The Good News

In the beginning, God created everything, and everything that He made was very good (Genesis 1:1-31 NLT). Into His creation, God placed one special man and one special woman, to enjoy a relationship with Him. Physically perfect and innocent of any evil, they lived together in a garden planted by God Himself.

The man and woman knew God. They knew He created everything and therefore set the rules. But still they disobeyed Him (Romans 5:12 NLT). Disobedience to God is called sin, and because of their sin they came under God’s anger (Romans 2:5 NLT). That sin was passed on to all of us, and with it, the penalty for sin, which is death (Romans 6:23 NLT). God’s creation was no longer ‘very good’, it was broken and there was no way for us to fix it.

Because we inherited this sinfulness, everyone sins; we all fall short of the standards of God (Romans 3:22,23 NLT). We too live under God’s anger, separated from God. Even people we think of as ‘good’, are not good enough for God, Who is perfect and holy. No amount of ‘doing good’ can balance out our failure, and the penalty for our failure is death (Romans 6:23 NLT).

Although God’s justice demands that our death penalty is paid, in His mercy He chose to pay that penalty himself. This is how God showed His love for us, that while we were still sinners, Jesus Christ died for us (Romans 5:8 NLT). In ancient times, a lamb or dove was sacrificed as a temporary measure to remove sin and God’s anger. But Jesus died so that once and for all, our penalty could be paid, and God’s anger could be lifted from us (1 John 2:2 NLT). And then, He defeated death by rising from the grave, so we no longer need to fear death (Romans 6:9-10 NLT).

We cannot qualify by ‘doing good’ or attending church. We can only be qualified by acknowledging that Jesus Christ is God, turning away from our life of sin, and accepting Him as the one who died for us (Romans 10:9 NLT).

God’s creation is still broken, and He does not plan to fix it. Rather, He has promised, in time, to create a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1 NLT). Those who will join Him in this new creation are those who have received the free gift of Jesus. Those who reject Jesus will be separated from God for all eternity (John 3:18,36 NLT). The Bible calls this hell.

Turning from our sin is called repentance; we each need to repent, and turn to God, and experience forgiveness for our sins (Acts 2:38 NLT). Once we receive Christ’s gift, God invites us into a relationship with Him. The beginning of this relationship is marked by baptism (Acts 22:16 NLT). Baptism is a spiritual act that involves 1) going into the water, to associate with Jesus’ death, 2) going completely underwater, to associate with Jesus’ burial, and 3) coming up out of the water, to associate with his resurrection. Jesus also gives us the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11 NLT). Just as going underwater wets every part of us physically, so, when the Holy Spirit of God fills us, he will impact every area of our life and character. The more he impacts our character, the more like Jesus we will become (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT)

If you want to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God, turn away from your life of sin, and accept Jesus as the one who died for you, then respond today by praying to God with words like these:

Dear God, who created all things,

Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me.

I admit I have lived my own way, but today I turn away from that way of life and surrender to You. I acknowledge Jesus as my God. Please forgive my sins and come into my life. Thank you, Jesus, that You died for me and rose to give me a new life.

Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit.

Thank you, God,

Amen.

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