Gospel - We are separated from God through sin (our personal sins & the original Adamic sin through the fallen nature we inherit). Scripture says ‘all have sinned and come short of the glory of God’. And, ‘the wages of sin is death’, ‘every soul that sins must die’. The Father sent His only begotten Son, The Son (Lord Jesus Christ) came into this world, lived the perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, buried, rose again on the third day and now seated on the right hand of God the Father is interceding for us. He (Lord Jesus) has sent the Holy Spirit to indwell every person who believes and receives Him. If we receive this gift of salvation by faith freely offered by God, we will be saved.
What must you do to be saved? Repent towards God (of all your sins), believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (put your complete trust in the work of Lord Jesus Christ), be baptized in water & receive the Holy Spirit.
There is God’s part and there is your part. ‘You repent towards God, God gives you repentance; God gives you faith, you put your trust/faith in Jesus; you are baptized in water, God washes you clean; God gives the Holy Spirit, you receive the Holy Spirit. God regenerates & you convert’. - David Pawson.
Once you are saved, you become part of the church, which is the - Temple of God, Body of Christ & Fellowship of the Spirit.
'In the early church, profession of faith did not make you a member of The church. The crucial thing that qualified a person to be the member of The church was reception/filling/baptism (which are all the same thing) of the Holy Spirit'. How many are truly part of The church? - David Pawson
I do not know if you are truly saved if you haven’t received the Holy Spirit. If Acts 2, Acts 8 & Acts 19 are true, then we have to receive the Holy Spirit. It's a distinctive event in our life and speaking in other tongues is an outward sign of that receiving of the Holy Spirit. ‘Will I make it to heaven without baptism & receiving the Holy Spirit’ is the next question you might want to ask yourself. The thief on the cross did not take baptism or receive the Holy Spirit, you may claim. If that’s your circumstance, then yes. But the thief didn’t have a chance to be baptized and neither was ‘gift of the Holy Spirit’ available then.
Salvation is too crucial of a subject to be left to chance.
How can you be sure of your salvation? -
By the word of God - word guarantees it, by faith I accept it, which is good.
Why settle for good when you can have the best - Spirit testifies to your spirit that you are a child of God (Romans 8:16)
I stressed a little more on receiving of the Holy Spirit because of the lack of teaching in many churches, but repenting of your sins, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and baptism in the water are crucial events in your life leading up to reception of the Holy Spirit.
Now, sharing the gospel with - words, deeds and signs. If we have shared gospel and have not been as effective as we would see in the Bible, it’s because we are not doing it the way the disciples were told to do. They were told to demonstrate & declare the gospel, we are only declaring the gospel. We have to share the gospel by words, deeds & signs.
David Pawson -
Words - sharing the Word, the gospel.
Deeds - how you live & love others.
Signs - miracles (gifts of the Holy Spirit)
Someone said -
Words announce the truth of God.
Deeds express the love of God.
Signs demonstrate the power of God.
May God help us to be effective in our witnessing. We are responsible for communicating the truth we have received.
