THE BEST NEWS EVER!!! -- The Gospel of Jesus Christ

 

My plan for this post is to share the story of my struggles with issues of faith over the years, and to present the BEST NEWS EVER -- The Gospel of Jesus Christ in the clearest way I can, with the help of God's beautiful Holy Spirit.

I grew up in the United Methodist church, but at the age of ten, I asked my parents if I could stop attending because I didn't believe what they were teaching. My parents agreed, and so for a few years I did not attend church or think much about religion. I was busy just being a kid. But in my early teens, I did return to church for their Confirmation process, and I don't recall why I did so given that I didn't share their beliefs. But after Confirmation, that was the end of it for a few years. In 1980, we moved across town and I met the neighbors across the street, Bob and Roxanne. They were devout fundamentalist Christians, and I enjoyed having many conversations with them about the Christian faith. I attended church with them a few times, but again religious belief didn't stick. I went back to being a rebellious teenager, and I was busy drinking and doing drugs while I was attending the local community college. In 1985, when I was 19 years old, my friend Mike started witnessing to me about Jesus. I wasn't interested at all, but Mike was persistent, and he finally got me out to his car to read some Scripture. I remember feeling something stir inside of me when we read Hebrews 4:12, and I thought, "maybe there is something to this Jesus stuff. " I let Mike lead me in a typical sinner's prayer, and we both thought I was saved, and of course Mike was ecstatic. 

Shortly after Mike led me in that prayer, I attended a showing of "The Jesus Film" that was sponsored by a local Baptist church. I felt strongly attracted to Jesus and His message, and after the film was over, I again prayed to be saved, just to be sure I really had it! I began attending that Baptist church, and soon I was a confirmed Christian, and I went from being a teenage alcoholic and drug abuser to being an on fire for Jesus Christ fanatic Christian. 

But my faith was superficial and I didn't know very much at all about the Christian faith or the Bible, and soon doubts and questions that I couldn't find good answers for challenged my faith. This was years before the Internet, so all I had was the local Christian bookstore and my friends at church to consult for answers. I struggled mightily with these issues of faith for 15 years of my younger life, and I was in and out of church. Sometimes I was very religious, but other times you would never know that I had ever darkened the door of a church. In 2000, I decided to get on the Net as it was back then and find answers to my doubts and questions. I found answers that made sense to me from the place I least expected it -- the atheists. After reading through a few sites that were popular at the time, I jettisoned my belief in God and my faith in Jesus, and I became a very angry and very vocal atheist. I spent almost 20 years espousing atheism online through Facebook and various websites. 

Looking back on those years with hindsight being 20/20, I doubt that I was truly saved. I knew about God, but I didn't know God. I knew about Jesus Christ, but I didn't have a relationship with Jesus that was deeply rooted and genuine. If I had truly known Jesus, I certainly would not ever have abandoned my faith in Him in favor of vocal atheism. 

I want to share one experience that I had at church back in the late 1980's that I think demonstrates that I wasn't saved back in those days. I was attending a non-denominational Charismatic church, and one Sunday morning God showed up in a big way. He poured out His beautiful Presence on everyone and it was as if Heaven came down on our church that day. Everyone was amazed at this event and visitation from God -- everyone except me. I just stood there feeling absolutely nothing while everyone else enjoyed this visitation from God. Why wasn't I included? Simple -- I was religious but I was not truly saved. I didn't know the Lord at the time, so I wasn't included in this incredible blessing. Back in those days, I often doubted my salvation, and now I know why. I was very religious at times, but I didn't understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and at the time I was not truly saved. If the rapture of the Church had occurred in 1988 as Edgar Whisenant asserted that it would, I would have been left behind!

My almost 20 years of vocal atheism ended abruptly back in late 2017. A friend of mine on Facebook posted a link to an article about the rapture, and I decided to take a look. I expected to just get a laugh and move on. However... I found the article extremely compelling and I learned about a celestial event that had just happened -- the Revelation 12 Sign. I found my vocal atheism seriously challenged, and I had a lot to think about. A short time later, I ran across a video on YouTube by Renee Roland, and I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ clearly presented for the first time in my life. I realized in that moment that this was the BEST NEWS EVER, and I trusted in the precious shed Blood of Jesus Christ for the remission and forgiveness of my sins.

And that brings me to one of the main points of this post -- the critical importance of the precious shed Blood of Jesus Christ! 

I was in and out of church for 15 years of my younger life, but not once did I ever hear about the Blood of Jesus or the importance of trusting in it for salvation. I knew about the sinner's prayer and I had recited it many times while I was doubting my salvation. I heard about asking the Lord into your heart and calling on the Name of the Lord. I heard about repenting of your sins and asking God to forgive your sins. I heard about every method of salvation except what Scripture plainly and clearly teaches -- salvation comes from trusting in the precious shed Blood of Jesus Christ for the remission and forgiveness of sins, and there is no salvation outside of trusting in the Blood. Reciting a sinner's prayer will not save you. Asking the Lord into your heart will not save you. Calling on the Name of the Lord will not save you. Repenting of your sins will not save you. Scripture makes it plain that there is only one way to be saved, and that is by trusting in the precious shed Blood of Jesus Christ for the remission and forgiveness of your sins. 

