DISCOVER THE GOSPEL
1. Created by GOD
You were made in the image of GOD — not an accident, not a product of chance, but known and formed on purpose, for fellowship with Him.
Genesis 1:27
2. Made for fellowship
Life was meant to be lived in open communion with GOD, walking with Him rather than hiding from Him.
Genesis 3:8
3. Separated through sin
Every person has turned away from GOD in thought, word, and deed. Scripture calls this turning sin, and it separates us from the GOD we were made to know.
Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:2
4. Unable to save ourselves
No effort, religion, moral improvement, or good deed can undo that separation. Salvation is a gift received, not a wage earned.
Ephesians 2:8–9
5. Loved by GOD
Even while we were still far off, still turned away, GOD did not wait for us to clean ourselves up first. He pursued us in love.
Romans 5:8
6. Redeemed through the Cross
JESUS CHRIST — fully GOD and fully man — died in our place on the Cross, bearing what our sin required so that we would not have to.
1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 15:3
7. Raised bodily
JESUS did not merely die a noble death. He rose bodily from the grave, defeating sin and death and proving that His claims about Himself were true.
1 Corinthians 15:4, 20
8. Repent and believe
We are called to turn from sin — repentance — and to place our trust in what CHRIST has already done, not in what we can do for ourselves.
Mark 1:15
9. Born again by the SPIRIT
New birth is a work of GOD, not a self-improvement project. Christianity is not external reform; it is inward transformation, life given from above by the HOLY SPIRIT.
John 3:3–7
10. FOLLOW JESUS
JESUS did not reduce the response to a formula. HE called people to come to HIM, repent, believe, deny self, take up the cross, and follow HIM. New life is the beginning of a life under HIS Lordship.
Mark 1:15; Mark 10:21; Luke 9:23; John 8:31
“Follow Me.”
There are no magic words to repeat. Salvation is the gracious work of GOD, received through faith in JESUS CHRIST. The biblical response is to repent and believe, confess JESUS as LORD, receive the new life HE gives by HOLY SPIRIT, and follow HIM. Prayer is a natural expression of faith and surrender — not a formula that saves.
Mark 1:15; Mark 10:21; Luke 9:23; Romans 10:9–13; Ephesians 2:8–10
Not a force. A Person.
The HOLY SPIRIT is not an impersonal energy or a theological idea to hold at arm's length. He is the living presence of GOD, sent by the Father and the Son to indwell, guide, comfort, convict, empower, and transform every believer.
Promise of the Father
The coming of the HOLY SPIRIT was promised throughout Scripture and fulfilled at Pentecost. Every believer is invited into both new birth and ongoing, moment-by-moment dependence on Him.
New Birth
To be born again is to receive new life from above — not merely to try harder, but to be made new.
Fruit of the SPIRIT
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control; against such there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22–23
Gifts and Service
Spiritual gifts are given for service, encouragement, and mission — and they operate rightly only in humility, love, and accountability, never as a badge of status.
The questions this story raises
If you're working through this for the first time, these are the questions worth sitting with, roughly in order:
Who is JESUS?
See The Great Question.
What is sin?
See step 3 above.
What is grace?
See step 5 above — love that isn't earned.
What is repentance?
See step 8 above.
What is faith?
Trust placed in what CHRIST has done, not in yourself.
How can I be saved?
See Begin Here for a direct next step.
What is New Birth?
See step 9 and The HOLY SPIRIT section above.
What happens after salvation?
See Follow JESUS and the Formation Journey.