Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Mark 1:14-15
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Now is the time. Will you do what Jesus said and repent and believe the gospel?
3rd Nephi 27:13-22
Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent
me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil— And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works. And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world. And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father. And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words. And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day. Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do; Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
The gospel of Christ is simple and complete. Repentance and baptism are the keys. You must do both, but you must all stay true to Christ until the end. This is a lifelong commitment that cannot be taken lightly. It is important to remember that we must always strive to be like Christ. Just because we were baptized does not give us the freedom to do what we want.
Message 105-12
Leave the past behind—its bitterness, its contentions, bring repentance, love and obedience in your hearts. Hasten, be obedient to the words I bring—for so it is spoken to all Restoration—all mankind, even unto the world.
Don’t worry about what had happened, just focus on doing the right thing now. Christ forgives all, and so should we. There have been things that we have done wrong and things that people have done to us. Through Christ all of these things disappear. Let Christ fill your heart with love and joy.
2nd Nephi31:15-21
And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved. Wherefore, do the things which I have told you that I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witness of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive. And now, my beloved brethren, after that ye have got into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of Him who is mighty to save. Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the Kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.
There is only one way to spending eternal life with Christ in heaven. It is real simple: Faith, Repentance, and Baptism. After you complete those steps you just simply continue on your journey that you started with them. You must keep following the straight and narrow path until the end, yours or the earth’s. This is the only way.
Message 59:4
I cried repentance in the days that are past, my message is repentance today. Let all men repent of their sins and selfish ways, for sin cannot receive the glory of God nor the power of the Lamb slain. Except they repent they cannot be redeemed from that awful state. For the Lord has prepared the way of redemption and he has spoken. It is Christ’s words that shall judge all men, therefore, he cannot use man of his own way, for man’s heart is filled with selfishness.
God has put together a great plan for our salvation. It is up to us to follow it. There key points are repentance, baptism and follow Christ. We must repent of our sins that we, ourselves, have committed. After that we must be baptized by one having the authority to do so. We then follow Christ’s teachings in our daily lives. We cannot follow the teaching of a man for we will be judge against Christ’s. I challenge you to look at your life and see where you are in the plan. If you need to repent and be baptized, then let do it. If you have been baptized how well are you following the instructions that we have?
Message 53:3
Give ear, Oh ye people of the earth. Hear the warning today. I speak the words and will of the Lord. Let all have faith. Turn to the Lord and obey his commands. Heed repentance and baptism that the way of the Lord shall be among men; his Kingdom shall fill the whole earth. The hands must be laid upon all that the greater light might come to them.
Repentance and baptism is the only way to be close to the Lord. There will be many people who listen and are bless, make sure that you are one of them. It is important that follow God’s plan.
Alma 37:33
Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The base of the Gospel of Christ is that we have to have faith in Christ and that he will take away our sins when we repent. We also have to strive to stay clean and like Christ. Being a follower of Christ is not a part time job.
Mosiah 26:30-32
“Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me. And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgiveth not his neighbor’s trespasses when he saith that he repenteth, the same hath brought himself under condemnation. Now I say unto you, Go; and whosoever will not repent of his sins the same shall not be numbered among my people; and this shall be observed from this time forward.”
It is very reassuring to know that God loves us no matter what. No matter what we do or how many times we do it, if we honestly repent and try to change our ways God will forgive us over and over. However if we don’t repent honestly we will not be allowed into the Kingdom of God. Part of repentance toward God is to forgive the people in our lives. This includes the people that we know and the people that we don’t. We need to forgive everyone in our lives and let God judge their actions.
Mosiah 26:29-32
Message 69:9
“This is a holy work and mankind must come humbly before the Lord. Let repentance and baptism be the answer in action by each one coming into this work. Let the hands be laid on all that the Spirit might come to them in great power and deliverance in time of trials. Let great faith rule in love. Let peace be in each heart and soul, in your homes, and avoid contentions. Trust not in traditions of men, nor the ways of man, nor flesh. They will not save you.”
When we are looking for the truth that Jesus teaches us in the bible, it is important to get to basics and find it ourselves. We need to know what we believe is true because God told us through the sprite, not our friends or family. Each one of us has our own salvation to worry about, and only we can attain it. To be able to join God’s church, there has to be a path that has been set forth to follow. That path is repentance, baptism, and laying on of hands. This path has not changed for 2000+ years. Lets not get caught up in the tradition that men have added over time, God does not change.
