THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST - from (Monergism.com)

THE GOSPEL IS A MESSAGE ABOUT:

1. GOD

   • Is. 6:1-5, 5:16; Rev.4:8-11. God is Holy.
   • Dan. 4:35; Ps. 135:6. God is Sovereign.
   • 1 Jn. 4:8,16. God is Love.
   • Heb. 12:29. God is a Communing Fire.
   • Gen. 17:1; Jer. 32:17; Is. 43:13; Amos 9:2-3. God is Omnipotent.
   • Ps. 139:1-6; Rom. 11:33-36. God is Omniscient
   • Jer. 23:23-24; Ps. 139:7-12. God is Omnipresent
   • Ps. 145:17. God Is Righteous.
   • Ex. 34:6-7. God is Merciful.
   • Rev. 29:11-15. God is a Judge.
   • Jn. 4:23-24. God is a Spirit.
   • 1 Jn. 5:7; 2 Cor.13:14; I Pet. 1:2. God is one God revealed in three distinct persons; Father, Son, & Holy Spirit (trinity, not modalism).
   • Jn. 1:1-3, 14,18, 10:30-33, 17:5, 20:28; Acts 20:28; Rm. 9:5; Phi. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-17, 2:9; I Tim. 3:16; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:1-12; II Pet. 1:1; Rev. 1:8. Jesus is God--YHWH.

2. SIN

   • Gen. 2:15-17. Adam and Eve's disobedience resulted in spiritual and physical death.
   • Rom. 6:23. The wages of sin is death.
   • Dt. 6:4-5. However, before sin entered the world man's purpose was to serve God and glorify Him.
   • Matt. 22:34-40. Therefore, man is now living in an abnormal condition.
   • Rom. 3:10, 5:6-9; Lk. 5:31,32 There is none righteous, no not one!
   • Rom. 3:23. Everyone, without exception, is a sinner.
   • Rom 5:12. Adam's sin nature is inherited by all mankind.
   • Is. 64:6-7. God views our good deeds as “filthy rags.”
   • Eph. 2:8-9. God rejects our good works.
   • Ps. 51:5, 58:3. We are sinners from birth.
   • Jn. 3:19. Sinners love their sin.

3. THE LAW

   • Ex. 20:1-20. The Ten Commandments must by obeyed perfectly.
   • Mt. 22:34-40. If we disobey the 1st & 2nd greatest commandments we have broken all of the Bible’s laws.
   • Ja. 2:10-11. If we break one commandment we’ve broken them all.
   • Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:24. The purpose of the Ten Commandments is to reveal sin in us and disclose our inability in keeping the law’s demands. This creates an attitude of desperation in sinners to be delivered from the guilt and penalty of the law. Christ alone is the sinners hope.

4. THE VANITY OF LIFE

   • Heb. 9:27. Three things are common to all: Life, Death, & Judgment.
   • 2 Pet. 3:8; Ja. 4:13-14. Life Is short: The earth will be covered by all new people 110 years from now. Our life span is compared to one grain of sand taken from one planet among a thousand planets covered with sand. After you die no one remembers you (Eccl. 1:11, 2:16).
   • Eccl. 12:8,13,14, Life is vain: Solomon, the wisest man who lived, had everything this world has to offer yet he judged this life as totally vain and futile. Nevertheless, man pursues the vain things of this world against all reason, logic and intelligence (2 Tim. 3:7).
   • Lk. 12:16-21. Life is fragile: You may die tonight! Many labor to extend their life through exercise and vitamins but will add only a few years.
   • Eccl. 5:15; 1 Tim. 6:7; Lk. 9:24. Money and riches are vain.

5. HELL & JUDGEMENT

   • Rev. 20:11-15. The great white throne judgment.
   • Matt. 25:41-46. Everlasting fire and punishment for the unsaved.
   • Heb. 9:27. After this life comes judgment.
   • Lk. 16:19-31. Hell is a place of unceasing pain and torment with no escape.

