of God's grace that was given to
me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me
by revelation, as I have already written briefly.
In reading this, then, you will be able to
understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which was not made known to men in other
generations as it has now been revealed by the
Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.
When you read the words of the Apostles and
Prophets, you can understand what the holy Spirit
has revealed to them!
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A question for you When we read the Bible, can
we understand what God wants us to know about
Jesus Christ and about something that Paul calls
the gospel?
Your answer Yes ___ No ___ We can find
direction through the writings found in the Bible!
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We will talk about this thing called the gospel
in a few minutes, but there is already an
important lesson that we understand very well.
The writers of the New Testament wrote down the
things that we need to know to understand God and
Jesus Christ so that we can have eternal life.
God, by His divine power, had these men write
down the words that we need to have eternal life.
There are many great benefits of reading the
word of God and growing in our knowledge of God.
Listen to what the Apostle Peter says. 2
Peter 13 His divine power has given us
everything we need for life and godliness through
our knowledge of him who called us by his own
glory and goodness.
12
A question for you Do we have everything we
need in the words that God gave us in our
Bibles? Your answer Yes ___ No ___
The Bible is all that we need!
Some people try to convince us that we need a new
Bible or a new revelation from God or from modern
day prophets, but it is obviously not necessary.
We already have everything we need to have
eternal life and to live in a godly way in this
world. Why ask for anything more? The
scriptures that we can read in our Bibles are
direct words from God.
13
Listen to something else that Peter has to say to
us. 2 Peter 120-21 Above all, you must
understand that no prophecy of Scripture came
about by the prophet's own interpretation. For
prophecy never had its origin in the will of man,
but men spoke from God as they were carried along
by the Holy Spirit. A question for you Is it
true that the things written in the Scriptures
are actually words from God instead of merely the
opinions and interpretations of men? Your
answer Yes ___ No ___
The prophets told us what God wanted us to know
in the Bible! They didnt control what was
written. God did! Dont listen to opinions,
listen to Gods Word!
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Listen to what Paul wrote to a young Christian
named Timothy. 2 Timothy 314-17 But as for you,
continue in what you have learned and have become
convinced of, because you know those from whom
you learned it, and how from infancy you have
known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make
you wise for salvation through faith in Christ
Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man of God
may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The Bible gives you the wisdom you need to be
saved and be useful to God!
15
A question for you Can the words of the Bible
teach us what we need to know for salvation or to
be saved? Your answer Yes ___ No
___ God wants everyone to know what is
necessary for salvation, and he expects us to
learn the scriptures and to teach these things to
others. Who wouldnt want to know and teach
words from God? We spend years in school
learning from books that tell us what different
men and women think. Though this is important,
spending time learning from a book written by God
is even more important!
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Jesus tells us just how important it is to know
the word of God and to keep it. Its obviously
important to Jesus that we read the Word of God,
know the Word of God and obey it!
John 851 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps
my word, he will never see death. A
question for you Jesus is telling us something
that is obviously important. In fact, our lives
depend on it! Do you believe that Jesus is
telling us the truth? Your answer Yes
___ No ___
The Bible is the key to LIFE!
17
Jesus tells us that if we keep his word we will
not see death. Some call this a life or death
statement. If a doctor said, If you will take
this medicine, you will not die, you would
listen to him because it would be a life or
death statement. If a fireman said, If you
will jump from that window onto this net, you
will not die, you would probably forget your
fear of heights and jump from the window. Why?
Because when it is a choice of life or death, we
tend to choose life. Jesus is telling us that we
will not face death if we keep his word. The
Bible tells us in the most direct way possible
that we must listen to and obey what the word of
God says.
It's a life or death thing!
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Listen to what Jesus says. John 1247-50 "As for
the person who hears my words but does not keep
them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to
judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge
for the one who rejects me and does not accept my
words that very word which I spoke will condemn
him at the last day. For I did not speak of my
own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded
me what to say and how to say it. I know that his
command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say
is just what the Father has told me to say."
Hearing the words of Jesus Not
obeying them Judging
and condemning yourself
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The Word of God will judge us in the end!
