I hope you have read Tracts 1-4. If not, you may want to do so before continuing.
In Tract #1, "Life’s Big Questions", we learn that the Bible is the best source of answers for life’s big questions.
In Tract #2, "Discover the Bible", we learn the Bible is the infallible word of God and had a divine origin. We learned that the unified theme of the Bible is the redemption of humankind through a Messiah known as Jesus Christ. We should read the Bible.
In Tract #3, "Meet Jesus", we learned that Jesus came to earth fully man to be tempted like men but lived a perfect, sinless life. We looked at the events of Jesus’ life and can conclude the resurrection proved Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus became our permanent high priest and advocate, and we all have new hope in Jesus Christ. He is the King of Kings.
In Tract #4, "Sin Separates. Jesus Restores!", we investigate sin, its origin, and the damage, pain, and suffering it causes. Sin separates us from our true purpose: a relationship with God. Jesus came to earth fully man to be tempted by Satan but lived a perfectly sinless life. By doing so he satisfied the moral law, becoming the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God, to fulfill the ceremonial law and atone for all sin, thus restoring our relationship with God.
By laying down his life and taking it up again at the resurrection, Jesus became our permanent high priest forever, and ushered in the New Covenant, which provides salvation through forgiveness and grace if we repent and believe in Christ. Jesus restores!
In Tract #5, The Gospel and Amazing Grace, we will explain the gospel, what it offers us, and what it calls us to do. It is the best news you will ever receive. It can change your life for the better immediately, and over time, it provides abundant life on earth and eternal life after that. There is nothing like the gospel and amazing grace. They are unique.
If you ask 100 people to define the gospel of Jesus Christ, you could get many different correct answers. You may also get some incorrect answers. On the surface, it is simple. In its application, it is profoundly deep and complicated. Some think it's a specific verse or a particular book of the Bible. Some say it is the four Gospel books of the New Testament. Others say it is the whole New Testament or Bible. You can make a strong case for all these answers.
The word gospel simply means “good news.” Jesus is the Son of God. Christ is a title meaning “the anointed one,” or Messiah. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that Jesus, the Son of God, is the Messiah and the Anointed One. Jesus is the Christ.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that the kingdom of God is at hand, and Jesus Christ, the Messiah, offers humankind salvation through belief in him and the atonement of their sins. It is good news because man could not save themselves from their sinful nature. That is a battle we could not win without help. It required a new covenant with God and the intervention of our Savior, providing a way to be redeemed from our sins.
In ancient times when rulers went to battle, they would send a runner back to their village with the “gospel” or good news, that they had won the battle. I find it interesting that God chose to define our salvation through Jesus Christ as the gospel when the word gospel was initially associated with winning a battle. Christ has indeed won the battle for humankind.
Jesus says, “The time has come. …The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news [gospel]!” (Mark 1:15).
This proclamation by Jesus to Galilee’s people occurs just after Jesus’ baptism, which signifies the start of his ministry. “The time has come” because Jesus, their predicted Messiah, is among them.
The kingdom of God is God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule. Graeme Goldsworthy
The kingdom of God has come near because Jesus is there, and all authority of that kingdom will be given to Jesus—he will become the King of Kings. He tells them and us to repent and believe the gospel news.
Peter says, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (Acts 2:32-33).
“’Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.’ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:36-38).
Paul says, “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel, you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that Jesus was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters simultaneously, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last, of all he appeared to me also, as to the one abnormally born” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8).
Paul says we are saved by this gospel, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to more than 500 of his disciples.
“By this gospel, you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.”
“Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
John says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
It helps me to think of this verse in more specific language. For God so loved the world and me that he gave his one and only Son to me, that if I believe in him, I shall not perish, but I will have eternal life.
Since the fall of man, we are all sinners. We are born with a sin nature. We are simply not able to live a sinless life. Our sins are separating us from God. We cannot exist in the same space as a perfectly holy God—our sin would destroy us.
