“Was Christ’s Death Necessary Or Sufficient?”

Posted: July 24, 2020 in Evagelism, Gospel, Salvation

If you are a professing Christian, are you concerned about rescuing the perishing, caring for the dying, snatching them in pity from sin and the grave (Jude 1:22, 23)? Do you weep over the erring ones (Matthew 23:37), and lift up the fallen (Galatians 6:1, 2)? Do you ever tell them of Jesus the mighty One who can save anyone from the “penalty of sin,” the “power of sin,” and eventually from the “presence of sin”? Would you like to do this?

If you tell lost people of Jesus, do you witness (Acts 1:8) to them out of obligation and duty or because you love God (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15) and are grateful that God graciously saved you? Do you know that He wants you to have the joy of seeing lost people found and saved?

When was the last time you shared the clear Gospel with someone? Did God the Holy Spirit open up an opportunity for you to speak to someone about his/her spiritual needs (Revelation 3:8)? Did you take the opportunity or play the role of a coward like Peter did when he denied that he knew Christ (Matthew 26:72-74)? If you’ve spoken to someone, what specifically did you say to him/her? Was the entire Gospel message presented? Did you invite him/her to trust in the Christ of the Scriptures alone (See 2 Corinthians 11:3, 4)? What Scripture verses did you use as your source of authority? Did you add to or subtract essential elements in your Gospel presentation?

While the devil will try to intimidate us and cause us to be fearful (1 Peter 5:8), we don’t have to yield to his temptations (1 John 4:4). We have “Bad News & Good News” that needs to be shared with lost people so they can be saved from having to spend eternity in the lake of fire with the devil and his angels/demons (Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation 21:8).

The Gospel for our salvation is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4. “For I [Paul] delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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…”. We must be careful to include Christ’s bodily resurrection in our presentation (See 1 Corinthians 15:5-9; Luke 24:33-43). Without it, we haven’t given a person hope for the future. “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

Please note, it says that “Christ died for our sins…” If you said to an unsaved person, “Christ died for you,” he might say, “That wasn’t really necessary because I’m not that bad.” This is not true. (See Romans 3:10-23; 6:23.) When one believes that Christ died for his sins, he is acknowledging that he is a sinner, who can’t save himself, and that he is in need of a Savior.

Other people might believe all the facts of the Gospel, but say, “His death wasn’t sufficient. There are good works that I must do if I am to be saved from hell.” One cult teaches that when babies or adults are baptized (sprinkled), they are given grace or help so they can keep the Sacraments so they can be saved. But the Scriptures are clear. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9; See Titus 3:5).

If you distribute Gospel tracts, please make sure that they include the whole Gospel, and that they invite people to trust in the Christ of the Scriptures alone, not in a Christ of the cults (Matthew 24:5; 2 Corinthians 11:4) or in their good works.

Don’t leave the work of evangelism up to the evangelists, Pastors, deacons, and teachers. God wants every Christian to be involved in this. Yes, if you’re saved you can/should do this too.

We’re here to help those who are teachable and willing to change (2 Timothy 2:2, 15; 3:16, 17), and to encourage and help you if you want to be a more effective witness for the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:2, 15; 3:16, 17). We want you to earn the “Crown of Rejoicing” by having a part in someone’s salvation (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20; 2 Corinthians 5:20, 21). There are four other crowns that a believer can earn.

If you have questions and/or comments, please contact us through our website: www.kelseypeach.com. If you have found this article helpful, please SHARE it with others.

For more helpful information, consider these articles:

Which Jesus Saves? https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/which-jesus-saves/

Dr. Ron Shea, Clear Gospel: (Consider some confusing/false conditions for salvation)

http://www.cleargospel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/English/English-Display-Pkg-2014.pdf

Dr. Manfred Kober: Do We Really Know The Gospel? (24 word presentation)

https://faith.edu/faith-news/do-we-really-know-the-gospel/

Professor David Spurbeck: The Gospel Checker

http://bartimaeus.us/pub_dom/monographs.html

Dr. Andy Woods, Lordship Salvation: https://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2011/03/what-is-wrong-with-lordship-salvation.html

Dr. G. Michael Cocorus, Repentance: The Most Misunderstood Word

https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2019/02/28/repentance-the-most-misunderstood-word-in-the-bible/

“Bad News – Good News” https://kelseypeach.wordpress.com/2019/04/24/the-bad-news-the-good-news/