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Isn’t it true that the more a Christian believer comes to comprehend all we have in Jesus Christ, the more eager we are to share Jesus with others?
I’ve come to realize that there must be three non-negotiable factors for my life as a Christ follower:
These three factors must be the foundations for everything I do. I realize living these truths requires intentionality, a lot of time and effort and boundary crossing, but it is so rewarding and so biblical that it must be entwined into the DNA of our lives and the life of the universal church.
The gospel is God’s plan to save His people from their sins and to bring His people fully and finally to Himself. About the gospel, the great theologian J.I. Packer simply says, “God saves sinners.”
Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God fully accomplishes salvation for us by the Holy Spirit’s regeneration, rescuing us from judgment for sin and into fellowship with Him, and then restores the creation so we can enjoy new life together with Him.
Consider this snapshot of Jesus’ approach to mission:
“And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, ‘I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.’ And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” (Luke 4:42-44)
There seems to be three distinct things about God’s mission:
For us, our Judea is right here at Grand Canyon University. There are people right here at GCU who don’t know that God loves them and that God wants to do something beautiful and lasting in their lives: bring reconciliation!
There are people out there who have no idea about who Jesus is and what He has done specifically for them. They have no idea that they can be forgiven, restored and reconciled to God, all because of the substitutionary life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
People need to know that God has extended His grace to them, through the cross of Christ, and that because of Jesus, we now have access to the amazing majesty of the creator and sustainer of everything.
The beauty of the gospel is that it illustrates God’s missioned heart very tangibly in the person and work of Jesus Christ. God sent His son to live in the world of the lost, to live amongst them, and bring the Kingdom to his people. We are all sinners in need of a Savior.
The reason why Jesus came to Earth, preaching the good news, is because we ALL need the help of God! We ALL need salvation!
Jesus was looking for lost people and had to leave His comfort zone in order to reach them. He had to be sent to us; we were not naturally going to go to Him. In this same way, we must intentionally go after people with the gospel because they are lost.
GCU is an interdenominational university, purposely fulfilling our mission of providing an affordable Christian education to all who seek it. For more information about our programs and our beliefs, request more information from an advisor.