People who go to hell deserve to be there. People who go to heaven do not deserve to be there. The first is justice, the second is grace. Steven Lawson
The Old Testament law could not save us from our sinful nature, nor could we save ourselves. We have a debt we cannot pay, so we were doomed to spend eternity separated from God. God knew how this would turn out and prepared all along for a new covenant. The prophecies point to the Messiah and a new covenant throughout the Old Testament. God knew how this would turn out and prepared all along for a new covenant. The prophecies point to the Messiah and a new covenant throughout the Old Testament. To establish the new covenant through the gospel, Jesus came to earth and lived the perfect, sinless life we were supposed to live. Then he allowed himself to be crucified, and died the death we sinners deserved. Jesus bore the bloody wrath of God for our sins and gave us his righteousness as a gift. When God ultimately judges a true believer, he will see Jesus’ righteousness rather than our sin.
When we hear and fully understand the gospel, we will be changed by it, and it compels us to respond to it. Our first response is to answer the gospel and respond to Jesus’ call in Mark 1:15. Jesus tells us to repent and believe in him. When we do that, we become a new creation, a child of God, and a member of the kingdom of God.
The Bible tells us that once we repent and believe in Christ, we are to be baptized and washed pure with the water, that the Holy Spirit will reside in us, and that we should grow to maturity in our faith.
Then we are told to abide in Jesus Christ. The expression “in Christ” appears 164 times in Paul’s letters. Jesus tells us in John, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you” (John 15:4).
Jesus tells us to look for the fruit. He says, “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:6).
Jesus tells us to abide and remain in him. And if we do, he will abide and remain in us. Then we will produce much fruit because the fruit is the evidence of our true faith and enduring relationship with him.
Our good works cannot save us. They contribute nothing toward our salvation. We are only saved through Jesus by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8). But if we understand the gospel and fully grasp the sacrifice made by Jesus for our salvation, we will have an overflowing appreciation for our salvation and gratitude toward God. If we abide in Christ, Christ will abide in us, and we will produce great fruit for God as evidence of our true and enduring faith. Our faith will compel us to act.
We demonstrate our FAITH and BELIEF by the appropriate ACTIONS. We cannot exist as a member of the kingdom of God and do nothing for God. If Jesus is abiding in us, we will see evidence of that from the fruit produced.
If you believe you are a Christian but are not producing any fruit, something is wrong. We do not have to wonder about things. Jesus told us how to check our relationship status—just look for the fruit. The Bible says what it says on purpose. The gospel message is not hard to understand. It is clear. We know how Jesus lived and what he told us to do. We just need to start doing it today.
Check your relationship status with Jesus Christ:
Take corrective action if you need to improve these things!
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (verse 21)
In Matthew 18, we see the disciples jockeying among themselves for position and Jesus dealing with that behavior. This parable starts with Peter asking Jesus what he thought would be a rhetorical question—"How many times should I forgive someone? Up to seven times?” Peter was trying to show off, as the rabbis of the day taught to forgive three times.
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (verse 22)
Jesus’ answer was “Ah, poor Peter, you still don’t get it after all this time. You are to forgive until you can’t even remember how many times you have done so because that is what I have done for each of you.”
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.“ (verse 23)
This verse brings judgment into the conversation as judgment is the settling of accounts. We will all have to settle our accounts on judgment day to enter the kingdom of heaven.
“As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.” (verses 24-25)
Ten thousand bags of gold back then would be an incomprehensive amount of debt. The servant could never pay back the master. It is like a trillion-dollar debt today.
“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go.” (verses 26-27)
The master knew the servant could never pay back that amount of debt in a hundred lifetimes yet had mercy on him anyway. The servant was only asking for more time, yet the master canceled his full debt.
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.” (verse 28)
After being granted extreme mercy, the servant leaves the court and immediately sees someone who owes him a small amount of money. He demands immediate payment.
