1. God
First, there is ‘God’ who is the main figure.
A. The bible says that God is loving:
“….God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” -1 John 4:16
Many people have a difficult time accepting that God is love because of their past experiences . However, it is true that God loves us. Some other people go to the extreme and think God’s love accepts whatever they do.
B. However, the bible also declares that God is holy:
“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy.” - 1 Peter 1:15-16
Holy means absolute purity. No sin, not even a slight immoral thought would be acceptable to God.
C. The bible also says that God is just:
“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you.” -2 Thessalonians 1:6
God is a good and perfect judge. That means, by His nature, God cannot simply ignore sin and accept people. Sin must be punished, as a good human judge would punish criminals.
2. Us
Then, ‘we’ are the next figure.
A. The bible says that we were created good, but became sinful:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” -Romans 3:23
We have rebelled against the loving God who created us.
B. Therefore, we deserve death, both physical and spiritual:
“For the wages of sin is death.” - Romans 6:23
Criminals pay fines. Sins must also be paid. The payment is death, both physical and spiritual, that is, eternal separation from God in a place the bible calls ‘hell.’
C. Finally, we are spiritually helpless:
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags….” -Isaiah 64:6
The debt we owe to God is too big for us to pay. Even our ‘righteous’ acts are tainted by our sinful desires and therefore are not acceptable to God.
So far we’ve learned about the ‘bad news.’ The Christian message is the gospel, which in Greek means, ‘good news.’ But, it is important that we understand the bad news first. Otherwise, we would not understand the full meaning of the good news that Christ brought.
Christ
Christ offers forgiveness and restoration in our broken relationship with our loving God.
A. First, we must remember is that Christ is God, who also became a man:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” -John 1:1-14
B. Next, Christ died as our substitute:
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” -1 Peter 2:24
This is the central message of the Bible. Christ has paid for the penalty for death that we could not pay for at the highest possible price, by His own death on the cross.
C. Finally, Christ offers His forgiveness as a gift:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9
Salvation is a gift. It is too costly that we cannot earn it; it can only be received by faith.
You
The ‘good news’ of the bible has been briefly explained. However, the story is not complete. We must do more than understand the ‘good news’ intellectually. It requires a personal response; either to receive the message and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, that is, to ask Him for forgiveness and leadership in your life; or, to reject God’s offer. Nevertheless, a gift is a gift. It must be accepted to be complete.
Revelations 3:20 says, “I stand at the door and knock. Whoever opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him.” Christ wants to come into our lives and restore our lives. When we receive Christ into our lives, many things happen. Here are some:
- We became a child of God: “Yet all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” -John 1:12
- Our sins are forgiven: “If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all righteousness.” -1 John 1:9
- We have a new beginnings: “Therefore, is anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17