The Gift of The Gospel

The main characteristic that distinguishes a Christian is his acceptance and receipt of Christ in the Holy Spirit. The irrefutable sign of our acceptance of Christ is the change of our sinful nature and the receipt of the new nature that seeks love and rejects evil and sin. If we believe in Christ’s redemptive death on the cross, we pray, and say that we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior without being changed from the love of sin to the love of God and loving each other as Jesus loved us, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.“ (1John 4:7-8); this is the most significant proof that our faith has not yet brought us to the salvation of Christ. 
Many need to be aware that the fundamental difference between the law of the Old Testament and Christianity is that the law has set rules for man to obey and do it. Whoever does it is considered righteous, and whoever does not do it is disobedient, sinful, and deserves punishment in this world and the hereafter. As for Christianity, it is not built on do and not to do, but on be or not to be, meaning that the law commanded that you should not steal, commit adultery, or kill, but Christ came to give man the gift and grace of a new life “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) that makes him be able to be faithful and not a thief. In the Holy Spirit, we can have pure and chaste hearts and eyes; in this case, we will not be adulterers. Having the grace of the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in us “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1Corinthians 3:16), so we can love our enemies and forgive all who have sinned against us . Our obedience to the commandments and the holy word of God the Father leads us not only to do good and be away from evil but to hate sin, all evil deeds, evil thoughts, and be filled with God’s life, love, holiness, and faithfulness. Unfortunately many Christians still live by the mentality of the Old Testament’s law and have not yet been transformed into the mind of the Gospel, which is receiving the new nature, be changed to be in the image and likeness of Christ, and be in unity with Him, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.“ (2Corinthians5:17).
The gift of Christ to man in the New Testament is the adoption by grace to the Heavenly Father, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” (Galatians 4:6-7). Not everyone who believes in Christ becomes a child of God, but the sure sign of having the grace of adoption is the receipt of the new life, which is the life of Christ that unites us to Him and changes us to His image, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.”  (John 1:12)
Many have neglected their salvation and seek through religiosity and rituals the peace of heart and tranquility of the soul, but all this is in vain and they did not obtain any. But those who have received Christ in the Holy Spirit have received the gift of adoption, the new nature, and have come to enjoy eternal peace, joy, and love.