A question for you Will we all be judged by
whether we listened to, learned, and obeyed the
word of God the Father, as told to us by
Jesus? Your answer Yes ___ No ___

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Jesus does not want us to be judged and
condemned. He wants us to read His words and
obey them so that He can save us. If we want to
have eternal life and live with Jesus for
eternity in heaven, we should listen to what
Jesus has to say to us in the Word of God. Many
will choose to ignore Jesus and live any way that
they want to live, but the key to having eternal
life is to listen to Jesus and live life His way.
We need to come to know Jesus, and the key is to
study the word of God.
Jesus just wants us to listen to Him and accept
His words, so that He can give us life!
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Listen to Jesus tell us how important this is as
he gives us another life or death statement.
John 824 I told you that you would die in your
sins if you do not believe that I am the one I
claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins. A
question for you If we do not believe in Jesus
being the one that He claims to be, will we die
in our sins? Your answer Yes ___ No ___
We must choose "Life" or "Death"!
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We must believe that Jesus is who he claims to
be. If we refuse to believe what Jesus says,
then we dont get to have eternal life. In fact,
we get death instead of life. We should see who
Jesus claims to be in Scripture so that we can
believe it and not die in our sins.
Jesus claims to be the son of God. Only those
who believe this claim can have eternal life!
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Listen to this conversation between Peter and
Jesus. Jesus had been teaching Peter and the
other apostles about who He was. In the quote
that follows, Simon Peter confesses that he knows
that Jesus really is who He claims to
be. Matthew 1613-17 When Jesus came to the
region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist others
say Elijah and still others, Jeremiah or one of
the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked.
"Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of
Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man,
but by my Father in heaven.
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A question for you Can you, like Peter, believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living
God? Your answer Yes ___ No ___
Jesus is the Son of God. You dont learn this
fact from listening to men you learn this from
listening to God by reading the Word of God.
Its amazing to think that God loved us enough to
send Jesus to save us, but this is the great
story of Scripture.
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Lets read together the most quoted passage of
scripture. This scripture has been translated
into more languages than any other quotation.
Jesus says in John 316, "For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life.
For God so loved...
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Its obvious from the scriptures that we have
read that you cannot have eternal life if you do
not believe that Jesus is Gods Son. But thats
not the only claim made about Jesus in the Word
of God. Listen to what the Apostle John says
about Jesus. John calls Jesus the Word in this
passage of Scripture. John 11-3 In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the
beginning. Through him all things were made
without him nothing was made that has been made.
John 114 The Word became flesh and made his
dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the
glory of the One and Only, who came from the
Father, full of grace and truth.
The Word or in the Greek language LOGOS was a
word meaning the creative force that fills the
world, or the complete essence of God in the
world! Jesus the LOGOS!
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A question for you Was Jesus, the One called
the Word by John, with God from the very
beginning, and did John say that the Word was
God? Your answer Yes ___ No ___
The Word (Jesus) was God is the same as
saying The Word (Jesus) God
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Jesus, who was called the Word by John, was God.
There wasnt one thing that was created that
Jesus didnt create. He was there in the very
beginning. The first words of the Bible are
similar to the words in John 11. In Genesis 11
it says, In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. The word translated
God is the Hebrew word Elohim which is the
plural word for God. This is made obvious
in Genesis 126 where it says, Then God said,
"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,
and let them rule over the fish of the sea and
the birds of the air, over the livestock, over
all the earth, and over all the creatures that
move along the ground."
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Jesus was there in the beginning. He is God. He
became flesh and came to live among us. This was
made clear when he was born. The Apostle Matthew
wrote about the birth of Jesus. He said in
Matthew 121-23, She will give birth to a son,
and you are to give him the name Jesus, because
he will save his people from their sins." All
this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet "The virgin will be with
child and will give birth to a son, and they will
call him Immanuel" which means, "God with us."
Jesus was called Immanuel or God with us. He
had all of the glory of God, the One and Only.
Immanuel God with us It doesnt mean someone
God sent to be with us.
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This was made very clear by the Apostle Paul.
