Gospel Part 1/5

So, Harvest is starting into its new year, which means a new study. We are currently doing a five-part study on the gospel, what it is, and what we need to understand in order to truly grasp it (God, Sin, Substitution, Believe, Life). All five parts need to be grasped and understood or it's incomplete. So, here goes part one....

Firstly, God. There's a God, and deep down somewhere inside them, or way up at the surface, everyone knows that. Here are 3 reasons of proof that clearly acknowledge God's existence.

Creation on its own should prove of God's existence. Romans 1:18-20 says "¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." It quite simply says in 19 "since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them." In 20 it talks about how his invisible qualities are clearly seen. There really is no reason that people should not be able to see God's work in this. They choose not to see His fingerprints because they look at it trying to find a way to show why there is no God, instead of allowing it to show them that there is. It's like walking into a crime scene and being convinced that the criminal is NOT who everyone says it is. You dust for fingerprints and find the person's prints EVERYWHERE. If you still choose not to believe it was clearly their doing, you will be left going in circles trying to prove what you want to. You simply will end up going nowhere. God has left his fingerprints on every piece of this universe, from the smallest intricate piece of DNA, to the largest planet out there. He is undeniably existant.

Secondly, your heart can tell you God exists. Or, rather the longing in your heart. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." As humans, and followers of God, we have a LONGING to know what God has done and will do. We also recognize, the more we long for God, that we do not belong here and we can not be truly satisfied here. Hebrews 11 offers us many great examples of people who truly lived by faith. After listing some it says this in verse 13: "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth." These people recognized we don't belong here and this is NOT our home. We can't be truly fulfilled here on earth. We spend our time trying to fulfill ourselves, whether it be through entertainment, relationships, or anything else. God is the only thing that can truly fulfill us and our hearts long for Him because of that.

Finally, we know God exists because He's not really that far from us; we just like to complicate things. Acts 17:22-31 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017:22-31&version=NIV1984) has an interesting story. Basically Paul is in Athens and finds that, amongst all the temples, there is one that is dedicated to an unknown God. These people did not know WHO this God was, but they knew He was out there. I can't say much more on this point, because, well, I honestly don't feel confident that I understood it well enough to say more. All I know is that it doesn't have to be complicated. God offers us a relationship with Him that we just have to accept. There's not a "but you have to pay me back" or anything (we really can't, anyways, since He needs nothign we could give), it's just a simple gift. If you're reading this, and perhaps haven't accepted that gift, but decide you want to, I encourage you to go out to the nearest church (or youth group if you're in that age group) ASAP and talk to a pastor. Also, if you know people, whether they be family, friends, or total stranger you heard about who doesn't know God, I encourage you to pray for them.... If you want me to pray for them, them perhaps comment their name (just first name so no personal info is all over the internet) on here and I will pray for them. ☺ It is worth grieving over those who are unsaved; in fact we should grieve (Romans 9:1-5 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%209:1-5&version=NIV1984)... I can say I shed quite a few tears today in church when we were asked to pray for our non-believing family and friends. It tears me apart to think of them not coming to Heaven when their time here is up...

Well, I think that's most of the important stuff I have to say on this matter! God bless! You are LOVED! ♥