WHAT EVERYBODY NEEDS

Are you living with a sense of guilt and hopelessness? The relief and hope every human needs only becomes ours when we believe what the Bible calls the Gospel. The word gospel simply means good news. The gospel is the good news that, though sinful and imperfect, all people can be forgiven, restored and accepted by God through faith in Jesus.

The message of the gospel does not start with humans but with God. In the beginning of history, God created the heavens and the earth. Everything God created was absolutely perfect. Though everything God created was initially good, you know that things are very different now in the universe. Where harmony, peace and safety once permeated the natural world, decay, and devastation reign in the world today. Where peace, acceptance and equality once characterized human relationships, fighting, exploitation and domination are the day-to-day experience of us all.

WHY DO CORRUPTION & CHAOS EXIST

How did corruption and chaos infiltrate our universe? The answer is sin. Sin is the cause of our need for the forgiveness and restoration the gospel brings. To sin is to violate God’s commands in our thoughts, will or actions. The term that is translated sin in the Bible is an archery term that carries the idea of missing the mark, or missing the target. As far as morality and holiness goes, the bulls-eye on the target we were created to hit is a state of total moral perfection. Both the Bible and human experience reveal that all people fall tragically short of hitting the mark of moral perfection and holiness. None of us comes close to perfectly honoring God in everything we do. In the Bible God said that of the human race that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23 NKJV). If we are honest, our daily experience of normal life proves the Bible’s description of us to be true.

The moment our first human parents, Adam and Eve, sinned, they experienced radical spiritual corruption. In that tragic moment they opened a proverbial doorway through which sin, and the death and decay it brings, were allowed to enter into our universe. As spiritual descendants of Adam and Eve, all people became sinners by nature and choice.

We cannot get angry with Adam and Eve over the fact that we share in the consequences of their sin. In response to temptation, we have all individually sinned against God in thought, word and deed. Every day we sin through acts of omission in which we do not do the good we should, as well as through acts of commission in which we do what we should not. No human will go to hell and experience eternity without God primarily because of Adam and Eve’s sin. We are held accountable for our own sin. Specifically, we are held accountable for whether or not we believe the gospel and receive God’s remedy for our spiritual crimes.

But why begin explaining the Good News of the gospel by talking about our sinfulness? The reason for this is that we cannot understand how wonderful the good news of the gospel is unless we first understand the bad news of our sin and guilt. When we grasp how much we need the forgiveness Jesus has provided for us, we can then understand how gracious He is, and how amazing it is that we can have a way to be accepted by Him.

HOW YOU CAN EXPERIENCE FORGIVENESS, HOPE & HEALING

If you are feeling the weight of guilt and condemnation, there is Good News for you! Because God is not only just but also loving, He accomplished rescue for you! God came to earth as the man Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life for you, died in your place for your sins on the cross, and rose again from the dead. He has promised to forgive the past, present, and future sins of all who trust in Him. He has promised to make you a new person from the inside out. He will chose to see only the righteousness of God when He looks at you for the rest of your life, in your best and worst moments, if you will ask Jesus Christ to forgive you and make you His own. How is this possible? Because, as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (NLT)

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TRUST IN JESUS AS SAVIOR

    •    Faith in Jesus saves you from a life without God (see 1 Peter 3:18).

    •    Faith in Jesus saves you from eternal torment in hell (see Romans 5:6-9).

    •    Faith in Jesus saves you from being excluded from God’s people (see John 3:3; Acts 2:41 and 47).

    •    Faith in Jesus saves you from an unfulfilling life (Read John 4:7-14)

    •    Faith in Jesus saves you from a life devoid of true power to change (see John 7:37-38; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:22-23)

    •    Faith in Jesus guarantees you a future deliverance from all experiences of pain, suffering and death (1 Corinthians 15:35-58)

EXPERIENCE FORGIVENESS, RESTORATION & NEW LIFE

The Bible says that experiencing forgiveness and beginning a relationship with God is as simple as trusting in Jesus Christ, and confessing your faith in Him. God’s promise to you is that, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9 NKJV)

If you are ready to know God and receive His forgiveness, here is a suggested prayer you can use to express your heart to Him:

Father, I understand that I am guilty and broken. I believe that Your Son, Jesus, died for my sins and that He rose again and is alive today. I am putting my trust in Him for forgiveness of my sins and restoration of my broken relationship with You. Forgive my sins. Fill me with Your strength to begin living a new life for you. Based on my faith in the life, death and resurrection Jesus accomplished for me, I believe that You have accepted me as Your child forever. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.