The Gospel in 1 Cor 6:9-10

January 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

There are many single passages in the Bible that we can use to teach people the gospel one-on-one or by preaching in the open air. One such passage is 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. My usual practice has been to go through the ten commandments when teaching the gospel to someone to show them their sin and their need for the cleansing of Christ, but we don’t have to use only the ten commandments to do this. This passage in 1 Corinthians 6, or other lists of sins within the Bible, such as Galatians 5:19-21 and Revelation 21:8, also do the job very well. All of these are sins that will keep us out of heaven if they are practiced.

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate , nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9-10).

There are a lot of big words in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 that we need to explain to the lost person before we ask if they are guilty of them. You don’t have to go through all of them, but you can if needed.

    • Fornicators: Those who have sexual relations outside of a marriage that is approved of by God.
    • Idolaters: Those who worship a false god or give things, such as possessions, a higher value than God. This includes bowing down to any earthly thing, such as a man or statue (the pope or a statue of Mary (Ex 20:5).
    • Adulterers: Those who have sexual relations with someone other than their spouse. Someone that has sexual relations with someone or remarries after a divorce for reasons other than adultery (Matthew 19:9). Jesus also says if you lust for someone you have already committed adultery with them in your heart (Matthew 5:28).
    • Effeminate: having feminine qualities untypical of a man: not manly in appearance or manner. This word has also in history referred to sodomites.
    • Homosexuals: those who have sexual relations with someone of the same sex or has a desire for them.
    • Thieves: those who take things that do not belong to them, no matter the value of the object.
    • Covetous: Having or showing a great desire to possess something, typically something belonging to someone else. If you are guilty of stealing something, you coveted it before hand. The Bible refers to covetousness as idolatry (Colossians 3:5).
    • Drunkards: those who get intoxicated/or drunk with a beverage containing alcohol or with a substance that has the same effects.
    • Revilers: those who use abusive, contemptuous language or attack others with abusive language
    • Swindlers: an extortioner; someone who cheats someone else out of money or other assets through deception, threats, blackmail, etc.

God will not take your sin lightly. He makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 6:10 that those who practice such things will NOT inherit the kingdom of God. Whether you agree with this or not is irrelevant. this is what God says. He will be your judge and will judge you based on what is taught in His word. People who practice these sins will not make it to heaven. Instead they will spend eternity in God’s prison of Hell without any hope of parole.

In spite of your sin, there is only one reason why you can have hope. It is not because of you or any good works you have done. Your good works cannot bribe the Judge into letting you off the hook for your crimes. The only hope for you is through repenting of your sins and submitting your life to Jesus Christ as your Lord.

Paul, after telling the Corinthians about the things that keep sinful men out of God’s presence tells these Christians this:

“ Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11).

The Corinthians, who were a sinful and wicked people, had their sins washed away. God made them Holy and made them right with Him. He gave them new life, and He can do the same with you.

Jesus Christ, who is God, 2000 years ago became a human being (God in human flesh). He lived a perfect, sinless life, and offered Himself as a sacrifice for your sins. God says that without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins. Christ shed His blood for you so you do not have to go suffer the wrath of God. Then three days later, He defeated sin and death by being raised from His tomb. He defeated sin and death so you and I can be victorious over them!

But what God requires of you is that you repent. Turn away from your sins, submit to Jesus Christ as your Lord. IF you do this, God promises to raise you out of your state of spiritual death and to give you new life (Ephesians 2:1-10, Colossians 2:11-14).

Repent, submit to Christ as Lord, and live! You cannot continue to do these things if you want to be right with God in this life or if you want to be in heaven when you die. Repent, submit to Jesus Christ, and live.

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The One and Only Gospel

August 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Bible is not just any book that we are studying, it is the word of God. And what it says goes. If the Bible teaches something, and we are unwilling to do what it says, we should not be comfortable thinking that we are going to be blessed by God. If we believe or teach something that contradicts what God says, we need to repent and believe and practice the truth.

This is especially true when it comes to the subject that I am dealing with this post. It is what Paul refers to as being “of first importance. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-3.

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received…”

This message that Paul delivered to the Corinthians is the message that is the foundation in which their faith is built upon; and the message that saves them. This message is the Gospel.

The Gospel is really the Big Picture of what the Bible is about. It is the reason why God created everything; so He through Jesus Christ could save sinners and be in a relationship with them. Based on this, we need to make sure of one thing in this life: we must get this message right. If we teach or believe a different Gospel than the Bible gives us, we will not make it to Heaven.

