The Good news
Our mission at Compass is to invite everyone to find and follow Jesus. Like a compass points north, we want to point to Christ.
Jesus wants to meet our deepest needs and He offers us real satisfaction, love, hope, power, freedom, forgiveness and a fresh start in life.
Originally, God made people with those needs fully met. But since man chose to sin, God's perfect design was broken, including our connection with God and others.
If we are honest, we all know something is not right. So people try all sorts of ways to reach God. Most think, “As long as I'm generally a good person, I should be okay.” But is that true? If so, then how good is good enough? Fortunately, the Bible actually defines what a good person looks like.
The Good Person Test: Let’s look at a few questions based on 5 of the 10 Commandments that God gave his people and see how we do. (Answer yes or no)
If you answered "Yes" to just one of those questions, you have failed the test. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all."
Life is like a pass/fail test, either you get 100% or 0%. All of our "good deeds”, even going to church, giving to charity or reading our Bibles, can never make up for the fact that we've broken God's commands.
If I had a glass of water and put one drop of poison in it, would you want to drink it? No. God is completely holy and doesn't allow even a little bit of sin into His presence. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Based on this, if God judged you by his standard, would you be innocent or guilty? If you got what you deserved would you go to Heaven or Hell? Does that concern you?
The Solution
Some picture God at the top of a mountain and different religions as different paths to God. But the truth is, no one can make it up on their own. That's why Jesus came down the mountain to rescue us and carry us up Himself!
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus was fully God and fully human, and he was the only one to never sin. He was perfect so that we don't have to be, and then he was punished for our sins so that we don't have to be. In other words, he lived the life we should have lived, and then died the death we should have died.
Let's say you were convicted of a serious crime and had to pay a huge fine that you could not afford. But, instead of sending you off to jail, the judge decided to pay the fine for you himself! Due to this loving act of grace, you would be free to go. That's basically what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross.
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” The price of sin is death, but Christ’s death paid our debt. Then three days later, Jesus came back to life and defeated death.
Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” We are not saved by works we do, but by what Jesus has done.
But it’s not enough to just understand this intellectually. For example, I can look at a chair and believe that it can hold me up, but it’s not until I actually sit and put my weight on it that I benefit from it. We must decide to turn away from our sinful, self-centered ways and surrender our lives to Jesus.
Most people think of life like a pie chart with slices for work, friends, family, fun and one for God. But God doesn’t just want a slice of your life, he wants to be involved with every part of it.
Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” To receive Jesus as Lord is a decision to follow his leadership.
Jesus wants to meet our deepest needs and He offers us real satisfaction, love, hope, power, freedom, forgiveness and a fresh start in life.
Originally, God made people with those needs fully met. But since man chose to sin, God's perfect design was broken, including our connection with God and others.
If we are honest, we all know something is not right. So people try all sorts of ways to reach God. Most think, “As long as I'm generally a good person, I should be okay.” But is that true? If so, then how good is good enough? Fortunately, the Bible actually defines what a good person looks like.
The Good Person Test: Let’s look at a few questions based on 5 of the 10 Commandments that God gave his people and see how we do. (Answer yes or no)
- Have you ever told a lie? Yes or No
- Have you ever stolen anything, no matter how small? Yes or No
- Have you ever disobeyed or disrespected your parents? Yes or No
- Have you ever looked at someone with lustful thoughts? Yes or No
- Have you ever given something a more important position than God in your life? Yes or No
If you answered "Yes" to just one of those questions, you have failed the test. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all."
Life is like a pass/fail test, either you get 100% or 0%. All of our "good deeds”, even going to church, giving to charity or reading our Bibles, can never make up for the fact that we've broken God's commands.
If I had a glass of water and put one drop of poison in it, would you want to drink it? No. God is completely holy and doesn't allow even a little bit of sin into His presence. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Based on this, if God judged you by his standard, would you be innocent or guilty? If you got what you deserved would you go to Heaven or Hell? Does that concern you?
The Solution
Some picture God at the top of a mountain and different religions as different paths to God. But the truth is, no one can make it up on their own. That's why Jesus came down the mountain to rescue us and carry us up Himself!
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus was fully God and fully human, and he was the only one to never sin. He was perfect so that we don't have to be, and then he was punished for our sins so that we don't have to be. In other words, he lived the life we should have lived, and then died the death we should have died.
Let's say you were convicted of a serious crime and had to pay a huge fine that you could not afford. But, instead of sending you off to jail, the judge decided to pay the fine for you himself! Due to this loving act of grace, you would be free to go. That's basically what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross.
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” The price of sin is death, but Christ’s death paid our debt. Then three days later, Jesus came back to life and defeated death.
Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” We are not saved by works we do, but by what Jesus has done.
But it’s not enough to just understand this intellectually. For example, I can look at a chair and believe that it can hold me up, but it’s not until I actually sit and put my weight on it that I benefit from it. We must decide to turn away from our sinful, self-centered ways and surrender our lives to Jesus.
Most people think of life like a pie chart with slices for work, friends, family, fun and one for God. But God doesn’t just want a slice of your life, he wants to be involved with every part of it.
Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” To receive Jesus as Lord is a decision to follow his leadership.
This illustration shows three types of lives. The left circle has self on the throne and Jesus outside your life. The middle circle is one who has committed their lives to Jesus as Lord, having Him on the throne and the self yielding to what He wants. Then the right circle represents someone who is saved, but chooses to still be on the throne of their life, neutral to Jesus leading. Which of these circles best represents your life currently? Which would you like to represent your life?
The Bible shares that being made right with God is simple, but serious. God desires a relationship with each of us and He gives us the opportunity to respond to his invitation. The following is a sample prayer, but the exact words don’t matter as much as the heart behind it. Listen and read this prayer, to see if you'd like to say it to God, have before, or want to explore this more.
“Dear Jesus, I’m sorry for my sin against you . I want to turn from those sins . Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins and rising from the dead. Please come into my life and be my Lord. I want to follow you from this day forward. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Each part is significant to being saved:
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? Would you like to pray this or something in your own words right now?
If so, simply read the prayer out loud again, but this time say it to God from your heart.
If you prayed that prayer, praise God that he has given you a new life! You are now immediately made right with God!
1 Corinthians 6:11 says, "Some of you were once like that [seeped in sin]. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
If you need more time to consider this important decision, then what steps do think you need to take in order to come to a decision? Ex. need a Bible to begin learning, weighing the cost of following Jesus, etc.
To help encourage you in the kind of changes God brings when committing your life to Jesus, let's finish by exploring a few next steps.
Next Steps
If you have really been "saved" or “born again” (John 3:3), you can expect to see some of the following changes:
After being saved, Jesus asks his followers to publicly identify with him through baptism, connect with other believers in a church, and start to play their part in the mission.
The church is like a body; a hand without a body can’t survive, and a believer can’t grow alone. The best way to grow is to plug into a good church, start learning the Bible any way you can, and start inviting others to find and follow Jesus, too.
What is your next step based on what we’ve talked about today?
“Dear Jesus, I’m sorry for my sin against you . I want to turn from those sins . Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins and rising from the dead. Please come into my life and be my Lord. I want to follow you from this day forward. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Each part is significant to being saved:
- "sorry" - There is an acknowledgment & confessing of our sin against him. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
- "turn" - Jesus said in Luke 5:32 "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
- "Thank you" - posture of thankfulness & acknowledgment of what Jesus did for you.
- "come into my life and be my Lord" - there is nothing you have to do to be made right with God besides accepting the gift he is offering. You are inviting him to be your Lord- the leader of your life.
- "follow you" - Jesus leads us for his purposes & will not fail us. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight."
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? Would you like to pray this or something in your own words right now?
If so, simply read the prayer out loud again, but this time say it to God from your heart.
If you prayed that prayer, praise God that he has given you a new life! You are now immediately made right with God!
1 Corinthians 6:11 says, "Some of you were once like that [seeped in sin]. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
If you need more time to consider this important decision, then what steps do think you need to take in order to come to a decision? Ex. need a Bible to begin learning, weighing the cost of following Jesus, etc.
To help encourage you in the kind of changes God brings when committing your life to Jesus, let's finish by exploring a few next steps.
Next Steps
If you have really been "saved" or “born again” (John 3:3), you can expect to see some of the following changes:
- You will start feeling convicted about some of the sinful things that you used to enjoy and God will start giving you power to say no to temptation (John 16:13; Romans 8; 1 John 1:7-9).
- You will develop a love for God and a desire to connect with other believers (1 John 2:9-11; 3:14; 4:7-21).
- You will grow in your desire to understand and obey the Bible (1 John 2:4-6; 5:3-4).
- You will grow in love, joy and confidence in your salvation (Galatians 5:22-23; Matthew 7:20; 1 John 5:11-13).
After being saved, Jesus asks his followers to publicly identify with him through baptism, connect with other believers in a church, and start to play their part in the mission.
The church is like a body; a hand without a body can’t survive, and a believer can’t grow alone. The best way to grow is to plug into a good church, start learning the Bible any way you can, and start inviting others to find and follow Jesus, too.
What is your next step based on what we’ve talked about today?