Gospel Truth
January 4th, 2008
Sol
“Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit” - 1 Peter 3:18
God is the Creator and Sustainer of everything in the universe. He is eternally powerful and infinitely wise. We were created by God and for God (Genesis 1:27). Being made in His image, we are designed to have fellowship with Him. But there is one problem – one BIG problem.
Sin restricts us from having a relationship with God, which is what we were created to do. Being sinners by nature, we all sin all the time. YOU have sinned, and so have I. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). When we die, we will reap our due reward. As a worker deserves his wages, so the sinner deserves eternal separation from God in hell. That is very bad news. Hell is real, and it is a terrible place.
God does not desire that this happen, so He became a man in Jesus Christ. In the greatest display of love in all of history, Jesus took on the punishment we were to receive by dying a painful death on the cross. “He Himself bore our sins” (1 Peter 2:24). In essence, God punished Jesus instead of punishing us. Three days after His death, He rose from the grave, proving His victory over sin and death, and securing the way of salvation.
Salvation, however, is not guaranteed to everyone. Jesus told people that they must “Repent and believe the good news” in order to be saved (Mark 1:15). You must turn from sin and run to God to receive His free gift of salvation. Then, He will grant you forgiveness and the unspeakable joy of being in a right relationship with Himself. God’s grace through Jesus Christ is not just a ticket to heaven; it is an ability to defeat the power of sin, and ultimately to be with God for all eternity. True and everlasting joy is only found in God through Jesus Christ. This is the good news. Repent and trust Christ today!