THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION

 

Many Modern Christian sects erroneously teach salvation is by something a sinner DOES.  They make a person's salvation dependent upon the works of the sinner.  But nothing could be further from the truth of God's word.  According to the Bible, salvation is by taking what Jesus DID on the cross of Calvary, when he shed his blood to pay for the sins of man.  This FINISHED WORK, once and for all, is the only thing that can give man the new birth, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.

The Bible clearly presents the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Notice the Gospel is what JESUS DID FOR MAN, and not what MAN CAN DO FOR GOD!

A person is only saved by BELIEVING upon the finished work of Jesus Christ, when he shed his Precious Blood for our sins.  This blood atonement was necessary, for without shedding of blood, is no remission (Heb. 9:22).  God has always demanded blood for sin.  In the Old Testament, God accepted the blood of a lamb.  In the New Testament, God accepts the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the LAMB OF GOD, slain for your sins.

The Gospel of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 has five parts:

1  Christ died
2. For our sins
3. Was buried
4. Rose Again
5. According to the Scriptures

An old preacher once said, "YOU CANNOT PREACH THE GOSPEL WITHOUT PREACHING THE BLOOD ATONEMENT OF CHRIST AND YOU CANNOT PREACH THE BLOOD ATONEMENT OF CHRIST WITHOUT PREACHING THE GOSPEL!"

This is absolute Bible truth!  For salvation by Jesus Christ's bloody sacrifice on the cross is the only means in which God offers eternal life.

Just as we see the blood of Christ in the five wounds He bear on the cross, so we too see the blood of Jesus in the the five points of the Gospel.

Christ died.  Jesus shed every drop of his precious blood on the cross of Calvary, dying in man's place for man's sins.  His blood dropped into the ground.

For our sinsThe Bible likens sin unto blood in Isaiah 1:18: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."  Scarlet and crimson are the color of BLOOD.

Was buriedJesus Christ was buried in the same ground in which his blood was spilt.  When Abel, died, we read the following words in Gen. 4:10, "...the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."  Shed blood speaks to God!  Hebrews 12:24 then tell us the following about the blood of Jesus: "And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."  Christ's blood speaks as well! 

Rose Again.  When Jesus rose again, the Bible tells us Jesus Christ took his blood to heaven, and sprinkled it on the mercy seat there (Heb. 9:12-25), where it's still waiting to wash away the sins of the most vilest sinner!  Are you washed in the blood?

According to the Scriptures.  The whole Old Testament points to Jesus Christ as the Messiah.  He's pictured time and again in all the sacrifices the Jews slaughtered in the temple for the atonement of their sins.  When Jesus died on the cross and the sacrificial Lamb of God, shedding his blood, he fulfilled prophecy written of him all throughout the Old Testament.

So there you have it!  The BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST is found all throughout the Gospel.  You can't preach the blood, without preaching the Gospel, and you can't preach the Gospel without preaching the Blood.  For the Bible clearly teaches salvation is by FAITH, without WORKS (Eph. 2:8,).  Faith in what?  FAITH IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!

Romans 3:25-28 make this clear:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

To be justified, or saved, a person's faith must be wholly in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  This declares God the Just one.  When a sinner is saved, he cannot boast about himself or his works.  He'll only brag upon Jesus who saved him from his sins! 

Sadly, in our modern age of apostasy, very few who claim to be Christians ever preach the blood of Jesus for salvation.  But the simple Bible truth is, YOU CANNOT EVEN BE A CHRISTIAN UNLESS YOU ARE TRUSTING ONLY IN THE SHED BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!

 

This webpage has been set up for the defense of the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.  To read more about the Gospel and salvation by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, please click on the links to the right.

 

BOOKS ON SALVATION AND THE GOSPEL:

Hey, Where's the Blood?

The Importance of the Blood of Jesus

Calling According to the Bible

The "Heresy" of the Sinner's Prayer

The Sinner's Prayer by O'neal

Propitiation