IS YOUR

GOSPEL THE
RIGHT ONE?
“Commit your life to Christ!” “Make Jesus the Lord of
your life.” “Turn from your sins and come to Christ.”
“Ask Jesus into your heart.” Do these common gospel
calls sound familiar? Have you used one or more of
them yourself when trying to reach someone with the
gospel? Have you heard these declarations used by
someone giving their ‘testimony’? I know I have, but
here’s the question: Are these statements the gospel of
salvation?

What is God’s requirement for salvation today?

According to the gospel of grace committed by the risen
Lord to Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, God declares
that, “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest
any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) Paul, in
Romans 4:4-5, also wrote: “Now to him that worketh is
the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to
him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
Then exactly what is it that we must believe to be
saved? “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the
gospel, which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are
saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto
you first of all that which I also received, how that
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.” (I Corinthians 15:1-4)
So we know that when we believe this gospel by placing
faith in Jesus Christ, Who died for our sins and rose
again, we receive God’s gift of eternal life. “For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.”
(Romans 6:23). Eternal life, by the way, would not be
‘eternal’ if we could lose it. We are saved forever when
we accept the gift that God is offering to us through his
Son, Jesus Christ.

It has well been said that ‘religion’ is trying to do

something for God, but Christianity is simply accepting
what God has already done for us. Declarations such as,
“I have committed my life to Christ,” and, “I’ve asked
Jesus into my heart,” are admirable indeed; but they are
not clear statements of how to be saved. In fact, they
constitute a subtle addition of works for salvation
because they imply that you must ‘do’ something. It’s
only after accepting the full and free salvation that God
graciously bestows when you place your faith in His
Son and his finished work on Calvary; and after you’ve
been sealed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit -- then, and
only then -- will you be able to make Him the Lord of
your life, become willing to turn from your sins, and
live for Him.

I realize that these popular gospel cliche`s roll so easily

off of the tongue; I’ve been guilty of using them myself.
But for the sake of presenting the gospel of salvation to
a lost and dying world of sinners, as God’s ambassadors
in his stead, let’s all take an extra moment when sharing
that gospel to make it plain and clear. Someone’s eternal
destiny may depend on it!