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” -Galatians 1:8

Paul is saying that if anyone teaches a different gospel, let him be accursed, which means to be eternally condemned by God. My brothers and sisters, this is serious stuff!

“Jesus will come “in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” -2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

Where we and those we teach spend eternity depends on it. There is only one gospel; one message of good news that saves sinners from the wrath of a Holy God.

So what is this Gospel that saves sinners? Where do we begin? When we examine the New Testament, especially the Gospels and the book of Acts, we see that there are a few core elements of the Gospel that need to be taught to lost people.

1. They are in a sinful, hopeless state

2. They are God’s enemies, and subject to His wrath

3. God provided a way of salvation

4. Sinners must respond to the Gospel on God’s terms

 

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The Gospel of God

June 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Below is the text to a new page on our site that people who receive one of our tracts can go to to learn more about the gospel.

We thank you for coming to our site and for considering more the things of God. The tract that you received has the most important message known to man: The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel shows us our true state before God. This is so important for each one of us to understand. It is SO easy for us to look at ourselves as being good people that would be right with God if we died today, but the scriptures are clear that this is not the case. The Apostle Paul, speaking for Jesus Christ, said:

“”THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; 11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE” (Romans 3:11-12).

God formed every one of us in the womb. He made us upright, but we have sought to live life our own way that is contrary to His will (Eccl 7:29). We have all broken His law; we have sinned. This is bad news to us because God is GOOD. This fact means that God cannot just let us off the hook for our lawlessness. We are guilty criminals before the Judge of all the earth because of our sin. No matter how many times we have broken His law, we are deserving of His wrath. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). We should be grateful that every time we sin that God does not strike us dead. He has done this in the past (Acts 5:1-11, Gen 38). God is being patient with you right now, giving you time to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

God is a God of justice and righteousness. The Bible says that “He will by no means clear the guilty” (Numbers 14:18). As long as you remain in your sin, you are an enemy of God. He is angry at you. His wrath abides on you (John 3:36). If you die in this position, you will receive the full cup of His wrath for eternity in a place the Bible calls Hell. Please consider the hell-1following verses that tell us what kind of people God will not allow into Heaven:

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:5-6
For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Revelation 21:8
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Every one of these sins are damnable offenses, even down to the “little white lie.” If you remain in any of these sins (or others not mentioned in these lists), the wrath of God abides on you.

crucifixion 22But there is good news (the Gospel). Jesus Christ, the Son of God (God in the flesh), came to this earth 2000 years ago to be a sacrifice in your place. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. Then He gave His life in our place. He received upon Himself the death that we deserve for our sin. God in His anger against sin crushed Him, pierced Him,  chastened Him, and killed Him for our sin (Isaiah 53). Then three days after His death, He was resurrected from His tomb and seen by hundreds of eyewitnesses. This is the ultimate evidence that the Bible gives to Jesus’ claims. This eyewitness testimony proves that the Bible is God’s word. It proves that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven and the ONLY way to be forgiven of your sins.

Please consider these things. God is right now giving you the opportunity to hear the Gospel so you can come to know Him before it is too late. You are not promised tomorrow. Over 150,000 people of all ages die every day, and many (if not most) of them leave this life not right with God and suffer His wrath for sin. Believe the Gospel and repent. Submit yourself to Jesus Christ. Make Him your Lord and Master. He can forgive you and cleanse you from all of your sins. He gave His life for you so you could be reconciled to God.

If you decide not to obey the gospel, there is no hope of forgiveness for you. This is the ONLY way God has given to be right with Him.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9
…the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power…

If you would like to study these things further, please do not hesitate to contact me at (724) 505-1615 or at EvangelismHelp@gmail.com. You can also leave any questions or comments you may have at the bottom of this page. The comments are moderated, so they will not be seen by anyone else that visits the site.

Also, if you are interested in finding a church in your area that is faithful to God, please contact me. I would love to help you in finding Christians that can help you to better know the Lord. Please do not assume that any church that you go to is teaching the truth. There are many (if not the majority) churches that claim to be “Christian” that are teaching false things that can lead you away from God.

Thanks again for visiting EvangelismHelp.com. We are here to serve you!

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God’s Amazing Plan of Redemption: The Big Picture of the Bible

June 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Here is a trifold tract you can print out of your own printer. If you would like your contact information on it, please contact me.

God’s Amazing Plan of Redemption Tract

The Bible is truly an amazing book. Actually, it is a library of 66 books. The books were written by at least 40 different authors over a period of about 1500 years. Yet, it is remarkable that woven throughout the times and people is one unified theme; God’s amazing plan of redemption for mankind. The Bible shows us how the God of heaven made it possible for us to be in fellowship with Him!