6. THE NEW BIRTH

   • Jn. 3:1-7. Jesus teaches that the “new birth” is necessary for salvation.
   • Jn. 1:13. Salvation is not inherited from our parents, secured by our effort, nor decided by our will, but is a process by which we are “born of God.”
   • 2 Cor. 5:17. To be born again means that our old life is replaced by a new one.
   • Eph. 4:21-24; Col. 3:9-10. When a person becomes “born again” the Bible describes him as a “new person,” who brings forth new fruit.
   • Gal. 6:15. All that matters is that we become a “new creation.”

7. GRACE

   • Eph. 2:8,9. Grace is a free gift, it is unmerited favor.
   • Acts 15:11. We are saved by the grace of Christ.
   • Rom. 4:3-5. Salvation is by grace through faith and not by the deeds of the law.
   • Tit. 3:5-7; Rom.3:24. We are “Justified” freely by His grace.

8. REPENTANCE

   • Lk. 13:3. Unless we repent, we will all perish.
   • Acts 3:19. We must repent and be converted.
   • Matt. 4:17. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” however; the world ridicules the need of repentance.
   • Acts 26:20. We must repent and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.
   • I Jn. 1:9. If we confess our sins He will forgive us our sins.
   • Prov. 28:13. He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confess and forsakes them will have mercy.
   • Ps. 66:18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.

9. FAITH

   • Heb. 11:6. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
   • Jn. 20:24-29. Blessed are they who do not see yet believe.
   • Jn. 3:16-19. Whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal fife.
   • Eph. 2:8. We are saved by grace “through faith.”
   • Gal. 3:23-26. We are saved through faith in Christ and not by keeping the law.
   • Rom. 3:28, 5:1. We ore justified through faith in Christ.
   • Gal. 3:11; Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:38; Hab. 2:4. “The just shall live by faith.”

10. SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST ALONE

    • Jn. 14:6. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
    • 1 Jn. 5:11-13. He that has the “Son” has life, and he that does not have the Son of God does not have life­.
    • Acts 4:10-12. Salvation is in none other than Jesus Christ.
    • Rev. 3:20. Jesus knocks on the door of our heart.
    • Rom. 10:13. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
    • Jn. 3:36. He who does not believe on the Son of God has the wrath of God on him.

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This concise overview of the Gospel is an excellent tool for Bible study, discipleship, evangelism and group studies. For a laminated copy of this card to keep in your
Bible for ready use write to: CHRIST BIBLE Pulpit, P.O. Box 5772, Oakland, CA.
94605 U.S.A.; or E-mail us @ wildernesstable@yahoo.com; or call (510) 727-1877.

Conflicting Desires and Torment in Hell

For some reason, I begin these blogs talking about some subject and that gets me thinking and by the end of the blog, I am talking about something not even remotely similar to what I began with. This time I was going to attempt to compare my life before Christ to my life now.

Before Christ, my desires were more intellectual for studying the Bible than actually deriving joy from it. Being a Christian was like a 9 - 5 Job for me. For example, I would go to church, serve there, spend time with my friends and turn my mind immediately to other things upon leaving. I spent my time thinking about normal pursuits such as movies, partying, working and playing on the computer. I was always looking for the next party where I could meet some girl or hoping that some beautiful girl would consent to go on a date with me. Even while in church I thought of those things.

Now, you are going to think, "Wow, what a hypocrite!" But I really did read the Bible. I actually read it in the morning and in the evening sometimes. I succeeded in reading the entire Bible once before I went to Mexico for a year and had read numerous books on how to live a godly life. A few such were, "Every Man's Battle", "The Prayer of Jabez", "Wild at Heart", "Life is Tremendous!", "The Magic of Thinking Big", "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and a myriad of others. I was one of the best Christians you had ever met (although I was not).

I had a good paying job at UGA and attended church every time the door was open. I actually taught Bible Study and was an Elder in my church! I even went to Mexico and became a missionary for a year. There I had to learn Spanish. I went down there knowing very little and left being able to preach the Bible in Spanish. I actually shared with the church there all that God had taught me through my stay in Mexico. But you know something, I WAS NOT SAVED!

