The word Gospel means “good news”. It’s good news primarily because there’s bad news associated with it. Your knowledge of that “bad news” is what will make the good news–exceptionally good!
The bad news is that you’ve sinned against a Holy God who is angry at sin and will punish all sinners for breaking his law.
Being a “good person” won’t get anyone to Heaven. According to God, there are no good people. And helping old ladies cross the street, donating blood, paying your taxes, minding your business and being a friendly, kind-hearted person aren’t the standard –not according to the God of the Bible. God’s divine law is the standard. The Ten Commandments gives us a glimpse of what we really look like to God. They’re not a list of dos and don’ts. The law has a purpose. 1Tim 1:8 says “We know that the Law is good if one uses it properly.” Here is what the Bible says the Law of God is for:
For by the law comes the knowledge of sin. ~Ro 3:20 If we look at what God’s law says, we’ll know what He requires; what He calls sin; what displeases Him–we’ll have “the knowledge of sin”.
The law was given to stop every mouth and leave the whole world guilty before God. ~ Ro. 3:19 Some people will try to justify themselves by looking at others. They’ll say “There are people far worse than me”. That type of justification would never work in civil court: “I haven’t run as many red lights as other people have.” When we look at the law, our mouth should be stopped when we see that we are guilty.
The law was our school master (our teacher), to bring us to Christ. ~Gal. 3:24 When we look at the law, we should see that we are guilty criminals before God. When we realize that there’s a day of punishment coming for all lawbreakers, it should drive us to Christ for forgiveness.
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. ~Ps. 19:7 The purpose ultimately is that we be converted (changed), from a person who has little to no regard for the law, to someone who holds it in high esteem. We no longer want to do those things that displease God, and instead turn from them.
The Bible says that the law is written on the heart of every man. Every person has a conscience. We know it’s wrong to steal; to kill; to lie; to dishonor our parents. Our conscience tells us it’s wrong. The word conscience comes from two words: Con (with) and Science (knowledge) so whenever we sin, we are sinning “with knowledge” that it’s wrong.
The Law acts as a mirror. Look into the mirror to see yourself (as God sees you) in true light.
If you’ve ever lied, the Bible says you’re a liar. If you’ve stolen anything (irrespective of the value) you’re a thief. If you’ve used God’s name disrepectively, you’re a blasphemer. If you’ve looked at another person with lust, Jesus says you’ve committed adultery already in your heart. Ever want something that belongs to someone else? That’s coveting, the tenth commandment. If you’ve ever hated someone, the Bible says that ‘murder of the heart’. And if you’ve broken any of these commands, you’ve dishonored your parents (the 5th command) and you’ve failed to put God first; you’ve made an idol.
And finally, James 2:10 says, Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
The Bible says There is none righteous–no not one. Not one of us has kept God’s perfect holy law. We’ve all broken them and we’re guilty before a God who is angry with sin and promises to punish sin wherever it’s found. The default for everyone is hell–not heaven.
If you sinned just once a day over the course of a year–thats 365 sins; over the course of 70 years that’s more than 25,000 sins–crimes against God’s law. And the Bible says, I will by no means clear the guilty. (Ex 34:7). He is a judge and you are a guilty criminal. You’re going to owe a fine (on judgment day) that you have NO means of payment. You cannot bribe the judge of the universe with your good works. In fact, all our “good works” the Bible declares, “are as filthy rags” (Is 64:6) in His sight.
The place that God has prepared for those who have sinned is hell. It’s a place of pain, and suffering, loneliness, isolation, fear, torment, fire, weeping and gnashing of teeth –forever. It never ends. An eternity of regret.
One last comment: If after looking at this list of command, you’re still not convinced that God would send someone like you to hell; that you’re good enough; righteous enough to enter into Heaven, there’s a word for you: “self-righteous”. We’ve all known someone who is proud or arrogant. We don’t want to be around them; we want to avoid them. The Bible says God is the same way, “He resists the proud…” “…but He gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6). Humble yourself before God and see yourself in true light.
Hebrews 9:27 It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment.
The Law shows us…we need mercy on judgment day, we need grace, we need forgiveness, we need someone to save us from punishment –we need a savior–every one of us!
That’s the judgment side of God; and it’s real; and many good people will be in Hell.
God is also loving; and compassionate; and merciful; and graceful. The Bible says, “…for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” (Ps. 103:14). It also says “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”(2Pet. 3:9) He loved us so much, the Bible says, that 2,000 years ago He became a man, born of a virgin, born under the law–Jesus of Nazareth (fully man, and fully God). He lived a perfect, sinless life (he never did one thing wrong in thought, word or deed) and ultimately went to the cross to take the punishment for your sin and mine by dying on the cross and then three days later rising from the dead, forever defeating death.