Listen to what Paul says. Colossians 29 For in
Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in
bodily form, A question for you Did all of
the fullness or completeness of Deity (God-ness)
live in the body of Jesus Christ? Your answer
Yes ___ No ___
Jesus was all of God here on earth with us!
31
Jesus is 100 man Jesus is 100 God
If you take everything that God is and pour it
into one body - that was Jesus on earth. He was
God on earth. This is an amazing thought. While
here on this earth, Jesus was 100 God and 100
man. John and Paul made it clear that Jesus was
100 God. John and Matthew told us that God
became flesh, which means that he became like us.

32
The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us why
that is important in Hebrews 214-18. He says,
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too
shared in their humanity so that by his death he
might destroy him who holds the power of death,
that is, the devil, and free those who all their
lives were held in slavery by their fear of
death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but
Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to
be made like his brothers in every way, in order
that he might become a merciful and faithful high
priest in service to God, and that he might make
atonement for the sins of the people. Because he
himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able
to help those who are being tempted.
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Jesus is on the throne of God for us.
He continues this thought in Hebrews 414-16
where he says, Therefore, since we have a great
high priest who has gone through the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the
faith we profess. For we do not have a high
priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted
in every way, just as we are--yet was without
sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help us in our time of need.
Jesus came to earth so that He could really
understand us and defend us.
34
He came so that he could do something very
special for us. He came as a man to be our
mediator. A mediator is someone who understands
both sides in a dispute and works to bring them
back together. Paul wrote Timothy about this. 1
Timothy 25 For there is one God and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus, A question for you Did Jesus have to
come and be a man to be a mediator for us? Your
answer Yes ___ No ___
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Jesus is the mediator or bridge between God and
man.
Jesus came to this earth so that he could be our
mediator. If we get separated from God, Jesus
will help us get back together with God. He can
do this because he really understands us. Jesus
is our answer when we are separated from God.
Thats a horrible thought, isnt it? Its
horrible to think that we can be separated from
God.
Jesus Christ
God
Man
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The prophet Isaiah talks about this. Isaiah 592
But your iniquities have separated you from your
God your sins have hidden his face from you, so
that he will not hear. A question for you Do
these things called sins or iniquities separate
you from God? Your answer Yes ___ No ___
barrier of sin
God
Man
37
One sin, any sin, separates us from God. It
creates a huge separation, like a huge bottomless
pit, between God and us once we have sinned. You
can also liken it to a wall that divides you from
God. This is a horrible problem. All people
must ask themselves if they have sinned. If they
have, they need to realize that this has
separated them from God. Before we go any
farther, we need to ask ourselves if we have ever
sinned. To do this, we must first understand
what sin is. John tells us about sin. 1 John
34 Everyone who sins breaks the law in fact,
sin is lawlessness. A question for you If you
break one of the laws that God has set up, is
that a sin? Your answer Yes ___ No ___
Have You Sinned?
38
Whenever God tells us to do something in the
Bible, yet we go against what he has told us to
do, we have sinned. God has given us many things
to do in this life. We are to love our
neighbors, not talk badly about one another, not
steal, etc. When we go against what God has
asked us to do, it is sin.
39
But there is something else we must understand.
A Bible writer named James has more information
for us. James 417 Anyone, then, who knows the
good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. A
question for you If you know something that God
would want you to do, but do not do it, is it
sin? Your answer Yes ___ No ___ It is a
sin to do something against what God said, but
its also a sin to do nothing when God wants you
to act. Whenever we fail to do things Gods way,
we sin. We should ask ourselves, Have I ever
done something against Gods law or failed to do
something that God wanted me to do? If the
answer is yes, then you have sin in your life
and sin separates you from God.
Do you just avoid me or help me?
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Listen to what Paul says about those who have
sinned. Romans 323 for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, A question for
you Have you ever sinned? Your answer Yes
___ No ___
Oh no! Paul says that we are all sinners!
