The Gospel

This good news is good because it is given in the context of some very bad news.  Before you can understand the good news, you need to understand that which is bad.  So first, the bad news: the bad news is that God is altogether holy but as members of humanity we are not.  Perhaps many would classify you as a good person; however you may be aware of unrighteousness in your heart that will not go away.  The Bible calls this unrighteousness “the law of sin” that dwells within all of us (Romans 7:23).  It tells us further that before God “there are none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10), and that we “all have sinned and fall short” of measuring up to His holy standards of righteousness (Romans 3:23).  It is very bad news: God is holy in nature but we are not, and God cannot violate His own nature by lowering His holy standards in order to accept us in our unrighteous condition.  The truth is, we “fall short.”

So when the Bible talks about salvation, it is talking about our great need to be delivered from “the law of sin” that dwells within in that keeps us separated from God.  Being holy in nature, God has no other recourse but to “count our trespasses against us” (2 Corinthians 5:19), which leaves us spiritually “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) and separated from God.  Perhaps you feel that distance between God and you, and now you know why: because of “the law of sin” within.

A great question is asked in Romans 7:24: “Wretched man that I am!  Who will set me free from the body of this death?”  The Bible says there is only one answer to the “wretched” condition of the human soul, and the next two verses give us that answer: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  … Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 7:25 and 8:1).  This is very good news that God offers to you: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth in order to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin.  We are guilty before God without any hope to save ourselves from sin, so the altogether Righteous One came to pay the penalty for us.

Here’s the essence of the Gospel: God must “count your sins against you.”  But Good News, Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins!  The Bible teaches that “[God] made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in [Christ]” (2 Corinthians 5:21, emphasis added).  That means that God charged your sins to Christ (“He made Him to be sin on our behalf”), so that now Christ’s righteousness can be credited to you (“so that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ”).  This is called God’s gift of salvation to you! 

But there is something you must do to receive this gift from God: you must receive it through a prayer of faith.  Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”  And like any gift you must receive it in order to be benefited by it.  You simply take hold of this great and gracious gift of God by receiving what God did for you in Jesus’ death.  Here is a sample prayer that you may pray if you sincerely want to be saved from “the law of sin” that dwells within you:

“Dear God, I see that I have sin in my life that keeps me separated from You and therefore separated from the life and peace that You offer to me.  I also see that Jesus died to pay for the penalty of my sins.  I acknowledge my great need and that only Jesus can save me.  Thank You for making a way for me to be set free from my sins.  Please forgive me for all of the unrighteousness that is in my life and give me Your free gift of salvation.  I now humbly and gladly receive Your gracious offer; please save me and forgive me.  And now that I am saved, I want to thank You for giving me Your salvation that was provided by Jesus’ death on my behalf.  Please help me now to allow Jesus to be the Lord of my life.  He died for me; may I now live for Him.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”

Good News: if you sincerely prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God!  The Bible says that upon receiving the gift of God’s salvation, “God reconciled [you] to Himself through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:18).  You are now God’s child, an eternal member of His family.  Your new found faith in Christ has ushered you into an intimate relationship with God Himself.  Welcome home!

Now that you are a child of God, it is important that you seek out a Bible believing church that will help you grow in this wonderful relationship.  You now need the family of God and the fellowship, love and support that they can provide.  We would be glad to help you find a church, so please call us for assistance in the life-giving faith that now belongs to you.  As His beloved child, may God richly bless you.