Deitrich Bonhoeffer As any of you who know me well will know, in recent years I've been particularly fascinated by the writings of German Theologian Deitrich Bonhoeffer. I've added a few links to my Gütersloh Churches pages to reflect this interest.  I'd recommend any of his books, but The Cost of Discipleship is my favourite.

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

The world is dominated by news that usually is not very pleasant. Recently we have read about the earthquakes in Taiwan, the civil unrest in Indonesia, renewed mindless violence in different parts of the world. Our governments are trying hard, but they just don't seem to be getting a handle on the bad news that comes at us from every angle.

But the Bible is a source of good news. It tells us about the God who is there, who is real, and who is love. We all know that there is a God - we have an inbuilt sense that there is something awesome beyond the horizon. Men and women are incurably religious - even if it manifests itself in non-religious ways. So people make a god of money, of sport, of drugs, of one thing or another, because they know that there is a gap in their heart that only something big can satisfy.

So many people, however, fail to realise that only God can adequately fill that gap. A personal relationship with him through Jesus Christ is what the Gospel is all about. It is good news for bad people - in a world of sin, of hopelessness, of despair, and of fading dreams, we believe that there is one reality, one constant, abiding truth. It is that God loved the world and gave his Son to be our Saviour.

God has given us the Bible so that we will learn not only what we are like, but also what God is like. Here are some of the Bible's main themes:

Romans 3:10 THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE

• -------------God cannot find a perfect life anywhere among mankind

Romans 3:23 ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD

• --------------that means that we have all failed to live up to God's standards

Romans 5:12 BY ONE MAN SIN ENTERED INTO THE WORLD, AND DEATH BY SIN; SO DEATH HAS PASSED ON ALL MEN, BECAUSE ALL HAVE SINNED

• --------------when Adam, the first man, disobeyed God, all mankind was plunged into sin. That is why there is death in the world. Now we are all caught up in this downward spiral of despair.

Romans 5:8 BUT GOD COMMENDS HIS LOVE FOR US IN THAT, WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US

• --------------God took pity on us and did not leave us to perish. He sent Jesus to be our Saviour

Romans 6:23 THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH; BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD

• --------------we have 'earned' death through our sin. But the Gospel offers the gift of eternal life through Christ. This is ours to accept or reject. The Gospel urges us to accept God's gift of salvation through Christ.

Romans 10:13 WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED

• --------------the Gospel is for 'whosoever' - for everyone without exception. It calls us to call on Jesus, and promises us everlasting life.

This page was last updated on 10/05/02.