He was willing to be punished for us. The beatings He took; the crown of thorns that He wore; the cross that He hung on–should have been for us. Romans 5:8 says, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We broke God’s law, but Jesus paid our penalty by dying on the cross in our place. The last three words Jesus spoke from the cross are, “It is finished.” In the greek language of the New Testament it means, “The debt has been paid.” Your sin debt has been paid by Jesus. It was a legal transaction that took place. The Bible says that the legal requirements of the Law were satisfied by Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.
He’s offering his forgiveness–to you–as a free gift; His payment for your sins. He’s offering you salvation; you don’t have to pay the penalty for your sins yourself.
Imagine you’re standing in a courtroom, guilty of a crime. The judge looks at you and says, “What you’ve done is very serious. There’s a one million dollar fine or the rest of your life in prison.” You’re about to be led off to prison for the rest of your life because you don’t have the money to pay your fine. All of a sudden, someone steps into the courtroom (someone you don’t even know) and pays your fine. You’re free to go now, not based upon anything you’ve done, but on the basis that your fine has been paid and justice has been served. How would you feel toward that person?
That’s a picture of what Jesus did for you. You broke God’s law, the Ten Commandments, and you owe a “fine” to God for those crimes you’ve committed. It’s a fine too high that you could never pay it; it would require your death for eternity in hell. But Jesus paid your fine 2,000 years ago, by dying on the cross for you and rising from the dead three days later. All the wrath and anger of God (that was meant for you and me– for the sins we’ve committed against a perfect and Holy God) was poured out on the cross.
But He requires something of you?
Salvation (Forgiveness, Heaven) the Bible says, “is the free gift of God, it’s not based on works lest any man should boast.”(Eph. 2:8-9) God requires us to do 2 things in order to receive this free gift that He’s offering: to be forgiven of all the sins we’ve ever committed.
#1. REPENT: It means to turn away from; go the other direction. You change your mind about sin. You agree with God that what He calls sin, is sin and that you don’t want to have anything to do with it. You admit and confess your sins to God. You apologize. You ask for His forgiveness. And you only want to do the things that please him. You’ve had a change of mind. You realize that sin displeases God, and you’re just so thankful for what he did on the cross (for paying your fine) that you want to run away from sin. “…but now (God) commands all people everywhere to repent. Because he has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness… ~Acts 17:30-31
Imagine you’re holding onto a lit stick of dynamite; it has the word “sin” written on it. The fuse represents your life that’s running out. You don’t want to be holding onto your sin the day your fuse runs out. Just as dynamite would destroy you physically, sin will destroy you spiritually, forever, in hell. You want to throw it and run the opposite direction. That’s a picture of what repentance means.
#2. TRUST: Don’t trust in your ‘good life’ your good works to save you. The Judgment will not be a big scale where all your good deeds are put on one side and all your bad deeds are put on the other; and as long as your good outweighs your bad, you’ll get in. No! Transfer all the trust from yourself to Jesus Christ –the one who paid your fine. Whoever believes (puts their trust) in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36)
If you were to jump out of an airplane with a parachute, the moment you stepped across the threshold (out into the air) you’ve just proved that you’re putting 100% trust in that parachute alone to get you safely to the ground. That’s the kind of trust we need to place in Jesus.
(John 3:3) In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” All that means is that you’ve repented and put your trust alone in Jesus. The moment you do that, God will cause you to have a new nature “born” in you; a new spirit that desires to please God and wants to make right choices. The Bible says that he gives us the power to overcome sin. We cannot do it on our own, but through Jesus Christ we can walk in victory over sin.
Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the father except through me.”
Acts 4:12 ”Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Pray to God from your heart, it doesn’t matter what words you use. Thank Him for dying on the cross and paying the penalty for your sins. Tell him you’re sorry for sinning against him and that you repent of your sins this day and that you want to follow Him the rest of your life; confess your sins to him and forsake them. Ask Him for help in remaining faithful to Him. Tell Him you’re placing your trust completely in what He did for you on the cross.
If you’ve done these two things, God has removed your sins from you “as far as the east is from the west.” You are forgiven–born again!
This Gospel is not about religion, but about relationship. Any good or meaningful relationship requires time spent with one another. The three primary ways to strengthen your relationship with God are through prayer, becoming a member of a local church, and Bible reading. As you do this faithfully, God will change you from the inside out. It is His plan for you to be transformed into a new person–conformed into the image of His son, Jesus…to become “christ-like”.
Read the Bible–and obey what it says–and God will never let you down.