41
We have all sinned. Some do worse things than we
might do, but all of us are sinners. We become a
sinner when we make the decision to sin. Some
teach that babies are born sinful, but they never
made the choice to sin. Some teach that they are
born sinful because of people sinning before they
are born. Lets read what a prophet named
Ezekiel said about this. Ezekiel 1820 The soul
who sins is the one who will die. The son will
not share the guilt of the father, nor will the
father share the guilt of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous man will be
credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked
will be charged against him.
Our fathers can give us many things, but we do
not inherit their sins. We each start life
innocent and only become sinners when we choose
to sin.
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A question for you Does Ezekiel say a baby
cannot inherit sin from his father or someone who
lived before him? Your answer Yes ___ No
___ We all begin innocent,
but when we choose to commit our first sin we
become sinners. We dont inherit sins and are
sinless when born, even though we are born into a
world filled with sinners and sin. We arent
sinners because of what someone else did to us.
We are sinners because we sinned. Excuses are
useless. We must admit our sinfulness.
The picture of innocence. Does he look like a
sinner to you?
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Notice what John says. 1 John 15-10 This is the
message we have heard from him and declare to
you God is light in him there is no darkness at
all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet
walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by
the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is
in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son,
purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be
without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth
is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we
claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a
liar and his word has no place in our lives.
We must walk in the light or imitate Jesus
Christ.
44
A question for you If we say that we have never
sinned, are we calling God a liar and deceiving
ourselves? Your answer Yes ___ No
___ We have all sinned. If we want to be
forgiven of sin, we must admit this fact. Those
who refuse to admit their sinfulness cannot have
eternal life. We must be willing to confess or
to admit our sins. This is an essential part of
being forgiven and becoming a saved person. But
its not enough to just admit that youve sinned.
We must confess our sins.
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Look at what Jesus said in the book of Luke.
Its another one of those life or death
statements. Luke 133-5 I tell you, no! But
unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or
those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam
fell on them--do you think they were more guilty
than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell
you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all
perish." A question for you If you do not
repent, will you die or perish?

Your answer Yes ___ No ___
Repentance is stopping what you are doing wrong
and turning back to God.
God
46
To repent means to change your direction. If you
are doing what God doesnt want you to do, God
wants you to change direction and start doing
what He wants you to do. If you are sinning, you
have to change your direction, give up making
sinful decisions, and start doing what God wants
you to do. Sometimes we make mistakes, but we
should always repent and start doing what God
would want us to do. If we dont admit our sin
and repent, we will get exactly what we deserve.
Paul tells us what we deserve when we sin and
refuse to confess and repent. Romans 623
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. A
question for you When we sin, do we earn
death? Your answer Yes ___ No ___
47
We all know what it means to work and earn wages.
When you sin, you earn death. Death is the
wages we receive when we sin. God wants to give
us the gift of eternal life but when we sin, we
are given what we deserve. We need to find some
way to get rid of our sins so that we can accept
the gift that God wants to give us. Paul tells
us about this salvation from sin. Romans
116-17 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because
it is the power of God for the salvation of
everyone who believes first for the Jew, then
for the Gentile. For in the gospel a
righteousness from God is revealed, a
righteousness that is by faith from first to
last, just as it is written "The righteous will
live by faith."
The gospel is Gods power to save you!
48
A question for you Is the gospel the power of
God that saves you and everyone else who
believes? Your answer Yes ___ No ___ This
gospel is the power of God to save us. We need
to know more about this gospel, dont we? The
word gospel literally means good news, and it
really is good news that God can save us even if
we have sinned. We need to find out more about
this thing called the gospel.
The word power in Greek is DUNAMIS, where we
get the word dynamite and it means an explosion
of tremendous power.
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Paul gives us the definition that we need. 1
Cor. 151-4 Now, brothers, I want to remind you
of the gospel I preached to you, which you
received and on which you have taken your stand.
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly
to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you
have believed in vain. For what I received I
passed on to you as of first importance that
Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures,
Death
Burial
Resurrection
50
A question for you Is the gospel (the death,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus) the thing that
can save us and is of first importance? Your
answer Yes ___ No ___
Death of Jesus Burial of Jesus
Resurrection of Jesus Gospel or Good
News
Look at Gods mathematics!
