Many think the gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of good works. Be a good person and you will be saved. Let me share with you the actual gospel.
God is God Almighty – God is holy, righteous, just, loving and so much more. He is above all things, the Creator of all things, and the Eternal and Almighty God of the Universe. He is so far beyond our comprehension we can not fathom his works or his ways.
We are Not Holy, Righteous and Godly WE ARE FULL OF SIN – Most people think that they are good people. That’s because we like to compare ourselves to others. But how good are you compared to God? If we could put all your thoughts on a screen and see every thought, word and deed, would you be a good person?
The Bible Says All Have sinned. We have all fallen short. There is no one righteous. Not even one. The Bible also says that even our righteous acts are as dirty rags to the Lord.
The Problem: Because of our sin, we are all under God’s wrath. All of us.
God’s Justice is His Wrath. God cannot simply let sin go. He cannot just dismiss it. Justice and righteousness means that there is just punishment for a crime. And a crime against God is death. That’s exactly what we get. Death.
Good Works are Never Enough – Only righteousness and holiness can be in the presence of God. We are not righteous nor are we holy. And just as good works do not compensate for a crime in earthly courts, so good works will never compensate for crime in the heavenly court.
You cannot say to a judge that you murdered someone but it’s Ok because you helped 10 old ladies cross the street and gave money at worship. It doesn’t work that way.
No good works can pay for sin. And we have sinned against God which is the death penalty.
Therefore we are in a terrible place. We are helpless before God. His justice must punish us for our crimes.
But thanks be to God, he clothed himself with flesh and came as the man Jesus.
Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. Not only that but he was God in the flesh.
Jesus paid for our sins at the cross. He is the God-sized sacrifice, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
At the cross Jesus died for our sins. The Scripture says he took on the sins of humanity and put them upon him. He could do so because he was A) Sinless, and B) God in the flesh.
Jesus fully paid for our sins. That’s why he said it is finished.
And if that weren’t enough, he rose from the dead showing he had power to save and that he was indeed God in the flesh.
The Result? Eternal life to those who put their trust in him.
When we repent of our sins and put our trust in him as our Lord and Savior, we receive eternal life as a gift. Not by works so that no one can boast or get prideful.
The result is peace, joy and love. A love that spreads to others because as God forgave us in Christ, we can also forgive and love one another.
How do we receive such a great salvation?
- We confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior who was crucified and rose from the dead.
. - We repent of our sins and purse righteousness, faith and love. When we mess up, we confess our sins, repent and he cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
. - We are baptized as baptism is what unites us into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
. - We believe what Jesus says and do what he says to do.
. - We love one another and do good works not for salvation, but rather because we are saved. It is the fruit of salvation.