God reveals to us in His word what He desires of us so we can be in a relationship with Him. He tells us that He desires us to be holy, just as He is holy (Leviticus 19:2). God is perfect in every way. He is pure and righteous and good. He is beyond us in every way. “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). God is 100% free from any moral evil, and He commands us to be just like Him. Is this possible?

There is a problem: we sin. We learn in the Bible that “all have sinned and fall short of the imageglory of God” (Romans 3:23). You and I have all disobeyed God at some point in our lives. When we break the law of God, this causes us to lose our relationship with God. Psalm 5:4-5 states “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.” Because God is holy, He cannot have fellowship with us because of our sin. He needs to separate Himself from us. The scriptures refer to this separation from God as spiritual death (Ephesians 2:1).

There is another consequence for us when we sin. Paul states in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.” We have a death sentence on our heads for disobeying God! We see in these consequences that God takes sin very seriously. In the Old Testament God punished sin and disobedience. During the time of Noah, He killed every living thing on earth except for Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark because of the sin mankind was corrupted with. He destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their immorality. He is a God of justice. He punishes sin, and we are all deserving of His punishment and wrath because of our sin.

But what can we do? How can this sentence of death disappear so we may once again be in fellowship with God? Out of His grace and mercy, He gave us a way to be forgiven of our sins.

In the Old Testament God instituted animal sacrifice so His people could be forgiven. He allowed an innocent animal (that could not sin) to receive the punishment of the guilty sinner. Because of the shedding of the animal’s blood (its life-Lev 17:11) the sinner was able to be forgiven of his sins. The animal’s life took the place of the sinner’s life. God states clearly that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). This is the only way that God says sin can be forgiven.

God instituted animal sacrifice by His mercy and love towards His people so the punishment for sin could be taken care of and the sinner could be cleansed. This system of sacrifice continued for over a thousand years. Millions of animals were killed for the sins of the people.

Does this mean that we need to kill animals for sins to be forgiven? No, because the Old Testament scriptures prophesied of a Messiah that would come, live a sinless life, and offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind (Isaiah 53). This happened just as prophesied! Seven hundred years after this prophecy was made, Jesus Christ, the Son of God came to this earth. Jesus’ coming was announced by John the Baptist, His prophesied forerunner. John the Baptist looked up one day and saw Jesus coming to him, and he made an amazing proclamation about Jesus:

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

To understand what John meant by this statement about Christ, we need to have anclip_image002understanding of the sacrifices in the Old Testament. What was John saying here? He was saying in this powerful statement: “Here is the only sacrificial lamb which God will accept as atonement for the sins of the world.”

Jesus, God’s lamb without sin or blemish, gave His life for us so we could be justified and brought into peace with God by His blood (1 Peter 1:18-20; Ephesians 1:7). Jesus took upon Himself the punishment of death that we deserve! He suffered an excruciating death on our behalf on the cross of Calvary.

Then the most amazing thing happened. After being in the grave for three days, Jesus arose. He defeated sin and the death that it causes. This happened to prove all of His claims and to show that the hand of God was in what Jesus had done for us. This proves that Jesus is indeed the Lamb of God. It proves that He is the Son of God, and it proves that He will be our judge (Acts 17:31). After He was resurrected, He was seen by hundreds of people according to 1 Corinthians 15. The New Testament gives us eyewitness testimony to these events, and shows how lives were changed by it. This is the gospel, the good news for us all! After His resurrection, this is the very gospel that Jesus commanded His disciples to go into all the world to preach (Mark 16:15). He wants everyone to be given the opportunity to hear this message and to choose whether to accept it and obey it or to reject it.

What is your response to this amazing message? Will you obey the gospel of Jesus Christ?

If you see your need to be forgiven of your sin that is separating you from the Holy God, you may be asking this question, “What must I do to be forgiven of my sins?” We see this exact question answered in the New Testament in Acts 2:38 by the Apostle Peter. When Peter preached to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, they believed the gospel and were convicted of their sin. They asked the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Peter’s answer was quite different than what you hear in most religious groups today. He answered by giving them this command, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). This is how you receive the grace of God.

There were THREE THOUSAND people who did just that! Acts 2:41 says, “those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” When these people received the word of God and believed it, they obeyed it by repenting (turning from their sins) and by being baptized for the forgiveness and removal of their sins. Will you gladly receive God’s words that He gave through Peter as the 3000 on the day of Pentecost did?

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Great Gospel Sermons!!!