51
The gospel can save us. Paul saw this as the
message that was of first importance more
important than any other message. This message
that saves us is the death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus. If you dont understand
this, everything else you know is in vain. The
importance of this message is made clear
throughout the New Testament. Paul tells us in
another book of the Bible just how important it
is to know this. Galatians 16-9 I am
astonished that you are so quickly deserting the
one who called you by the grace of Christ and are
turning to a different gospel, which is really no
gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing
you into confusion and are trying to pervert the
gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from
heaven should preach a gospel other than the one
we preached to you, let him be eternally
condemned! As we have already said, so now I say
again If anybody is preaching to you a gospel
other than what you accepted, let him be
eternally condemned!
52
A question for you Are there going to be
different people teaching different gospels than
what the Bible teaches? Your answer Yes
___ No ___ There were people who had heard and
obeyed the gospel as taught in the Bible, but
then became confused because other people were
teaching different gospels. Paul said that even
if an apostle or an angel should come from heaven
teaching a different gospel, we should not
listen. Those coming and teaching this different
gospel will be condemned. Believe it or not,
there are religions today that teach that an
angel, apostle, or prophet came after these times
and brought new things from God, including a new
gospel. Some have new books, magazines, and
prophecies that they follow. Some even believe
that there are people alive today that are
bringing us a new way of salvation.
53
The Bible warns us about such things. Remember
2 Peter 13? We already have everything that we
need. Listen to what is said in Jude verse 3,
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write
to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had
to write and urge you to contend for the faith
that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
The faith that God gave us was given to us one
time for all time. There will be no angels,
prophets, or apostles coming with new information
for us. Thankfully, we can trust that God has
given us everything that we need just as He has
promised.
We have everything we need in the New Testament.
God says so! Dont expect anything else!
54
The Bible teaches us that the gospel, or good
news, is the death, burial, and resurrection of
Jesus. Why is this such good news? Peter gives
us the answer to this important question. 1
Peter 318 For Christ died for sins once for
all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring
you to God. He was put to death in the body but
made alive by the Spirit, A question for you
Did Jesus die to bring you back to God?
Your answer Yes ___ No ___
The cross of Jesus makes all the difference!
55
Jesus allows us to cross over the pit of sin and
return to God. The death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus is so important because it
is what is necessary to bring you back to God.
Jesus had to die on the cross to save us. The
good news isnt that Jesus had to die on the
cross. The good news is that by dying on the
cross, Jesus made it possible for us to be
restored to Christ. Jesus had to bleed and die
to pay the price for us to have our sins taken
away. Jesus redeems us or buys us back with his
own blood. Listen to what Paul
says. Ephesians 17 In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in
accordance with the riches of God's grace
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A question for you Can we have forgiveness from
sin because of the blood that Jesus shed for
us? Your answer Yes ___ No ___ Jesus knew
that the price for us to be saved was his own
blood. He willingly paid this price to take away
our sins. The good news is that this was enough
to take all of our sins away if we do what God
wants us to do. This is very important. The
gospel can save us because Jesus paid the price.
Jesus shed his blood to pay for YOUR sins!
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Listen to the words that Paul wrote to
Timothy. 2 Timothy 110 but it has now been
revealed through the appearing of our Savior,
Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has
brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel. A question for you Did Jesus destroy
death and bring us life and immortality through
his death, burial, and resurrection? Your
answer Yes ___ No ___
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In his death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus
changed everything and gave us the opportunity to
not just have life, but to be immortal or live
forever. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1
Corinthians 1517 And if Christ has not been
raised, your faith is futile you are still in
your sins. If Jesus had never been
resurrected, then none of us could ever hope to
live forever because our sins would never be
taken away. But Jesus was resurrected, and this
is what gives us hope. The gospel can give us
life and immortality because Jesus was raised
from the dead. We need to choose to believe in
the gospel message and obey the gospel, because
to not do so brings terrible consequences.
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Listen to this warning. 2 Thess. 17-9 This
will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from
heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
He will punish those who do not know God and do
not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will
be punished with everlasting destruction and shut
out from the presence of the Lord and from the
majesty of his power A question for you Will
Jesus come back and punish eternally those who do
not know God and those who refused to obey the
gospel?
