For you and me!īut the story doesn’t end there. The sentence of death God had pronounced against rebellious sinners struck. As Jesus died on a cross, the awful weight of all our sins fell on his shoulders. Jesus came to die in their place, to take the punishment they deserved for their rebellion against God. And here was Jesus saying, “The kingdom of God is here… now! I am that great King!”Įventually Jesus’ followers realized that his mission was to bring sinful people into that kingdom. Repent and believe the good news!” Centuries before God had promised that he would come as a great King to rescue his people from their sins. When Jesus began his public ministry, he told the people, “The kingdom of God is at hand. So, when we say “Jesus Christ,” we’re saying that Jesus is a King! The word “Christ” means “anointed one,” referring to anointing a king with oil when he is crowned. The Bible warns that “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” ( John 3:18). Every one of us will be held accountable to God. This is the Bible’s sobering verdict: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” ( Hebrews 9:27). ![]() The Bible teaches that the final destiny for unbelieving sinners is eternal, active judgment in a place called “hell.” That’s not just physical death, but spiritual death, a forceful separating of our sinful, rebellious selves from the presence of God forever. Once you understand sin in that light, you begin to understand why “the wages of sin is death” ( Romans 6:23). It’s the rejection of God himself and his right to exercise authority over those to whom he gives life. So we wonder why God gets so upset about them. Yet, we often think of our sins as not much more than violations of some heavenly traffic law. The Bible says “ all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…none is righteous, no, not one” ( Romans. It’s not just Adam and Eve who are guilty of sin. They were denying his authority over their lives. Moreover, Adam and Eve had declared rebellion against God. When Adam disobeyed God, though, and ate the one fruit that God had told him not to eat, that fellowship with God was broken. When God created the first human beings-Adam and Eve, he intended for them to live under his righteous rule in perfect joy-obeying him and living in fellowship with him. He is determined never to ignore or tolerate sin. To understand just how glorious and life-giving the gospel of Jesus Christ is, we have to understand that God is also holy and righteous. This loving God does not leave the guilty unpunished. That explodes about 90 percent of what people today think they know about God. God describes himself as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness…forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Then God adds, “but who will by no means clear the guilty” ( Exodus 34:6-7). How would you describe God’s character? Loving and good? Compassionate and forgiving? All true. You have to understand that in order to understand the good news about Jesus. Because God created everything-including us-he has the right to tell us how to live. Everything starts from that point, so if you get that point wrong then everything else that follows will be wrong. The first thing to know about the good news of Jesus is that “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” ( Genesis 1:1). Let’s summarize those points like this: God, Mankind, Jesus Christ, and Our Response. ![]() We come to be included in that salvation by faith and repentance. God’s solution is salvation through Jesus Christ.Ĥ. ![]() How can I be included in his solution?Ĭhristians through the centuries since Christ have answered those questions with the same truth from the Bible.ģ. Who made us, and to whom are we accountable?ģ. Since the earliest Christians announced the good news about Jesus, it has been organized around these questions…ġ. So, what is the good news about Jesus Christ? What exactly do Christians mean when they talk about the “ gospel of Jesus Christ”? Since the word “gospel” means “good news,” when Christians talk about the gospel, they’re simply telling the good news about Jesus! But it’s not just any good news it demands a response! It’s a message from God saying, “Good news! Here is how you can be saved from my judgment!” That’s an announcement you can’t afford to ignore.
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