Live the Gospel!

“God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees and in the flowers and clouds and stars.” ~Martin Luther

Brothers,

The quote above tells of how we can see the work of God all around us. Mark 16:15 says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” We are clearly called to share the “Gospel” with unbelievers, but what is the Gospel? It can be summed up in two words: Jesus Christ. Whenever we evangelize, these two words should be the words we speak the most. Without them, there is no good news. The Gospel starts with the creation of the world and the Fall. Sin entered the world, but salvation was promised one day through a descendent of Adam. This Savior was Jesus Christ who was incarnated in the flesh, was crucified, and rose again on the third day to pay the penalty for man’s sin. The Gospel, Jesus Christ, is the cornerstone of our lives and He should permeate our speech, lifestyle, dress, actions, thoughts, and ideals. Remember the Gospel. Live the Gospel!

Your brother in Christ,

Nick

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words.” ~St. Francis of Assisi

God's Gift of Grace

Dear Corey,

I’m going to move away from James this week and talk about something else. Over the past week I’ve been reading a book by C.S. Lewis called, “What Christians Believe.” I would highly recommend it as it shows the differences between Christianity and other worldviews. It is a good reminder to be thankful for the saving grace of Gad and for showing us the one true way. C.S. Lewis compares religion to a math equation: “It [religion] is like a math problem. There is only 1 right answer. Every other answer is wrong no matter how close they are.”
It just continues to amaze me that God would send His Son to die for our sins. The Bible lays out God’s grace very well in the following trail:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

“For it is by grace you have been saved, not of works, lest any man should boast.”

I want to share a story with you that I don’t think I’ve told before. There is one thing that Christianity contains that no other religion does. Glean from this story what you will:

“At a meeting of Christian leaders someone asked the question, ‘What separates Christianity from other religions?’ All of them thought and thought about the question, but couldn’t find an answer. After they had thought about the question for hours, C.S. Lewis walked into the room and asked what they were talking about. When he had been told the question, he replied, ‘Oh! That’s easy: Grace!”

Your BIC,

Nick