Your answer Yes ___ No ___
There is a price to be paid for not obeying the
gospel.
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This isnt a pleasant thought, but its true. If
you accept what God says and do what he says to
do, you will find salvation. If you dont, you
will find condemnation. Its really quite
simple. Jesus will be coming back. Those who
know God and have obeyed the gospel will live
eternally in heaven. Those who do not know God
and have not obeyed the gospel will be condemned
for eternity. Now that we know what the gospel
is, we need to see what it means to obey the
gospel.
Your decision of whether to obey the gospel or
not determines where you spend eternity. Its a
simple choice between heaven and hell.
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We know that we must obey the gospel, but we need
to see from scripture how to do this. Paul will
tell us. Romans 63-7 Or don't you know that all
of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death? We were therefore buried
with him through baptism into death in order
that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father, we too may live
a new life. If we have been united with him like
this in his death, we will certainly also be
united with him in his resurrection. For we know
that our old self was crucified with him so that
the body of sin might be done away with, that we
should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone
who has died has been freed from sin.
We reenact the death, burial and resurrection of
Jesus by dying to self, being buried in water,
and being raised up from the water to live a new
life. This is how we obey the gospel or the
death, burial and resurrection.
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A question for you Do we participate in the
death, burial, and resurrection when we are
baptized into Christ Jesus? Your answer Yes
___ No ___ Death of Jesus
Death to self and this world
Burial of Jesus Burial of old self in
water Resurrection of Jesus
Resurrection to a new life
the gospel obeying the
gospel Baptism is taken from the Greek word
baptidzo which means to bury, submerge,
immerse, or to completely cover something. We
have to be willing to die, to be buried, and to
be resurrected to obey the gospel. You do this in
baptism.
Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist to show us
how to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew
313-17). Jesus and John went down into the
water where John buried or immersed him. Jesus
wants us to do the same thing.
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Lets read a story about someone who obeyed the
gospel by being baptized. We read the story of a
treasurer in Ethiopia in Acts 826-39 where it
says, Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip,
"Go south to the road, the desert road, that goes
down from Jerusalem to Gaza." So he started out,
and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an
important official in charge of all the treasury
of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had
gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home
was sitting in his chariot reading the book of
Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, "Go
to that chariot and stay
near it." Then Philip ran
up to the chariot and heard the man
reading Isaiah the
prophet. "Do you
understand what you are reading?"
Philip asked. "How can I," he
said, "unless someone explains
it to me?" So he invited
Philip to come up and sit with him.
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So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
The eunuch was reading this passage of
Scripture "He was led like a sheep to the
slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is
silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his
humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can
speak of his descendants? For his life was taken
from the earth." The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell
me, please, who is the prophet talking about,
himself or someone else?" Then Philip began with
that very passage of Scripture and told him the
good news about Jesus. As they traveled along
the road, they came to some water and the eunuch
said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be
baptized?" And he gave orders to stop the
chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went
down into the water and Philip
baptized him. When they came
up out of the water, the Spirit
of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the
eunuch did not see him
again, but went
on his way rejoicing.
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Notice that it took a lot of water to baptize
him. Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch both walked
down in the water so that the eunuch could be
baptized. Why did they need so much water, and
why did they both go out into the water? Its
because the eunuch needed to be buried in water
for it to be baptism. When someone is buried, we
dont just cover part of their body or cover
their head, do we? Of course we don't. We
completely cover them. God allows us to
use water to bury ourselves in when we obey the
gospel. We die in that we no longer live the
same way. We are buried in water. Then we are
raised up out of the water as a new person. This
time we are focused on living the way God would
want us to live. This is obeying the gospel.
It doesnt have to be special water, but there
has to be enough water to bury you.
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We have already seen that if we obey the gospel,
we can have life and immortality but if we
refuse to obey the gospel, we will be condemned.
This baptism does more than just enable us to
obey the gospel. It actually allows us to be
covered up in Christ and to be sons of God.
