{"id":217,"date":"2009-05-23T14:59:24","date_gmt":"2009-05-23T12:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christian-gospel.info\/?page_id=23"},"modified":"2022-07-18T10:49:09","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T10:49:09","slug":"it-is-a-pleasure-to-welcome-you-to-our-web-site-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/","title":{"rendered":"IT IS A PLEASURE TO WELCOME YOU"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christian-gospel.info<\/span> was the former name of this website.\u00a0 My beliefs have not changed, however.\u00a0 To read a summary of those beliefs, click on BELIEFS at the top left of the menu.<\/span><\/p>\n

The site has been unavailable to some due to circumstances beyond my control.\u00a0 I am sorry if this has inconvenienced you, but I hope and believe things are stable now.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

THIS WEBSITE HAS A TWO-FOLD AIM<\/strong>
\nFirst, to bring the gospel of God to those who have not yet believed it.\u00a0 If you are one of these, this Home Page is for you, together with the items in the top line of the menu.\u00a0 Please consider carefully and seriously the matters set out there.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

If you are already a believer in the Lord Jesus, having repented of your sin and accepted the testimony of God’s word about Him, then the rest of the website is for you.\u00a0 We do hope that you will find it helpful.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discover the joy of the forgiveness of sins and peace with God available to all through the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Israel’s true Messiah. Those who repent and believe the gospel find it to be the power of God unto salvation, delivering from sin’s penalty and bringing into a right relationship with God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever your present attitude to spiritual things may be, do you not owe it to yourself to find out what God is like? You will discover that He is the most glorious Being there ever could be. He is supreme in His majesty, almighty in His power, infinite in His holiness, and unchanging in His righteousness. His love is strong, His mercies tender, His grace abundant, and His promises faithful and true. He is the living and true God, and there is none like Him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because He is all-glorious, God is deserving of the worship, obedience, and love of every one of us. He is the One most worth knowing, and those who do know Him are never disappointed, for they have the joy of being in a right relationship with Him, and of responding to His claims over them.<\/span><\/p>\n

God reveals His gospel to us in the words of the Bible, which speaks of “The glorious gospel of the blessed God,”<\/em> <\/strong><\/span>1 Timothy 1:11. God’s gospel is glorious because it tells of His glories. It will be worthwhile to consider what some of those glories are, remembering that glory can be defined as “The display of excellence”.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GLORY OF GOD’S ETERNAL EXISTENCE<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.”<\/em><\/span><\/strong> Psalm 90:2<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bible deals with many difficult problems, yet it never sets out to prove the existence of God. This is because God’s existence is self-evident, and therefore does not need to be proved. His non-existence is not a possibility. Moreover, the statement “There is no God”, is an absolute one. But if there is no God there are no absolutes, so the statement is not valid.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every effect has a cause, and the First Great Cause of all things is God. It follows that He is uncaused, and exists in the glory of His eternal Being.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GLORY OF GOD’S FREEDOM<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“The purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.”<\/em><\/span><\/strong> Ephesians 1:11.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0God is independent of all that He has made, and is free of all limitation. Nothing can be imposed on Him from outside to restrict Him. He is the sovereign controller of the universe- “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” <\/em><\/span><\/strong>Romans 11:36. This means that the following things are true of Him-<\/span><\/p>\n

He is not limited by the lack of any desirable quality, for He is absolutely perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n

“As for God, His way is perfect.”<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong> Psalm 18:30.<\/span><\/p>\n

He is not limited by time, for He is eternal.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Unto the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong> 1 Timothy 1:17.<\/span><\/p>\n

He is not limited by space, for He is present everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Whither shall I flee from Thy presence?”<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong> Psalm 139:7.<\/span><\/p>\n

He is not limited by alteration in circumstances, for He is unchanging.<\/span><\/p>\n

“For I am the Lord, I change not.”<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span> Malachi 3:6.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GLORY OF GOD’S TRUTH<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.”<\/em><\/span> <\/strong>Deuteronomy 32:4.<\/span><\/p>\n

Truth may be defined as “that which corresponds to reality”. God is the true God, not only in the sense that He is not a false god, but also in the sense that truth only finds its real meaning in and through Him. It follows that relativism, the idea that what is true for one person may not be true for another, is a denial of God. Truth is absolute, and God is the source of it. He has graciously made known His truth in the words of the Bible.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GLORY OF GOD’S POWER<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Power belongeth unto God.”<\/em><\/span><\/strong> Psalm 62:4.<\/span><\/p>\n

