Post by Drew Christian on Aug 25, 2014 16:49:20 GMT -5
The first four books of the New Testament, the second half of the Bible, are called the Gospel. The word gospel means good news, which is exactly what those books are to Christians. Because it is hard to believe that any good news comes from this story, I'm posting the good news here. If you don't want the spoiler, skip the next paragraph, in italics:
In short, the good news is that God loved us so much that He sent us a way to be with Him forever in Heaven. Anybody who believes in Jesus, that he is the Son of God, that he died on the cross to cleanse us of our sins, and will admit they are a sinner, and confess and repent of those sins to God, may be cleansed of their sin and receive eternal life in Heaven with God.
The Gospel is the basis of the Christian beliefs. These four book: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, tell us of the life of Jesus Christ. They explain that Jesus was born to Mary, a virgin, and that he was placed in her womb by God. They tell of the struggles that Jesus had as he traveled, healed people in God's name, and preached God's word. He reminded the people of the meaning of much of what the Old Testament said, and spoke against the Sadducees (the religious class) for making many of their own rules and claiming them to be God's, and only pretending to follow the laws of God.
Many members of the upper class in Jerusalem disliked Jesus' teachings, since his teaching directly contradicted what they wanted the Jewish people to believe. Despite the persecution, Jesus kept teaching, gathering a following for which he was hated. This brings us, by a short route, to the end of the Gospel. After everything Jesus did in his life and all the people he helped, he was beaten, mocked and crucified (hung up on a cross). As Jesus hung on the cross, he prayed for our forgiveness. He could have called down angels from Heaven, to deliver him from his suffering, but he chose to accept the crucifixion, so we could all be free of our mistakes. He died, was buried, and three days later he rose again. He visited a short while with his closest disciples, and then ascended to Heaven, to sit at God's side.
The Gospel can be summed up in one verse from the book of John:
"For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 KJV
In short, the good news is that God loved us so much that He sent us a way to be with Him forever in Heaven. Anybody who believes in Jesus, that he is the Son of God, that he died on the cross to cleanse us of our sins, and will admit they are a sinner, and confess and repent of those sins to God, may be cleansed of their sin and receive eternal life in Heaven with God.
The Gospel is the basis of the Christian beliefs. These four book: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, tell us of the life of Jesus Christ. They explain that Jesus was born to Mary, a virgin, and that he was placed in her womb by God. They tell of the struggles that Jesus had as he traveled, healed people in God's name, and preached God's word. He reminded the people of the meaning of much of what the Old Testament said, and spoke against the Sadducees (the religious class) for making many of their own rules and claiming them to be God's, and only pretending to follow the laws of God.
Many members of the upper class in Jerusalem disliked Jesus' teachings, since his teaching directly contradicted what they wanted the Jewish people to believe. Despite the persecution, Jesus kept teaching, gathering a following for which he was hated. This brings us, by a short route, to the end of the Gospel. After everything Jesus did in his life and all the people he helped, he was beaten, mocked and crucified (hung up on a cross). As Jesus hung on the cross, he prayed for our forgiveness. He could have called down angels from Heaven, to deliver him from his suffering, but he chose to accept the crucifixion, so we could all be free of our mistakes. He died, was buried, and three days later he rose again. He visited a short while with his closest disciples, and then ascended to Heaven, to sit at God's side.
The Gospel can be summed up in one verse from the book of John:
"For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 KJV