The very first Gospel word is *COME*. Jesus said, "Come unto Me, and ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST." Jesus gives His REST away, you don't have to earn it. The Law says, "Go and do!" But Jesus says, "COME unto ME and REST." Stop laboring to save yourself, for you are heavy laden with sin and guilt. Trust Jesus with your whole heart; Receive Him into the Center of your Heart. Now understand: Christianity is first of all, Christ living in you by Faith in His BLOOD, and then Christ living through you by Spirit of Christ daily. Believe on JESUS, Trust Him with your Soul, and your sins which are many are forgiven. Be ye Reconciled to God by Simple Faith in the Precious BLOOD of Jesus Christ, for He was GOD manifest in the flesh.
Guilty sinner, God the Father has laid on His Dear Son your iniquities and transgressions. Look now by Faith with all your heart to the Lamb of God, and your sins shall be blotted out/expunged immediately and forever. You are the enemy of God, a child of the devil, and a lover of Sin. You have sinned for days and years against God and your Soul is now ruined and condemned. BUT GOD can now be Gracious to you, and yet be Just, because JESUS bore your Sins in His own body on the tree. God can honor His Law, and yet at the same time show His Mercy to the ungodly. The problem was solved completely by the sinless BLOOD Sacrifice of Christ Himself.
JESUS: DEPEND ON *HIM*
JESUS made recompense to the Law you have egregiously broken. God the Father laid all your trespasses and sins on Christ, that He might take Sin from you, and punish JESUS in your place. God the Father wisely devised this Great plan of Salvation by the Transference of your Sins to Christ, and by punishing of Christ, the Substitute/Lamb of God, instead of you. Christ has finished Salvation's work for you. God is now fully satisfied, and He can Justly forgive a sinner like you. God now looks at JESUS and is very well pleased with Him. God is now perfectly Content with the sufferings, BLOOD, and death of the Lamb of God. Christ Jesus' Precious BLOOD is the only way to be Ransomed/Rescued from your Sin and be Reconciled back to God Himself. Whosoever believeth in JESUS is not condemned.
THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR was made flesh and dwelt among sinners down here on Earth. He was separate from sinners, as Light is from darkness, but at the same time, He was the sinner's Best Friend. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. Be ye reconciled to God. For God the Father hath made JESUS to be Sin for you, JESUS knew no sin; that you might be made the Righteousness of God in HIM. Fix all your Confidence on the crucified and risen Incarnate God - Jesus Christ THE RIGHTEOUS. Make the perfect completed Atonement of Christ all your Confidence.
Looking unto JESUS is the simple Gospel way of Receiving Him. I'm looking to you JESUS to save my Soul from the wrath to come. Forsake your Self-Righteousness, old companions, old habits, love for sin, and let the Holy Spirit make you a new creature in Christ. Repent of your sins, and forsake your own way. Be ye reconciled to God. Kiss the Son of God, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, while His wrath is kindled but a little. Whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. Believe that JESUS can do for your Soul what you cannot do. You have no GOOD in yourself, all the GOOD your Soul will ever need is treasured up in JESUS. Cast your empty, ruined, sin-diseased Soul, just as you are, on JESUS. Fall flat upon the perfect Finished Righteousness of Christ, and you shall be saved.
If you don't trust Christ, you will be damned; but if you trust to Christ alone, your Soul shall never be damned. The Gospel is the sharp Axe that cuts at your self-righteousness, exposing every false way, and lays lows every proud hope of yours. The Gospel is Merciful to the sinner, but merciless to your Sin. The Gospel extinguishes all religious superstition. Religion falsely teaches that there must be a great moral change in man before he can be reconciled to God. But the Gospel says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto Righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation."
The way of Salvation is just this: Trust Christ Jesus, never trust yourself, denounce your own self-righteousness. Jesus Christ bled and died for your sins; He took your sins upon Himself and was punished in your place. Christ is the sinner's Substitute, and took the sinner's guilt, and now God the Father can be Just in punishing Christ instead of you. You can now go Free through the BLOOD of God's Dear Son.
JESUS: RELY ON *HIM*
As long as you think that Salvation can be effected and obtained by any of your own efforts or merits, or anything else that comes from you, you are still on the broad way that leadeth to destruction. The way of Life goes in the opposite direction. You must look completely away from yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. You must Rely upon what He has already done, and not upon anything from you have done, can do, or will do in the future. You must not trust in what you can work in yourself, but what JESUS can work in you. If you look within yourself, you will only be filled with despair; but if you desire forgiveness and freedom from Sin, look out to JESUS, for He laid down His life, so that sinners might not perish.
To Rely upon Christ in part, and in yourself in part, is very deadly and perilous. Your faith in Christ must absolutely unmixed. If you depend in part upon Christ, and in part upon anything else, your Soul will be lost forever. Jesus must be your whole Savior, or no Savior at all. Throw the whole weight of your sin-burdened Soul upon JESUS, and cling to Him alone. Never think you help Christ out when it comes to saving your Soul. Detest and abhor any confidence in yourself, Trust Christ entirely this moment, are your Soul is saved.
This is the essence of the Gospel: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. He died the Substitute for us ungodly criminals. Jesus died that our sins might die. Look to JESUS crucified, buried, risen from the dead, living to save sinners. Simple Confidence in JESUS' PRECIOUS BLOOD, that is All. Be resolved to Believe on JESUS with all your heart. There is enough power in the BLOOD of Christ to forgive all your sins. God is now willing to freely pardon and ready to forgive you now. Trust Christ with your Soul implicitly, sincerely, immediately.
Lean only on the one MEDIATOR between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. Depend only on the sin-forgiving Savior. All you have done and ever will do without Christ is BAD; JESUS has done it all for you, trust only what He has done on the CROSS. Listen very closely to your conscience and the word of God, and you know you're a bad person. Glorify God's Son by trusting His finished Righteousness. Let JESUS cleanse your Soul, renew your mind, quicken your heart, change your behavior and appetites. Give yourself up to Jesus, surrender, come out with your hands up, lay down your weapons (self-righteousness, pride, love of sin), and let JESUS take you into His custody forever.