If you had told me this, I would have told you that you are crazy. Of course I am saved! If you had named my sins and told me that my persisting in them was evidence of my perdition, I would have told you that they didn't mean that I was lost because they were sins that I didn't do ALL the time and that I had a sincere desire to serve the Lord and that my life had evidences of my faith.

Now, you are probably thinking, "you don't seem all that bad to me." You are right! I wasn't all that bad. In fact, I would probably put most people who are reading this blog to shame in regards to "being a good Christian". By the way, "being a good Christian" is just another way to say, "as to righteousness under the law, blameless!"

So, in regards to this, where was my problem? It was actually much deeper than anyone or myself could ever see. God had to reveal it to me through many painful experiences, betrayals and loneliness. Thank God for pain. Without it we just kind of simmer in the pot until we are fully cooked. This is actually one of the things that I pray more and more for people. I pray for pain and discomfort in their lives so that they can turn to God for answers instead of other things. I want people to hate themselves and others so much that they finally come to the point where they realize everything bad in their lives is their own stupid fault and that they must repent or face eternal torment in hell apart from God where, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry

Can a Christian man really maintain a pure heart in America’s sexually charged culture? Can he truly honor God with his thought life? The answer is resoundingly YES! And the At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry 20th Anniversary Edition goes right to the heart and proves it.

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Something new for men at every level of the struggle:

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• Goes deeper than its predecessor in unearthing the roots of sexual sin.
• Two new chapters address Internet porn, the eroding morality of America and deeply examine a man’s inner life.

Endorsements

“The reason I am writing this foreword for Steve is that he has based everything in this book on God’s Word. It is foundational, inspirational, confrontational—just what you need. This is your book. Put the Bible and this book side by side—reading them—and let the Word do the work. Thank God for a man like Steve Gallagher, who will tell the truth and let the truth make us free. Live Free!”
The Late Dr. Edwin Louis Cole, Founder of Christian Men’s Network

“At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry is one of the best books out there on this topic. I recommend that you get this book.”
Beverly LaHaye, Concerned Women for America

“I do a lot of counseling of men struggling with sexual addiction. Far more than any book I have encountered, Sexual Idolatry cuts right to the heart of the problem. Steve Gallagher has finally given the evangelical world a book that uses the Word of God to deal with this terrible epidemic.”
Dr. Robert K. Wetmore, Professor of Theology at Toccoa Falls College

“Steve Gallagher has nailed the roots of sexual addiction by naming it an idolatry. This kind of spiritual aggression against God has but one cure at its foundation—brokenness, repentance, and walking daily in the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s transforming way is revealed in this book.”
Dr. Tim Clinton, President of American Association of Christian Counselors

“Evangelical Christianity is indebted to Steve Gallagher for turning the pain of his past into a path toward purity for those in bondage to sexual idolatry.”
Richard Dobbins, Executive Director of Emerge Ministries

Giving and Taking

Today, two verses have been particularly helpful to me and describe just what is happening in my life at this point:

Job 1:21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."
Hebrews 12:3 "Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."

When things go wrong and it looks like you may be loosing something important to you, how do you respond? Today, it seemed that way at work today and I really wanted to get angry and yell about my rights and threaten people if they were taken away.

When things go wrong, I have found that going away to a quiet place and praying helps. If you are a Christian and something important is lost, your response should be different than that of most people (threatening, anger, depression and burying your sorrows).

For me, it helps to keep my mouth shut when I am angry. I have not developed the qualities yet that allow me to immediately respond with trusting in God rather than in anxiety regarding the situation.

The question is, "Why should our response to disappointments be trust in God and forgiveness to those who offend us rather than anger and getting back with them for treading on our pride?" The answer is that God cares about those people and wants to see them turn from the road they are following toward destruction and follow Jesus who is the path to life. God also loves you and doesn't like to see you hurt but cares for you infinitely and would never allow anything to hurt you unless he knew it were for your good and theirs.

When people see our different response to disappointment, God is glorified. When we respond like the world does, we are glorified and the other person humiliated or hurt. Let us seek as Christians to glorify God so that other people will see His beauty rather than glorifying ourselves and contributing to the darkness in the world.