“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’” (verse 29)
The words used here are nearly identical: “Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.” This word choice is not a coincidence.
“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.” (verse 30)
After being granted extreme mercy from his debts, the unmerciful servant refuses to give his own servant mercy and instead demands immediate payment. His servant could not pay, so he had him thrown into prison. Can you believe this guy? What a jerk!
“When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.” (verse 31)
When the other servants saw how the unmerciful servant treated his debtor, they were so outraged that they reported what had happened to the master. They turned him in.
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.” (verses 32-34)
After the master hears what the servant had done, he calls him back in and holds him accountable for his trillion-dollar debt. The master turns the unmerciful servant over to the jailers to be tortured until he pays back all he owes. Since he can never pay back the debt, he will be tortured forever. That torture represents the punishment in hell we each deserve for the infinite sin debt we have accumulated.
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (verse 35)
We are required to give grace because we have received amazing grace ourselves. When the gospel truly melts your heart, it produces a grateful response.
Many churches today use the gospel message as a quick entry point into Christianity. They tell folks, “You will be saved if you believe in Jesus and say a simple sinner’s prayer.” Their entire focus is on getting people to say the sinner’s prayer and then declaring them saved.
Many churches today shy away from the repentance portion of the gospel. They never mention repenting from a sinful life, the consequences of sin, or the wrath of God, judgment, or hell. They feel those things will scare people away from the church or, at a minimum, offend them. They justify this behavior by pulling Bible verses such as John 3:16 out of context, and if you use that verse as the complete gospel, then belief is all that is required for eternal life. In other words, just admit that you believe in Christ through a sinner’s prayer, and you can go live your life any way you want.
So long as we are receivers of mercy we must be givers of thanks. Charles Spurgeon
We have each accumulated an unresolved sin debt so massive that we can never pay it. We were doomed—dead in our sins, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:1—so Jesus had to die to save us. Jesus had to give his life to pay our sin debt because we could never pay it ourselves. We had nothing to offer. So Jesus, the best person that ever lived, was humiliated and died on a cross because of our sin. Jesus gave everything to save us.
If we fully understand the gift of grace given to us through the gospel, it will compel us to take appropriate and grateful actions. But if we offer half measures back to Jesus in response to the grace we have received, we violate grace etiquette the same as the unmerciful servant. The parable says if we do that, we deserve and will get the same eternal punishment.
Most religions offer methods for how a person can achieve atonement for their sins. The gospel message of the Bible is the only religion that teaches that man cannot achieve salvation himself. It is only available as a gift from God, not a result of our works.
We must fully understand the WRATH OF GOD to fully appreciate the GRACE OF GOD
Paul says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). We cannot work our way into heaven; entrance is a gift of grace from God.
Jesus says to “repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). The gospel is that simple.
But if the gospel melts our hearts as it should, we will be compelled to take appropriate action, and the Bible says the fruit we produce is the evidence of our enduring faith. Paul says, “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20).
In Luke chapter 15, Jesus was speaking to a group of tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees (religious elite) and teachers of the law were also listening. Jesus teaches this group three parables, including the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the prodigal (or lost) son. All three of these parables deal with losing something, finding it again, and then rejoicing after finding it.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son says, Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.” (verses 11-13)
A son asking for his inheritance before his father’s death was the ultimate insult. This says to the father, “I don’t care if you are alive or dead; I want my inheritance.” The father complied and gave his younger son his share of the estate. The younger son gathers his wealth and leaves.
We should note here that God will let sinners go their way if they choose to do so.
As Christians, we should be careful with ambition, discontent, and independence. These traits can be useful for motivation, but they can also be the root of sin and evil.
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. (verses 14-16)
The young son’s betrayal would be heartbreaking to any father. Worse still, the son wastes his wealth in sin and ends up feeding pigs to survive. Pigs were ceremonially unclean, and being around pigs would be the worst thing imaginable to a Jew. Things were so bad for the son he wanted to eat the pig’s food.
