The Gospel of Jesus Christ | The Ashlie Project

The

GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

is the good news that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to save us from the penalty from our sins. There is no other way to God but through

His Son Jesus Christ.

He is the good news of hope in this world and of eternity after death.

'...I am the way and the truth and the life...

'...No one comes to the Father except through me.' John 14:6

'For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.'
JOHN 3:17-18

Your desire to seek, to question and to acquire fulfilment beyond your basic physical needs makes you uniquely different from every other living species on the planet. You're not just an animal produced spontaneously at the hands of Mother Nature. You're exploring faith because unlike every other species, you have the conscience and intelligence to know there's more to life. You may not understand how you know this. But we will venture to say that deep within you already know there is a God you need to connect with. To help you do this, we would like to share the gospel, or good news, of Jesus Christ.

THE PROBLEM OF SIN

We all want to live good lives and many of us are seeking ways to create the best life experiences possible. With the right information, tools and discipline, we often able to make this happen to some degree. However, no matter what we are able to achieve in our own efforts, there are limitations. One limitation is the variablity of life - unforeseeable incidents that we cannot control. Another limitation is our deeply flawed human nature. And, a fatal limitation is death, which for most of us is unpredictable.

Look carefully around you and let's be honest. Yes, there are wonderful people in the world. However, in reality, our human capacity for evil and destruction far outweighs the good. We even find it difficult to be good to ourselves. Despite mainstream mantras encouraging us to be self-accepting, self-loving and self-applauding, it comes much more naturally to be self-destructive. More often than not we are plagued with feelings of insecurity, doubt, sadness, self-hatred, guilt, shame, etc. We may be able to make some headway in challenging these tendencies but in the end we will find that their pervasive nature will always be stronger than our ability to subdue them.

People tend to blame their childhoods for negative mindsets and behaviours but prisons are filled with privileged people from great backgrounds who simply chose to do wrong. We look to science to explain mental health problems but have you ever wondered why so many of us are struggling in our minds in the first place? In the UK alone, millions of people experience some type of mental health problem every single day. Why is this?

The problem is sin. By sin, we are not referring to the common yet highly simplified definition of sin, which is 'doing naughty things'. Sin is the natural inclination we all have to deviate from God's original intention for us. God did not intend for us to have negative thoughts and feelings about ourselves. He did not intend for us to hate, betray, kill, steal and lie to each other. He did not intend for us to be envious or selfish to the detriment of those around us. And He did not intend for those in power to exploit the vulnerable. Yet, without being taught, we do these things naturally from youth. As such, sin is the condition of having a nature which deviates from God's original intention.

You may be thinking like this guy right now. Or, you may feel that you're genuinely happy and your life is good. But what if there's a standard of goodness even greater than your current experience? Let's suppose there is an all-knowing, all-seeing, perfect, loving God who is the Creator of all life. Surely, as Creator, only He would be qualified to set the standard of what goodness is. Additionally, if our natural inclination is to deviate from God, despite our best human efforts we will never be able to achieve goodness to His standard. For every good thing we can name about ourselves, there are several sinful traits that will counteract them. This is why the Bible says that only God is good (Luke 18:19). No matter how good we try to be, our sinful nature coexists with us. Take a look at God's standard as seen in the 10 commandments of the Old Testament in the Bible. As we read it, we'll see that we are guilty at any given time of at least one of them. Here are the 10 commandments in plain modern-day English*:

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Do not worship any other god than the one true God. All other gods are false gods. Worship God alone.
Do not make idols or images in the form of God. An idol can be anything (or anyone) you worship by giving it more importance than God. If something (or someone) has your time, attention and affections, it has your worship. It could be an idol in your life. Don't let anything take the place of God in your life.
Do not treat God's name lightly or with disrespect. Because of God's importance, his name is always to be spoken of reverently and with honor. Always honor God with your words.
Dedicate or set aside a regular day each week for rest and worship of the Lord.
Give honor to your father and mother by treating them with respect and obedience.
Do not deliberately kill a fellow human being. Don't hate people or hurt them with words and actions.
Do not have sexual relations with anyone other than your spouse. God forbids sex outside of the bounds of marriage. Respect your body and other people's bodies.
Do not steal or take anything that doesn't belong to you, unless you have been given permission to do so.
Do not tell a lie about someone or bring a false accusation against another person. Always tell the truth.
Do not desire anything or anyone that does not belong to you. Comparing yourself to others and longing to have what they have leads to jealousy, envy, and other sins. Be content by focusing on the blessings God has given you and not what he has not given you. Be thankful for what God has given you.