So... for 15 years of my younger life, I was a false convert. I was very religious at times, but I did not understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I was not truly saved. I believe that many thousands of people are in that same condition, and these are the people who eventually walk away and leave the faith. They thought they were saved, but they didn't come to God for salvation HIS WAY -- THE BLOOD, and so they ended up religious but not truly saved, and when doubts came, they walked away. 

I understand the plight of these people because I too was a false convert and I too walked away from my faith. What happened to these people is tragic beyond words to describe. The very people who should know how to explain the Gospel failed these people at the most basic, fundamental level. They offered these people false ways to be saved and they tragically created false converts -- many thousands of them! And these many thousands of false converts walked away from the faith and became enemies of the cross of Christ, and today they are speaking out against the Christian faith in droves on the Internet. 

Why has this tragedy occurred? Why did the Church fail these many thousands of people at the most basic, fundamental level? WHY? Because they stopped preaching THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST and they turned to methods completely foreign to Scripture to be saved. Scripture never once instructs us to recite a sinner's prayer to be saved. Scripture never once instructs us to ask the Lord into our heart to be saved. Scripture does mention calling on the Name of the Lord (Romans 10:13), but it is faith and trust in THE BLOOD that saves us, not just calling on the Name of the Lord. The whole counsel of Scripture must be considered, and we must never build a doctrine of salvation on one verse taken out of context in isolation. 

So... I cringe every time I hear Christians on YouTube telling people to just ask the Lord into their heart or to just call upon the Name of the Lord or just follow the ABC's of Salvation or follow the Roman's Road to Salvation... or whatever. 

I am going to SHOUT in capital letters because this is so vitally important: THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO BE SAVED, AND THAT IS BY PLACING YOUR FULL FAITH AND TRUST IN THE PRECIOUS SHED BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION AND FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SINS! 

And I want to address one more thing. Many Christians quote 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 when presenting the Gospel, and that's fine as far as it goes. Those verses do sum up the Gospel nicely. But it is still vitally important to make sure that the people you are addressing understand the critical importance of trusting fully in the Blood of Jesus for salvation.

There are articles on this site that go into the importance of THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST if you want to explore this topic further. But my heart aches for these many thousands of people that the Church failed at the most basic, fundamental level because they preached something other than THE BLOOD. I personally spent 15 years of my younger life in and out of church and then I became a vocal enemy of the cross of Christ all because, when I was 19 years old, no one told me about the Blood of Jesus and the importance of trusting in it. And I never heard a word about it even once... in fifteen years! How tragically sad! And many thousands of people are riding the same boat I was in. 

I praise God that I finally heard about THE BLOOD from a servant of God on YouTube. And I have spent the last several years studying the topic of THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Okay... so, this is not the article that I sat down to write. I had envisioned something quite different, but this is what poured out of me instead, so I trust that it's what God wanted me to share at this moment. 

For the past several decades, the Church has failed to preach THE BLOOD and as a result they have failed many thousands and perhaps millions of people on the most basic, fundamental level. If we don't get the Gospel right, nothing else beyond that matters. The Gospel -- TRUSTING IN THE PRECIOUS SHED BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST is of first, primary, fundamental importance. 

We are living in the final moments of the End Times, and Jesus Christ will be returning for His Church very soon. We need to be shouting the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the proverbial rooftops. But we have got to get it right! PREACH THE BLOOD OF JESUS BOLDLY, and let's bring as many people as we possibly can into the Kingdom of God before Jesus returns and it's too late. God Bless and Amen!

The following are Scripture references for the Blood of Jesus, and sadly you will rarely if ever hear them preached in most churches today. Most churches have unfortunately turned away from preaching the Blood of Jesus and are offering some version of the modern Bloodless Gospel that is powerless to save. Please don't fall for the message that you can be saved by simply reciting a prayer or by asking the Lord into your heart or repenting of your sins or confessing your sins or calling upon the Name of the Lord or anything other than what Scripture plainly teaches, which is TRUSTING IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION AND FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SINS. 

For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11)

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3:25)

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:9)

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:7)

In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Colossians 1:14)

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:12)

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22)

Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. (Hebrews 13:12)

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Peter 1:2)

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:19)

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (Revelation 1:5)

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; (Revelation 5:9)

THERE IS NO SALVATION OUTSIDE OF FAITH AND TRUST IN THE PRECIOUS SHED BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!