The Gospel

THE GOSPEL

Our greatest desire is for people to come to know God personally. The simple truth is that there is a God who created you and loves you very much. Genesis 1:1 He gave us life and deserves our gratitude and love.

Recognize that you're a sinner. We, have chosen to disobey Him and sin against Him; all of us have done wrong and failed to do what is right. Romans 3:23. "There is none righteous, no, not one" Romans 3:10.

We may not be more sinful than our neighbor, or we may be far worse than anyone we know, it does not matter. Either way, we are guilty before God. 1 John 1:8

Recognize that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. God is perfect, completely good, always right and fair. He cannot tolerate sin. He cannot simply overlook the fact that we have chosen to disobey Him. The Bible says "the wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23 This means that the fair payment for our rebellion against God is death. "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God..." 1 Peter 3:18. Jesus paid the price for your sin. The Apostle Paul said, "...the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" Galatians 2:20. Jesus, the one and only Son of God, came to earth and lived a perfect sinless life. He was crucified even though He was completely innocent. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Repent of your sins. Jesus did not, however, remain dead. After three days, He rose from the grave, later ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He will return for all those who are trusting in Him as their Savior. Jesus died for you. You can be saved by asking Him for forgiveness from your sins. If you are willing to repent of your sin, He is waiting to forgive you. It doesn't matter what you have done in the past, if you cry out to Jesus for forgiveness, He will not reject you. The word "repent" literally means "to turn away from". You need to look at your life, admit that you are a sinner, genuinely desire to turn your back on that sin, and ask Him to forgive you. If you do this, He promises to forgive you.

True Christianity is not about attending a particular church, or how your parents raised you, or what country you were born in. Being a Christian means that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that He is your Savior and you are His child. It's not good enough that your priest, pastor, mother, or aunt knows Jesus, you must know Him for yourself. They cannot believe in Him for you, you must believe for yourself. They cannot repent for you, you must repent for yourself.

Accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. Jesus is everywhere all the time. He can hear you now if you ask Him for forgiveness. Please turn your life over to Him now. Time slips by so quickly, don't miss this opportunity. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28. It is essential that you come to Jesus as you are. Don't try to "clean up your life" before you come to God. Instead, receive Him and allow Him to do the "cleansing". Jesus said, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" John 6:37. If you want to pray and ask Jesus to be your Savior, you can say a prayer something like this:

"Jesus Christ, I know that I have sinned against you. I know the truth is that I have sinned by my own choice, and I am the one responsible for it and that the punishment would be death. Jesus, I believe that You died on the cross for my sin and arose again on the third day, that You are the Son of God, and are seated at the right hand of the Father. Forgive me for my sin. I cannot cover or take my sin away, I am relying totally and only on You. You are the only one who can save me. With your help Jesus I can turn away from my sin. Come into my life, fill me with your Holy Spirit and show me how to live my life in a way that is right and pleasing to You."

If you have prayed this, you are saved! You are now completely forgiven, a new creation, innocent in the eyes of God. Welcome to the family of God! It is important for you to start to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Just like any relationship, you need to spend time with someone if you want to know them well. The way to know God is through the Bible. It's also important to find a local church you can attend where they teach the Bible. This will allow you to talk with a pastor who will help explain questions you might have, and it will give you a chance to spend time with other Christians who can encourage you. If you don't own a Bible, we would love to send you one. To receive your Bible please email us at, info@therivercolorado.org or call our church office, 1-303-823-6469 and mention that you just accepted Jesus Christ as your Savoir and would like a Bible.