We should notice that once the son’s wealth was gone, he was alone. The text says no one gave him anything
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’” (verses 17-19)
When the son hits rock bottom, “he came to his senses” and realized his father’s servants had food to spare. He knows he is no longer worthy of being a son due to his actions and social convention. So, he decides to swallow his pride and go back to his father and ask to be a hired servant.
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. (verse 20)
The text here says the father saw the son while he was still a long way off, meaning the father had been watching for his son’s return, probably ever since he left. What we see here is a compassionate, loving father who never stopped believing his son would return. We see a father who wants to restore his relationship with his son.
When the father sees his son coming, he runs out to meet him and embraces and kisses him. Think about this; the son’s condition would have been a mess. He had been in contact with pigs, so he was ceremonially unclean dirty and probably smelled bad, yet his father embraces and kisses him. When a Jew touched someone that was ceremonially unclean, they became unclean. The father steps right into his son’s mess with no hesitation.
We should also note what we don’t see here. We don’t see a father waiting to tell his son, “I told you so,” or a father who is holding a grudge because his son had disgraced him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’” (verse 21)
Whether we realize it or not, this is where we all start our journey with Christ.
We have a Creator who gave us life because he desired a relationship with us. We sinned and rebelled against him and thus disgraced Him. We are no longer worthy of our relationship and only deserve the full wrath of God directed at all sinners. That is where we all start our Christian journey—at rock bottom, separated from our God.
Hopefully, we come to our senses as the young son did in the parable and realize that we are dead in our sins without Christ. If so, we can confess our sins to the Father and ask for his forgiveness and grace. If we sincerely ask for that, Jesus tells us what the Father’s response will be in the next section of the parable.
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” (verses 22-24)
Our Father will respond by saying, ‘”Quick!” (No hesitation from the Father!)
“Bring the best robe and put it on him.” (Give him the best we have!)
“Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.” (Signifying this child is back in the family.)
“Bring the fattened calf and kill it.” (Symbolic of bloodshed for the forgiveness of sin.)
“Let’s have a feast and celebrate.” (Jesus says in all three parables in chapter 15, that heaven will rejoice when each sinner repents and comes home.)
“For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” (There will be rejoicing in Heaven every time sinner comes home to Christ. We are born again and are thus alive. We were lost, but now we are found.)
This is how our heavenly Father responds every time a child comes home to him. “Quick! It’s time to celebrate! My dead child is alive again, my lost child has been found.”
When we ask for forgiveness, God gives us grace in full measure. God runs out to meet us in our mess, and he immediately accepts us back into his family. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’” (verses 25-27)
Remember that Jesus’ audience included some eavesdropping Pharisees. Jesus shows his brilliance with this part of the parable. The older son's reaction to what the father did for the younger son was the same reaction the Pharisees were having to Jesus. Jesus ministered to the sinners and tax collectors, and the Pharisees resented him for it.
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’” (verses 28-30)
The older son is angry with his father and says, “I have done everything you asked, obeyed your orders, slaved for you for years, and you have never given me a celebration. But now you celebrate the son that disgraced you? How can you treat me this way?”
The parallel story is that the Pharisees were very angry with Jesus because the Pharisees worked hard at their religion. They studied and memorized the Scriptures, observed the Sabbath, kept all the festivals, and completed all the religious to-do lists. They felt Jesus should be coming to them and commending them for their work, and instead, he was hanging out with the sinners. “How can you treat us this way?”
The problem here is the Pharisees had a lot of religion, but they had lost track of the purpose of their faith. They felt they had done what their religion required of them, and they expected to be rewarded accordingly. They believed they had earned their righteousness by their works, and when they didn’t get the respect they expected from Jesus, all their work and religion turned into resentment.