These commandments reflect the law of God, or His rules of how we should conduct ourselves. By definition, sin is lawlessness, or breaking the law of God. Sadly, if we break one part of His law, which we are guaranteed to do, we've breached the entire rulebook (James 2:10), instantly making ourselves spiritual criminals. In our society, breaking the law results in a penalty, whether it be a fine, probation or a custodial sentence. In a spiritual context, the penalty for sin is death. Our sin condemns us and estranges us from a sinless, holy God.

HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS!

God does not want us to die in our sins. Because He is the essence of love, mercy and compassion, He sent His Son Jesus to die and pay the penalty for our sins so that we don't have to. I'm sure you've heard how Jesus died on the cross 2,000 years ago for mankind; He did this for us. Then He rose again from the dead so that we can have eternal life after death. In Christ, we can enjoy a rich, meaningful life that transcends the sorrow and brokenness of the world we live in. And we can be empowered to live a life that is not enslaved by our sinful nature.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important thing we will ever share with you. Salvation is literally a matter of life and death. Because even if you spend your life being 'happy' according to your own standards, without Christ you will still bear the penalty of death from your sins.

People often say, 'I don't believe in God,' as if disbelief somehow makes Him nonexistent. If your next-door neighbour believed that you do not exist, they'd ignore you and detach themselves from all the benefits of knowing you. But in no way would that stop you from existing next door. The same is true of Jesus. If you do not believe in Him, He will continue to be the gift of salvation. However, to reject Him will detach you from the benefit of knowing Him and as such you will condemn yourself.

SO, NOW WHAT?

If you wish to receive the free gift of salvation, this is what the Bible instructs you to do**:

Repent
This means to accept that you are sinner in need of redemption and
to change your mind from wanting to live a sin-controlled life to living in obedience to God.

Believe
Choose to have faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the Saviour who died to redeem you
from the penalty of sin.

You can REPENT and express your BELIEF right now by praying the following prayer
(or a similar prayer in your own words):

'Dear God, I come to you confessing that I recognise my sin. I understand that no matter how good I try to be, I will never erase my sinful nature, nor will I be able to redeem myself from the penalty of my sin. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to die for me. Please forgive me for my sins. Today, I turn from my past life and look to Jesus to lead me in a new life of salvation and spiritual freedom. I ask you to fill me with the power of Your Holy Spirit. Teach me to pray to You, to understand Your words and to live a life free from sin. Please make whatever changes necessary in my life to bring me closer to You. Bring other true believers into my life so I can walk this new journey with the support of godly people. Protect me from the power of evil.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.'

It is very important for you to pray, in your own way, every day. If you're unsure how to pray, click here. Now that you are a believer in Jesus Christ, prayer will give you a direct line to God. Prayer is like a spiritual filling station where you are rejuvenated, encouraged,

instructed and emboldened by God Himself.
Prayer is an essential key to staying spiritually strong in your new life in Jesus Christ.

If you would like to learn more about prayer, visit The Prayer Course here.

When we believe in Jesus, the Bible instructs that we must be baptised (Acts 2:38). I encourage you to pray for God to help you find a church where you can be baptised and also learn more about your new faith. Even if you have prayed and accepted Christ, we know you still have many questions. Look for a church with a regular Bible study or Sunday school where you can grow and learn with others. Most importantly, get yourself a Bible and prayerfully read it each day,

asking God to reveal His truth to you.

BibleGateway is a fantastic free website which provides the complete Bible in many translations.
It is a brilliant study resource with commentaries and other useful features.

We also recommend YouVersion, which is an excellent Bible app with a large number of features to support you on your journey.

GOD BLESS YOU!

*Modern-day translation of the 10 Commandments written by ThoughtCo. (www.thoughtco.com)
**Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, Romans 10:9, Ephesians 2:8, Colossians 2:9-15, II Corinthians 5:17, Hebrews 10:25

Questions? Get in touch.