The power of God is exercised in three main ways. First of all, in the initial creation, and ongoing preservation of the heaven and the earth. The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that all things were created by God. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” <\/em><\/span><\/strong>Genesis 1:1.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is also clear that by this display of power God expects His creatures to recognize His rights as the Creator. Man, however, has refused to acknowledge God in this way. “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>Romans 1:20,21.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than acknowledge God as Creator, men have invented the theory of evolution, in the vain hope that this will do away with the need to believe in God.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is also the power of God in salvation. The apostle Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.”<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>Romans 1:16. Each and every one of us is a sinner, slaves to the sin-principle within us. The only way of deliverance is by the power of God that is put forth when the gospel is believed. This gospel is called the gospel of Christ because He is central to it. Earlier, in Romans chapter 1, in verses 1 and 4, the apostle wrote of “the gospel of God\u2026concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” <\/em><\/span><\/strong>Notice His names, for they have great significance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0First, He is God’s Son. This means that He shares the nature of God, being equal with God. He is called “The Word”, and “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>John 1:1.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, He is called Jesus. This is the name given to Him when He was born. The words of the angel were these, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.”<\/em> <\/span><\/strong>Matthew 1:21.<\/span><\/p>\n

Third, He is Christ, or Messiah, the long-promised One that the Old Testament prophets said would come. And come He did, and not only lived a sinless life upon the earth, but also died on the cross of Calvary. “How 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: and that He was seen\u2026” <\/em><\/span><\/strong>1 Corinthians 15:3-5.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fourth, He is Lord, for “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”<\/em> <\/span><\/strong>Acts 2:36. Not only has the Lord Jesus been raised from the dead, but He has also been exalted to God’s right hand in heaven.<\/span><\/p>\n

When a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, all the rich blessings which His person and sacrificial death guarantee are made good to him. We should not confuse “believing about” the Lord Jesus (that is, being prepared to accept certain facts about Him), with “believing in” Him. Those who believe in Him rely totally on Him for salvation from sin’s penalty and power. They do not rely on their church attendance, the religious ceremonies they may have engaged in, or the good works they have done. The true believer is a person who rests in Christ alone, depending wholly upon who He is, and what He has done for sinners by His death on the cross. Religious observance or good works can never bring us into the great blessing of salvation, for God declares plainly that it is “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” <\/em><\/span><\/strong>Ephesians 2:9.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then God also puts forth His power in judgement. Since God is absolutely perfect, He cannot allow sin to remain unjudged, for His nature demands that He deal with it. Those who refuse the way of salvation, and therefore remain in a state that angers God, will find that He has no alternative but to condemn them and consign them to everlasting judgement.<\/em> “Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him.”<\/em> <\/span><\/strong>Luke 12:4,5.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GLORY OF GOD’S LIGHT<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong> 1 <\/span><\/span>John 1:5.<\/span><\/p>\n

God dwells in the glorious light of what He is in Himself as One who is infinitely righteous and holy. Being righteous, God cannot act in a way that is contrary to justice. Being holy as well, He is totally distinct from all His creatures, majestic in His solitary grandeur. He is also holy in the sense that He is totally separate from sin, and opposed to it in all its forms.<\/span><\/p>\n

The light of the righteousness and holiness of God shows us up as being unrighteous and unholy. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”<\/em> <\/span><\/strong>1 <\/span><\/span>John 1:8. Because this is so, we need to acknowledge our sin, and repent of it. The sort of repentance God expects from us is thorough and serious. It is not a lighthearted apology, but a deeply felt change of mind about God, His Son, and our sins, leading to a sincere confession of those sins in His presence. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”<\/em> <\/span><\/strong>1 John 1:9.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the classic expressions of repentance is found in Psalm 51, where David acknowledges his sin before God- “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight\u2026”<\/em> <\/span><\/strong>Psalm 51:1-4. As a result, David could afterwards say from personal experience, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”<\/em> <\/span><\/strong>Psalm 32:1.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE GLORY OF GOD’S LOVE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”<\/em> <\/span><\/strong>1 John 4:10.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because God is love, He loves righteousness and holiness perfectly. He also longs to show mercy and forgiveness, and to bring sinners into a living, loving relationship with Himself. The only way in which this can be done is for One who is equal with Himself to come to earth to deal with the question of sin. Such an One is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God. He is equal with God, and as such can deal with sins in a manner that is fully acceptable to God. He is also totally free from sin, and this also qualifies Him to deal with the sin question. This He did when He died on a cross outside the city walls of Jerusalem. Whilst it is true that this happened long ago, what He did has abiding value and relevance.<\/span><\/p>\n

His death was a deliberate act on His part, whereby He satisfied the holy and righteous demands of God against sin, giving God just cause to bring those who repent and believe the gospel into a lasting and meaningful relationship with Himself. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.”<\/em><\/span><\/strong> 1 Peter 3:18.<\/span><\/p>\n

A final word. We believe we have given you enough information about the Christian gospel to enable you to come into the good of God’s salvation. The responsibility now rests with you. We leave you with the words of the prophet Isaiah:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Isaiah 55:6,7.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christian-gospel.info was the former name of this website.\u00a0 My beliefs have not changed, however.\u00a0 To read a summary of those beliefs, click on BELIEFS at the top left of the menu. The site has been unavailable to some due to circumstances beyond my control.\u00a0 I am sorry if this has inconvenienced you, but I hope […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"iawp_total_views":417,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-217","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4652,"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217\/revisions\/4652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiangospel.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}