Why a Christian?
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"For ye are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galatians 3:26-27) Baptism puts one into Christ, and it is only in Christ where a person enjoys redemption through the blood of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7).
As a Christian, I have put on Christ. I wear his name. I just want to be a Christian, a member of the Lord's church. (Matthew 16:18) (Acts 2:47) Jesus is the Saviour of his body, the church, and I want to be sure that I am a faithful member of the same; thereby, knowing that I have the hope of heaven. (Ephesians 5:23, Colossians 1:18, and Revelation 2:10)
But as surely as I want to go to heaven, I most certainly want to miss hell. The Bible describes hell: . . ."Furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:42) . . . "the fire that shall never be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:43-44) Conclusion: I want to miss hell. I want my family, friends, and acquaintances to miss hell. If someone cares enough about me to share Bible truth which might help me miss hell and reach heaven, I hope I will always investigate such information honestly, sincerely, and with an open mind. My eternal destiny is too important to let preconceived ideas or prejudice
cloud the truth. The only way I know to stay out of hell and live forever in heaven is to follow the instructions of my Lord as found in the New Testament.
What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
The gospel is simply the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 15:1-4) True Bible belief in the gospel is a faith in Christ that leads to obedience. (John 3:16, John 3:5) A man is not justified by faith only, for faith without works is dead. (James 2:17, 24) Jesus is the author of eternal life to all who obey him. (Hebrews 5:9) If I want to miss hell, I must obey the gospel. "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." (II Thessalonians 1:8-9)
Obedience to the true gospel is all that will work. The apostle Paul wrote (by the inspiration of God), "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8)
How does one obey the true gospel?