Listen to what Paul says next. Galatians
326-27 You are all sons of God through faith in
Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
When we are baptized we become children of God!
When we obey the gospel by being baptized, we can
actually be children of God. Everyone who has
been buried or baptized into Christ is clothed or
covered in Christ. This means that we are in
Christ after we obey the gospel.
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When you are in Christ you do not have to worry
about condemnation. Paul says in
Romans 81, Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Thats good news, isnt it? As long as we are
in Christ we will not be condemned. Lets
read about some more benefits of being in
Christ 1 Corinthians 12 To the
church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in
Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with
all those everywhere who call on the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and ours. We are
sanctified in Christ!
If you are in Christ, theres no condemnation or
judgment for you!
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More Benefits Of Being In Christ
2 Corinthians 517 Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation the old has gone,
the new has come! We are made new in
Christ! Ephesians 13 Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual
blessing in Christ. We have every spiritual
blessing in Christ! Ephesians 17 In him we
have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the
riches of God's grace We have redemption in
Christ!
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More Benefits Of Being In Christ
Colossians 113-14 For he has rescued us from
the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We have
redemption and forgiveness in Christ! 2 Timothy
210 Therefore I endure everything for the sake
of the elect, that they too may obtain the
salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal
glory. We have salvation in Christ! 1 John 511
And this is the testimony God has given us
eternal life, and this life is in his Son. We
have eternal life in Christ!
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The key is to be "in Christ"!
There can be nothing greater than to be in
Christ. Paul told us that we are baptized into
Christ. Obeying the gospel places us in
Christ. This is why the Apostle Peter says in
1 Peter 321, and this water symbolizes baptism
that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt
from the body but the pledge of a good conscience
toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. We are saved by baptism as we
imitate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This
washes us clean inside and allows us to start
over again with a clean conscience.
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Hebrews 914 says the same basic thing when it
says, How much more, then, will the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself unblemished to God, cleanse our
consciences from acts that lead to death, so that
we may serve the living God! Wouldnt it be
great to be able to start over again? You can
through obeying the gospel. Thats why Jesus
called it being born again or being born of water
and Spirit.
Its good to be clean on the outside, but being
cleansed of guilt, fear, doubt and every sin is
better. Baptism washes us clean on the inside
and allows us to start all over.
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Jesus said that we must be born of water and
Spirit. A good feeling or miraculous experience
doesnt wash you in water and Spirit.
In John 33-5 we can see the words of Jesus as he
speaks with a man named Nicodemus. It says, In
reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no
one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born
again." "How can a man be born when he is old?"
Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second
time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus
answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter
the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and
the Spirit. When you obey the gospel, you can
start all over again, as if you are a newborn
baby.
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What a wonderful gift Jesus gave to us when he
died on the cross, was buried, and was
resurrected! Jesus is the key to our salvation.
This is the primary story of the Bible. Listen
to this. John 146 Jesus answered, "I am the
way and the truth and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me. A question for
you Is Jesus the only way that we can come to
the Father?

Your answer Yes ___ No ___
There is just one way - Jesus.
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Jesus is the only way back to God. Peter made
this clear in a courtroom before a group of
Jewish judges as he told them about Jesus. In
Acts 412, Peter says, Salvation is found in no
one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved." We can
only be saved through Jesus. Other people
might tell you that you can find salvation in
other ways, but the Bible is very clear. Jesus
is the only way to heaven. Its not enough to be
a religious person. The Ethiopian eunuch, whom
we read about before, was a religious man who
read the Bible and traveled great distances to
worship. But that wasnt enough. He had to know
about Jesus and obey the gospel. Thats the only
way.
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There will be many religious people who put their
trust in things other than Jesus that will be
surprised to find out that they are not saved.
Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 721-23. He
said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who
does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many
will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we
not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive
out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I
will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away
from me, you evildoers!' Every religion tries
to convince you that they are the true one. Some
will even argue that they can do signs and
miracles to prove it. But signs and miracles
dont prove who is right. It all depends on
whether someone is teaching the gospel, having
you obey the gospel, and focusing on Jesus as
the power to save you. The only way is the way
of Jesus.