As a life lesson, Shakespeare said, “Expectation is the root of all heartache.” I have found that to be true throughout my life. When disagreements occur, our first step should be to ask ourselves whose expectations are not being met in this conflict? The next follow-up question is, were their expectations reasonable? And if they were reasonable, were the expectations adequately conveyed to the offending party? Did everyone know what was expected? Generally, the answer is no, and someone got their feelings hurt accordingly.
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (verses 31-32)
The purpose of our religion is to present the gospel to sinners. That is the commission Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:16-20, and the thought of any unbelievers perishing at judgment should terrify Christians and compel us to take saving actions.
Jesus effectively tells the Pharisees here, “You have lost and corrupted your religion, and your expectations are out of order. I know what is in store for the unbelievers at the judgment, so I live to save sinners. Therefore I must spread the gospel, and I will celebrate when each member of our family comes home and is saved because, in the end, that is the only thing that matters.”
When you read the Bible, you will meet and know the one true God. He will not be the culturally conforming weak, all-loving God presented by many today to satisfy this world. God is still found in the Bible, and if you read the Bible yourself, you will learn these things. The truth is that there is a hell that God created it as a destination for the wicked, and a loving God does allow suffering in a fallen world caused by its sin. Satan is the evil in the world, and he controls the popular worldly culture. Satan works through false teachers to mislead us and leads us to sin. The penalty for our sins is death. We will all die and face judgment for our sins, and we don’t know when that will be, but we should fully know the God who created us and the path of salvation he offers us through Jesus. He reveals that in the Bible.
God gave us his only Son as a sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered for our sins. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, and then he faced the wrath of God on our behalf for our sins. We are not saved from our sins—that is a popular myth. We are saved from God’s wrath toward us because of our sins. We cannot exist as we are in the presence of a perfectly holy God due to our sins. Because of that, we cannot just look at God through the naivety of the love lens and ignore the rest of the Bible. We must fully understand the wrath of God to fully appreciate the grace of God.
Jesus told us in Mark to “repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). We must make the choice of accepting God’s gift of grace or rejecting it, but either way, we are responsible for our choice, and that choice has eternal consequences. The privilege of hearing the gospel comes with the obligation to do something with it. We must respond to the gospel—doing nothing is a rejection of the gospel. When you stand in the judgment, Jesus will either say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23) or “I never knew you, depart from me” (Matthew 7:23). None of us knows when we will die and stand in the judgment, but the Bible clearly says it is better to know Jesus as your Redeemer and Savior before meeting him as your Judge.
When we prioritize God, he promises to prioritize us and go to work in our lives. There is no better time than now to start because none of us knows what tomorrow holds or even if we have a tomorrow. You do not have to clean up your act or change your behavior before you start. God already knows everything about you and welcomes you just as you are.
Do not get caught up with worldly things and be misled by carnal culture and false teachers and lose focus of your big eternal picture. There is immense peace in having a rock-solid assurance of your faith in Christ and knowing your eternity is secure and will be spent with Jesus.
We are not bound on this earth. What we experience here is just a tiny part of our existence, a short trial period, and we have the option to spend the present and eternity with God if we choose to do so. But we must make that choice, and our lives must show a new creation because of it. Our salvation is not based on the works we do, but the works we do and the fruit we produce testify to the belief we have. Consistently reading the Bible is where that enduring faith starts. We cannot claim faith on Sunday and then live like the fallen world the rest of the week.
Have you accepted grace? Do you need to respond to the Gospel?
There is great PEACE in having ROCK SOLID ASSURANCE of your FAITH IN CHRIST and knowing your ETERNITY is secure and will be spent with JESUS.
AMAZING GRACE SONG LYRICS
By: John Newton
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound;
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear;
And Grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear;
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares;
I have already come.
'Tis Grace hath brought me safe thus far;
And Grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me.
His Word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be;
As long as life endures.
When we've been there ten thousand years;
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise;
Than when we'd first begun.
Jesus was fully committed to us and he requires that from us.
