𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• Recall a dangerous experience you had. What danger did you face and how were you spared?

• Do you make plans, and do you like sticking to them? Recall an instance explaining this.

• Who is the most generous person you know? What has he or she done for you?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 . . . 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟯–𝟰

(Read also 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟱–𝟭𝟬.)

All human beings are sinful and fallen, deserving death and living in eternity apart from God. No matter how good we think we are, we cannot save ourselves. This is the bad news we all face.

But there is good news in Christ. It is the gospel. Because of God’s grace, mercy, and love, He offers us salvation and 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 in Christ. Today, let us study what the gospel is and grow in our understanding of the salvation we have received in Christ.

𝟭. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

. . . 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 . . . 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟰

𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, God’s desire is for us to be 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. He did not decide to redeem us only after Adam and Eve sinned; our salvation is not an afterthought for God. God’s love so abounds for us that He planned our salvation even before the creation of the world in Genesis 1 and He started executing it immediately after Adam and Eve had fallen. How does God’s redemptive plan assure you of His love for you and the world? How should it affect the way we live?

𝟮. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝗻.

𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 . . . 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟳

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for us and pay the price we should have paid. This is the center of God’s gracious plan to save us from our sin, shame, and guilt. Put simply, the gospel is the good news that God became man in Christ Jesus. He lived the life we should have lived, and died the death we should have died—in our place. On the third day, He rose from the dead, proving that He is the Son of God. When and how did you hear the gospel? How did you respond to the riches of God’s grace?

𝟯. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝗻.

𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 . . . 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟳

God’s gracious act of rescue resulted in our redemption and forgiveness. Jesus gives the gift of salvation and forgiveness of sins to anyone who repents and believes in Him. When we have a change of heart and put our faith in what Jesus Christ already had done for us, we no longer have to pay for our sins and we no longer have to live in sin. We have been forgiven and made whole, redeemed for God’s purpose. What is the importance of telling others about the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? Why should we not keep this to ourselves?

God’s plan to save and redeem us includes blessing us. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and God’s love for us, we have been blessed 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨. Paul writes that this includes being holy and set apart for Him, being adopted as sons and daughters through Jesus, and much more (Ephesians 1:4–14). This all-encompassing promise and blessing should affect all of our lives. We reap these benefits not because of anything we have done, but because of who God is and how good He is to us.

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• What kind of life did you have before you were in Christ? Recall how you heard and responded to the gospel.

• What kind of life can we have in Christ? Take some time this week to meditate on Ephesians 1:3–4. Ask God to help you understand what it means to have 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 in Christ.

• What do you think is an appropriate response to the gospel? How do you think you ought to live and how can you tell others about this good news?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for sending Jesus to die on the cross in our place. Thank God for His plan of redemption, Christ’s sacrifice, and our salvation.

• Pray and ask God to help you join Him in His rescue mission to seek and save the lost. Pray that you would boldly proclaim the good news of the gospel.

• Pray for your relatives and friends to know and experience God’s love, mercy, and grace.