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The Bible continually makes it clear that we must
obey the gospel of Jesus to be saved. Mark
1615-16 He said to them, "Go into all the world
and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever
believes and is baptized will be saved, but
whoever does not believe will be condemned. A
question for you If you believe and are
baptized will you be saved? Your answer Yes
___ No ___ Jesus says, Belief Baptism
Salvation Some say, Belief Salvation
Baptism Some say, Belief Prayer
Salvation Who are you going to believe?
77
Jesus told every Christian to tell the good news,
or gospel, to everyone. If someone believes this
and is baptized, they will be saved. The ones
who do not believe will obviously not be baptized
and will be condemned when Jesus returns or when
they die. Thats really very clear, isnt it?
Maybe it will help to see the whole story told at
one time. Lets look at a very special day
the day when the Lords Church began. Since this
is such a long story we will look at it in
several sections. Lets look at one chapter
together
Acts 2
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Section 1 GOD BRINGS EVERYONE TOGETHER AND
GIVES SPECIAL POWERS TO HIS
APOSTLES Acts 21-13 When the day of
Pentecost came, they were all together in one
place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a
violent wind came from heaven and filled the
whole house where they were sitting. They saw
what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated
and came to rest on each of them. All of them
were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled
them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem
God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
Text continued on the next page.
79
When they heard this sound, a crowd came together
in bewilderment, because each one heard them
speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed,
they asked "Are not all these men who are
speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of
us hears them in his own native language?
Parthians, Medes and Elamites residents of
Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts
of Libya near Cyrene visitors from Rome (both
Jews and converts to Judaism) Cretans and
Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God
in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they
asked one another, "What does this mean?" Some,
however, made fun of them and said, "They have
had too much wine."
End of text.
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The Day of Pentecost was a special feast day for
the Jewish people and Jews from all over the
world would have been gathered in Jerusalem. God
brought them all together in one place by causing
there to be the sound of a rushing, mighty wind.
This sound was so unusual that it caused everyone
to go to that one part of the city where the
Apostles were gathered. Jesus had promised them
that he would send them the Holy Spirit to help
them. In John 1426 Jesus said, But the
Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in my name, will teach you all things and
will remind you of everything I have said to
you. Now notice Acts 14-5, On one occasion,
while he was eating with them, he gave them this
command "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for
the gift my Father promised, which you have
heard me speak about. For John baptized with
water, but in a few days you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit."
81
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?????
per cortesìa
biblia
agradar
Then in Acts 17-9, He said to them "It is not
for you to know the times or dates the Father has
set by his own authority. But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
After he said this, he was taken up before their
very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
God had to show them that they had this special
power from the Holy Spirit and that they were
ready to fulfill their part in the plan. The
apostles were able to speak in their native
language, while all of the people there heard
what they were saying in their own native
languages. This is the gift of speaking in
tongues or languages in the Bible.
asante
??????
hola
por favor
adiós
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The Holy Spirit gave them a perfect memory of
everything they needed to know and allowed them
to tell it to everyone in the language they
understood best. Why did He do this? It was
because they were trying to teach people from all
over the world. Since there were no written
accounts of the New Testament yet, all they had
was their memory to depend on. They needed the
Spirits help to make sure they said everything
that these people needed to hear. Isnt it funny
how we sometimes try to find worldly explanations
for things that are unexplainable? Many just
believed that God was doing something great, but
some tried to think of an explanation for the
fact that everyone understood the apostles
perfectly in their own language. Some tried to
explain it by saying that they were drunk. This
doesnt really make any sense, does it? Its
hard to understand a drunk in any language.
They were just trying to make sense of
something amazing that was happening. The
explanation was a simple one. God
was doing something incredible.
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Section 2 PETER EXPLAINS THE MIRACLE TAKING
PLACE Acts 214-21 Then Peter stood up with
the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the
crowd "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in
Jerusalem, let me explain this to you listen
carefully to what I say. These men are not
drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the
morning! No, this is what was spoken by the
prophet Joel " 'In the last days, God says, I
will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons
and daughters will prophesy, your young men will
see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will