March 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

If you want to listen to a lesson that just opens up your eyes to how the Teachings of the Old Testament fit in with the sacrifice of Christ, you need to listen to or download this lesson. This lesson is also a great sermon to give to lost people because it so clearly teaches the gospel.

The Big Picture of the Bible by Ken Craig

Here is the follow-up lesson:

Testimonies to the One Gospel by Ken Craig

This lesson shows why the present day gospel is a false gospel and strengthens your faith in the one true gospel, even going into looking at some of the teachings of the early church fathers to show the gospel that they taught.

These lessons are based on a book that Ken Craig has written that has been published by DeWard Publishing. You can purchase it by going to DeWard Publishing’s website.  This book is a must read if you want to understand the gospel better or if you want to learn how to share the gospel more effectively!

Ways to use audio sermons in sharing the gospel:

  • Download lessons and burn them to a CD to hand out to lost people.
  • Put them onto cheap flash drives and give them away,
  • email them to people
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The Courtroom Scene

March 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This illustration is something I have been working on for a new tract. Give it a read and let me know what you think!

For a moment, put yourself into someone else’s shoes. You are a criminal. You have committed some of the most terrible crimes known to humanity, such as murder. You are in the courtroom, awaiting the verdict. You know you are guilty. Everyone in the courtroom knows you are guilty. There is nothing you can say or do to get escape the sentence. Your crimes cannot be overlooked. The judge cannot forgive you of your crimes. You don’t know exactly when the verdict will come. After about 6 hours it finally comes…

The verdict: death! You bury your head into your hands in sorrow, crying because of the consequences of your crimes. You are scared of what is ahead of you.

But then someone walks into the courtroom. He goes up to the judge’s bench and says to the judge, “Sir, I know that he/she is guilty. I know the sentence for them is death. But I want to take their place. I will take his/her punishment.”

The fact that this man would want to do this is amazing in and of itself, but it is just as mind-boggling that the judge actually allows the man to do this for the criminal. At the command of the judge, they handcuff the innocent man, and take him to prison to await his death. The criminal goes free, and the innocent man ends up dying in the criminal’s place.

This is an amazing illustration of what Jesus Christ did for us!

You and I are criminals. We have committed terrible crimes against not only man, but God. We have broken God’s laws by lying, stealing, taking His name in vain. We have thought hateful things, which God views as murder in our hearts. We have lusted, which God looks at as adultery in our hearts. He judges our actions, our words, and even our thoughts. Because of these crimes against God, we are guilty. There is no doubt about this fact, and there is nothing we can say or do to get out of suffering the consequences. There is nothing we can do to make up for the evil we have done. Also, God as a just judge cannot just forgive us of our crimes. No just judge can do this! The Bible says that there is a sentence that we have on our heads; death. We are separated from God. We are spiritually dead because of our sin, and we will be thrown into the lake of fire, God’s eternal prison of anguish and suffering.

But God, knowing about our helpless condition, made a plan to give us the hope of forgiveness and eternal life in Heaven. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became a human being 2000 years ago. He allowed Himself to be condemned as an innocent man, and took the punishment that we (the criminals) deserve. He took upon himself our death sentence, and God can look at us as though we are the ones who died. The price that is on our heads was paid by Jesus. Then three days after His death, Jesus was resurrected from His tomb. He defeated sin and death, and because of this, you can also! You can be set free! What God expects of you is that you believe this message about Jesus Christ, to turn away from your sins, and to submit to God. Surrender to God, and be united with Jesus’ death and resurrection by being baptized. If you do this, God promises to forgive you and to wash your sins away!

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The Million Dollar Question

March 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Million dollar question: Will you go to Heaven when you die? This is an important question to answer because when you die, you will stand before God’s judgment seat for sentencing. What will the verdict be? Heaven or Hell?

You can know the answer to this question right now! Compare your life to the standard God gave us in the Ten Commandments. Do you think you have kept them? Have you ever lied, stolen, or committed adultery? Have you ever lusted after someone? Have you ever used God’s name in vain or put anything in your life ahead of God? If you have broken any of these commandments, you are guilty before God. He cannot overlook your sin.  No just judge would let someone get off for breaking the law. You deserve to be punished, and the penalty God gives for sin is an eternity in His prison, a place called Hell. This is the worst of death sentences!

But there is good news! God offers you the hope of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Jesus took upon Himself your death sentence, then was raised from His tomb by God, defeating sin and death so you can also! This is the good news that God gives you and me. What God expects you to do to receive forgiveness is to believe the gospel, to turn away from your sins, and to be united with Christ’s death and resurrection by being baptized. If you do this, God will wash your sins away and give you the hope of eternal life in Heaven!

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