Whosoever Believeth

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

What is the gospel? That question came up once in Acts 15, because certain believers rose up and said "That it was needful to circumcise them [the brethren], and to command [them] to keep the law of Moses." Peter said God choose that the Gentiles, by his mouth, "should hear the word of the gospel, and believe."

That "Word of the gospel," Peter was talking about, is in Acts 10. There, the Gentiles told Peter they were gathered "to hear all things that are commanded thee of God." So the things Peter said there are the gospel.

Peter told Who Jesus Is (He is the Lord,) What He Did (He died on the cross and rose again from the dead,) and How to Be Saved (by believing in Him.) That is the gospel, the good news of the Lord Jesus.

Notice the phrase there in verse 43: "whosoever believeth in him." That same phrase is in John 3:16. I Love that phrase. I Love it because "whosoever" includes me, even such a wretched sinner.

If you want to be sure that you are saved, all you need to do is to believe in the Lord Jesus. Even if you were sorry for your sins, or confessed them, or stopped doing them, or even if you think you keep the law, you aren't saved unless you believe in the Lord Jesus. If you've ever believed in the Lord Jesus, even if you don't keep the law, you are saved, and you have everlasting life that will never stop or even pause. Friend, you should trust in Jesus as the One who has saved you, and not trust in anything else, like being sorry for your sins, or confessing them.

You cannot please the Lord by keeping the old law. You can't keep the old law. The Lord isn't pleased by the keeping of the old law, anyway. The old law is traditions, written with letters on stone and paper, like what we are not to taste, handle, or touch. Our new law is Love, spiritually written on our hearts. The way to please the Lord, as a believer, is to Love Him and the brethren. This is the new law. Do as much good as you can for everybody, especially believers, whether it's against the old law or not.

Friend, you should preach the gospel. Commanding people to keep the old law, or to stop sinning, or to be sorry, or to confess their sins, is not preaching the true gospel. Tell people the good news of Who Jesus Is, What He Did, and How to be Saved (just by believing in Him.)