Dr Paul Allen

The essence of the Christian message is called the gospel, which means “good news.” It is the message of how men and women can have peace with God.  The gospel explains how we can be forgiven of sin and how we can have eternal life in heaven. It tells us about God’s righteous expectations, man’s hopeless condition, Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, and our necessary response. God’s Righteous Expectations The Bible begins by telling us that God is the creator and sustainer of the universe (Genesis 1:1; Acts 17:24–27). He is therefore the rightful ruler of all things ( 1 Timothy 6:15 ), meaning that He alone deserves the heartfelt worship and obedience of every person (Exodus 20:3).  In fact, the reason God created human beings was so they would lovingly serve Him and bring Him glory as the caretakers of this earth (Genesis 1:28; Isaiah 43:7), and so that as a result they might find perfect fulfillment and joy in their loving fellowship with Him (cf. Revelation 21:2–3; 22:3–4). The Scr

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The answer is clear: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ .” The first thing that strikes us is the asymmetry between what God has done for us and what God requires of us. What He has done is defined in John 3:16 : “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.”  He loved vile sinners and loved them so much that He gave His only Son, sparing Him neither humiliation nor pain nor poverty. Were God to ask us to make an equal contribution to our salvation, none of us could have any hope. Mercifully, He does not. Which of us could love as He loved? He asks only that we believe. The core of this believing is trust . Of course, that is not all. For example, faith involves knowledge. This is why evangelism is of such importance. Without faith there is no possibility of salvation, without knowledge there is no possibility of faith, and without preaching there is