Belfast OutReach

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave this commission to His disciples: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15 ). Luke records the same commission in these words: "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). From a comparison of these two scriptures it is clear that the central message of the gospel is the forgiveness of sin s. This is the message Jesus commanded His church to give. On the day of Pentecost Peter proclaimed, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38 ). And again, when the gospel was first given to the Gentiles, Peter referred to the commission of Christ: "And He commanded us to pr

Jesus said, "Whosoever practices sin is the slave of sin." John 8:34. Sin has a lot of slaves. Not one is happy. They are all miserable. There are the willing slaves, who serve sin with both hands greedily. There are the unwilling slaves, who weary themselves to commit iniquity, who detest their bondage but who are slaves just the same. Some fool themselves in thinking that they can leave off sin as soon as they choose. Only those who have really tried to break from its service know that they are held by a mysterious power that no man can master. A mysterious power ... What is it? Is sin itself very powerful? Most of us would answer, "Yes." We glorify sin by imputing to it some wonderful power which it never did have. But sin has no intrinsic power of its own. Sin's power to enslave men is derived – derived from the law of God. Says the apostle Paul, "The strength of sin is the law." 1 Cor. 15:56. Apart from the law of God, there would be no sin (Rom.