Session One
Welcome to Session One
Complete this week's Reading
Read through the following scriptures
Receiving Salvation through Faith - Romans 4-5:1
Salvation gives us access to God - John 3:15, 36; 10:10; 14:6; 2 Corinthians 4:4, 16-18
Gospel is Based on the Nature of God - Romans 10:11; 1 Kings 22:19; Genesis 1:25-31
God is Good & His nature is Love - 1 John 4:8-16; John 3:16; Ephesians 3:14-19; Revelation 7:9-10
The gospel is both simple and complex. Meditating on its truths makes us realise it is more simple than we think and yet more complex than we can grasp. Trying to explain this good news of reconciliation, divine rescue, love, and hope can leave us feeling awkward and, at times, speechless. It is no wonder that we struggle to put it into words. To help us grasp this wonderful news, we need to start with God’s motivation.
What does God want?
God wants you! He wants you to know who you are and why your life has so much value and worth to Him. Humans exist so that God can delight in us and for us to adore Him. And as His earthly family, He wants us to participate with Him in the family business as His partners.
Humans, by nature, are sinners. Humans have a problem! Death, violence and hatred are the results of rebellion and sin. The Bible teaches the 'wages of sin is death' and we are 'alienated from God'. By nature, we are self-absorbed and rebellious -'dead in trespasses and sins', 'ungodly'- and live in self-destructive ways. Not only that, we are 'hostile' towards God because we are 'His enemies'. Yet, God knows all this and still loves and wants us in His family.
God hates what sin has done to us. God was and is committed to providing a real and lasting solution to the separation that sin caused. Jesus became the solution, opening the way for us to enter into a relationship with God when we place our faith in Jesus and repent from sin. In Mark 1:15, when Jesus began His earthly ministry, he announced 'The time has come, and the Kingdom of God has come near'. He called for people to 'repent and believe the good news!'
God’s nature is love, and His love is perfect, unconditional, and self-giving. It was fulfilled by His giving of Jesus, His only Son, for humanity. His purpose was and is always relational. We are created to be in ‘His’ family, to enjoy Him and others, and to partner with Him forever.
Notes to Remember about the Gospel…
The word ‘Gospel’ means good news.
It refers to the message of salvation. What makes it great is that none of it depends on our performance. No one is perfect and is fit to live in God’s family. We have to be made acceptable to God. The gospel tells us how this happens - God extends the invitation to forgive you and give you a permanent place in His family. All He asks is that you obey the gospel by believing it.
Jesus has always been Plan A.
Jesus is the epicentre of history - past, present and future. God knows that without free will, we could not love and obey Him. He also understood that free will would create significant issues and that sin would follow. We would mess things up at some point, either out of self-interest or rebellion, because we are imperfect. God knew this and had a plan before the rebellions took place.
The Gospel tells us the Truth
Every other religion denies sin or places the solution on our performance. In effect, they lie to us - saying we can fix the problem or there is no problem. Even though we don't deserve it, God has provided the only free solution we need to be saved. By removing us from the equation, the Gospel demands the focus be on God and Jesus, who cares nothing for what you do but everything about who you are - the object of God's love.
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Every Sunday, Churches worldwide have a similar goal — to create a moment for people to decide to follow Christ. This decision to follow Christ is simple. However, it is only the beginning of a lifelong journey of being a disciple of Jesus. Jesus is not only interested in a decision for Christ. He is invested in us becoming like Him.
If the emphasis is placed on people making decisions for Christ rather than becoming disciples of Christ, the vitality of our faith suffers. It starts to look like insurance—our sins are forgiven. We are headed to heaven; we only need to do our best until we get there.
Jesus didn't consider that when He invited His first disciples to follow Him. He said, "I will make you fishers of men," implying they were not yet who He desired them to be. His invitation is still the same today. We are called to follow and walk with Him. He will shape and mould us into who He has called us to be.
In the ancient Jewish context, the goal of a disciple was not to learn and glean wisdom from his rabbi but to become like his rabbi. The disciple had to do more than believe in his rabbi. He had to embody trust and loyalty, leaving his old life behind. Jesus asks us to do more than make a decision. He asks us to leave our old lives behind and to become like him—walk with Him daily.